Save the Whales
Bride of Frankenstein (1935): 8 out of 10: Bill Condon’s Gods and Monsters has made a viewing of the Bride of Frankenstein de rigueur in certain intellectual (read gay) circles.
While there is undoubtedly some homosexual subtext in Bride, and one definitely is hard-pressed to find a campier villain than Ernest Thesiger’s Dr. Pretorius, the reality is this is one of the best films of the 1930s even without the revisionist, gay old time slant.
James Whale has created a tight, must-see movie that cemented Boris Karloff’s well-deserved stardom. It also introduced special effects shocking for the early thirties and are still impressive today, Dr. Pretorius’s homunculi in particular.
The picture is quite theatrical, with great indoor sets used to great effect. I can see the influence on everything from Dark City to The Matrix.
A must-see for film fans and amateur historians alike, The Bride of Frankenstein comes highly recommended.
[…] While the vastly superior Bride of Frankenstein surprised me with its effectiveness and advanced film techniques Frankenstein surprises with its brevity and staginess. But in its defense it is a classic and Boris Karloff is great as the monster. […]