I watched the original 1931 Universal Pictures Corp. horror movie “Frankenstein” on Svengoolie. The movie was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. (founder of Universal Studios and head of the production from 1928 to 1936) and directed by James Whale (The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein). The story was written by Mary Shelley (she published the story, also called The Modern Prometheus in 1818). Svengoolie pointed out that without this movie there would have been no Herman Munster nor Franken Berry!
Henry Frankenstein is a scientist trying to create life. He is robbing graves and stealing brains with the help of his assistant Fritz. Worried about him, his fiance, Elizabeth, her friend, Victor, and Henry’s professor, Dr. Waldman, go to see Frankenstein at his watchtower. They end up witnessing the creation of the Frankenstein monster.
The monster is played by Boris Karloff (Bela Lugosi was the original choice but turned the role of the monster down because he didn’t want to just be a grunting, killing, machine. He stood about 6 feet 4 inches in the costume. The make-up by Jack Pierce took 4 hours a day to apply). Henry Frankenstein is played by Colin Clive (Journey’s End, Jane Eyre, Bride of Frankenstein, The Girl from 10th Avenue, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo), his assistant Fritz is played by
Dwight Frye (Dracula, The Maltese Falcon, The Vampire Bat, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Man with the Iron mask, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man),
Henry’s fiance is played by Mae Clarke (The Man with Two Faces, Flying Tigers, Singin’ in the Rain, Thunderbirds), her friend Victor is played by John Boles (singer and actor, later retired, moved to Texas and became an oil man),
Henry’s professor, Dr. Waldman, is played by Edward Van Sloan (Dracula, The Mummy, Dracula’s Daughter, The Phantom Creeps, The Monster and the Girl), his father, Baron Frankenstein is played by Frederick Kerr (left England for New York City in 1880 and became an actor),
the Burgomaster is played by Lionel Belmore (The Vampire Bat, Cleopatra, Mark of the Vampire, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Son of Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tower of London, The Ghost of Frankenstein),
the little girl, Maria, is played by Marilyn Harris (Destiny Rides Again, Tugboat Annie, The Bride of Frankenstein), and her dad is played by Michael Mark
(The Black Cat, Son of Frankenstein, Tower of London, The Mummy’s Hand, Casablanca, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Ten Commandments, The Wasp Woman, Funny Girl, Hello Dolly).
This is a great classic. The monster’s look would last forever. I’ll give this one 5 out of 5 stars. For more information read Wikipedia, IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.
