 The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) The film is a series of parenthetical thoughts that never quite tie up, yet you get the sense that James Whale knew he could dispense with the standard formula and indulge the audience by giving them what they really wanted to see, whether or not it made any sense. The film begins with Byron and the Shelleys reminiscing about Frankenstein, and Mary offers to supply what happened after her famous story. Of course, neither the original Frankenstein movie nor this one have much to do with the book, so this is a pretty audacious setup. And the best part? It's never referred to again!. And so the movie is off and running. After the prologue, it variously follows many plots, never quite honing in on any one that is the focus of the film. The Bride herself? She doesn't appear until about five minutes before the movie ends, and is only on screen for about 90 seconds, and mainly screams while she is on screen. So, leading up to that iconic moment, you have the arrival of Dr. Pretorius ("Dr. Pretorius!"), who is another crazed scientist whose experiments entail creating miniature people, whom he keeps in jars! This scene has some still impressive special effects (and, incidentally, Billy Barty is the tiny baby!), and you get so captivated that you instantly forget about the Byron/Shelley nonsense. Now it's about mad scientists! Except that no subsequent scene returns to the idea of the miniature people. Now we're following the hated and despised Monster (Karloff) as he wanders around looking for a friend. In one of the movie's many famous scenes, he stumbles into a blind man's shed, where he learns to smoke, drink, and listen to music! But let's not forget about the townspeople! They don't take kindly to the recent monster menace that's cropped up. So they rally the Burgermeister into action against further monster-making. Except that, again, this idea isn't pursued to any real extent. Neither is Frankenstein's bride, Elizabeth, this time played by a completely different actress. Eventually, Pretorius and Frankenstein collaborate on creating the female monster, and, ironically: she doesn't like the monster either! Oh, when will the monster ever win? I could watch this movie forever. It's absurd in every way, and truly great, though in few of the ways that film critics would have you believe. Whale's Expressionist-influenced shots and sets are visually amazing, but his cinematic approach is gonzo. The Bride of Frankenstein is a milestone of Hollywood cinema, yes—but a greater one of Hollywood subversion.
Review by La Fée |