BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
With special guests Bruce Graver & Dorian Greenbaum
Intro, Debate Society, To Sir With Love (spoiler-free): 00:00-27:40
Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy): 27:41-56:04
Superlatives (spoiler-heavier): 56:05-1:16:04
Director James Whale
Screenplay William Hurlbut, adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley by John Balderston & Hurlbut
Featuring Colin Clive, E.E. Clive, Dwight Frye, Gavin Gordon, O.P. Heggie, Valerie Hobson, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Una O’Connor, Ernest Thesiger, Douglas Walton
Released May 6, 1935
Budget $400,000
Box office $2 million
SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS
1816. A dark and stormy night. On Lake Geneva, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley have gathered for a night of storytelling. As Mary spins her tale, a continuation of her earlier story Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, we shift to the Bavarian Alps, as a windmill burn, Henry Frankenstein is thrown from the roof, and a monster languishes in the watery cellar. But what’s this? The monster is rising from his grave and roaming the countryside, in search of food, shelter, and perhaps, a friend. Meanwhile, Henry has made a speedy recovery, thanks in part to the love of a good woman, and is visited by Dr. Pretorius, a scientist who shares Frankenstein’s interest in regenerating necrotic flesh. When Pretorius is unable to convince Frankenstein to resume his work, Pretorius hatches a plan to blackmail him – and tame the savage beast within a poor, lonely, and confused monster’s heart.
SPOILER-FREE GUEST BIOS
Bruce Graver has taught British Romantic literature and art at Providence College since 1985. He has prepared scholarly editions of the works of the Wordsworth family, has a special interest in 19th-century 3D photography (The Stereoscopic Picturesque is about to be published), and is a classically trained pianist and tenor who has performed with various New England choirs and chamber ensembles. In good weather, Bruce can be found hiking along the Appalachian Trail, or across the mountains of the English Lake District, where the Wordsworths and Beatrix Potter once lived. Recess snack: chocolate milk.
Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum is an ancient historian who teaches postgraduates at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, and writes on the history of astrology, divination, and ancient medicine. She has been an amateur genealogist for the past 23 years. Peggy Webling is Dorian’s great-grandaunt, and she grew up hearing family tales about her writing of the play Frankenstein. In 1991, she and her mother discovered a large cache of letters that Peggy and her sisters wrote to Dorian’s great-grandmother over almost 30 years, and Dorian now owns an unpublished archive of Peggy’s letters, papers, manuscripts, and photographs. Recess snack: Cheez-Its
EPISODE NOTES
To find out more about Bruce and Dorian’s book, Peggy Webling and the Story behind Frankenstein: The Making of a Hollywood Monster, click here.
Music from Bride of Frankenstein by Franz Waxman.
Why did Professor Louryk choose this film? Find out in our Blog.
TRAILER
SUPERLATIVES
The Gaspar Noe Award for Most Disturbing Scene/Moment
Dorian: Dr. Pretorius sends Karl out for a fresh heart
Bruce: The bad heart ticks down to zero
Eric: Any scene that Ernest Thesiger is in
Bradford: Dr. Pretorius eats his ploughman’s lunch atop a casket in a crypt, toasting to bones for companionship
The Ellen Ripley Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Live
Dorian: The hermit
Bruce: Frida
Eric: The monster
Bradford: Ludwig “Hans” Barlow
The Michael Myers Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Die
Dorian: Dr. Pretorius
Bruce: Hans ”Ludwig” Barlow
Eric: Minnie
Bradford: Minnie
The Ken Russell Award for Most Baroque Screen Moment
Dorian: Any scene that Minnie is in
Bruce: The prologue
Eric: The birth of the bride sequence
Bradford: “The homunculus dream ballet”
The Beatrice Dalle Award for Character Who Could (or Should) Have Been Played by Beatrice Dalle
Dorian: Minnie
Bruce: Elisabeth
Eric: Dr. Pretorius
Bradford: The bride
FINAL LETTER GRADE
Dorian: A-
Bruce: A-
Eric: A
Bradford: A