Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I decided to watch and write about these films together due to them both being quite short, as well as the second being a direct sequel.

Plus after watching The Bride!, I was really in the mood for more Frankenstein content!

I liked these movies.

First up is Frankenstein.

As short as the film is, I was surprised by how long it took to really get into the story. It was interesting to get the background, but after watching so many adaptations, I just wanted to see where it would go.

The film spends time letting us get to know the characters, and as great as this is, it takes a while to see or get to know the character we're actually here to meet.

But when we do get to meet the creature, it's definitely worth the wait!

The design of the creature is great. Simple for today's standards but it really works. It's an iconic image.

But what makes it work so well are the movements and actions. The creature is played amazingly by Boris Karloff. If I had one criticism of the character, it's that we don't see enough of him!

And with that, all of the actors do a really great job with their characters. The characters are the backbone of this story, and the reason why it works so well.

It blows my mind that this movie is 5 years shy of being 100 years old! The story has always felt modern and timely, but the film itself would probably work as well with a modern audience as it did when it was made.

Next up, Bride of Frankenstein!

I love the way it starts - it goes back to where we left off while also bringing the story into the real world in a really creative way.

Seeing this after The Bride!, I definitely see the inspiration for the Mary Shelley character (though I didn't love it in that film).

One of my criticisms of this one is the same as the first - we don't get to see enough of the creature. I assumed this would have been rectified in a sequel because the element of surprise has gone, but it's still as much about the surrounding characters as it is about him.

It's really interesting to see the way this one has changed through adaptations. With the first movie, it's usually adapted in a somewhat faithful way, with the basics of the story always being similar.

But with this one, bits and pieces are taken, manipulated and changed so much that you'd have no idea where the original idea came from. For example, I had no idea parts of Frankenstein 2025 mirrored this movie.

Then we have the whole 'Bride' issue, in that we should have seen a lot more of this character too.

I also just generally don't think this one was as entertaining as the first one. It's still an enjoyable watch, but it takes longer for things to happen, we don't get to know the characters as well as we did the first time around, and they're not as compelling as they were in the first movie.

So overall, while I liked both of these movies, I love the general story of Frankenstein more than I loved these versions. But as a fan of the book, it's great to see where the movies originated!