Bride of Frankenstein

15A75 min

Director James Whale’s sequel to his own Frankenstein (1931) is a classic of cinematic horror. After the success of the original, and Whale’s film of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man (1933), Whale was reluctant to return to the mad doctor, but Universal gave him almost total creative freedom, resulting in a film that is by turns horrific, funny and subversive. Boris Karloff reprises his role as the Monster, who escapes from the mill where he supposedly met his fiery end in the first film. Also surprisingly alive is Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who has learned nothing and collaborates with his former mentor, Doctor Pretorious (Ernest Thesiger) to create a mate for the Monster (Elsa Lanchester, who also plays Mary Shelley in the opening vignette). There are plenty of effective horror moments and the film draws closer to Shelley’s original novel by having a blind beggar teach the monster to speak but the tone of the film is driven by Thesiger and by the Belfast-born actor Una O’Connor as Frankenstein’s servant Minnie. Both had worked with Whale before and both bring a campness which under Whale’s deft direction does not undermine the film but entirely enhances it. Thesiger and the Monster sharing a cigar in a crypt is not only one of the great scenes of cinema history, but it also adds a depth and pathos to the Monster which reinforces the unbearable tragedy of the climax. All the cast are on top form, the script by John L. Balderston is first class, and the film is atmospherically shot by John J. Mescall. But this is Whale’s film through and through, showing a master cinematic visionary at the top of his game.