Boris Karloff

Colin Clive

Valerie Hobson

Ernest Thesiger

Elsa Lanchester

Gavin Gordon

Douglas Walton

Una O'Connor

E. E. Clive

Lucien Prival

O. P. Heggie

Dwight Frye

Reginald Barlow

Mary Gordon

Anne Darling

Ted Billings

Billy Barty

Robert Adair

Norman Ainsley

Frank Benson

Maurice Black

Walter Brennan

Mae Bruce

A.S. Byron

John Carradine

D'Arcy Corrigan

Grace Cunard

J. Gunnis Davis

Marie DeForrest

Elspeth Dudgeon

Helen Jerome Eddy

Neil Fitzgerald

Brenda Fowler

John George

Helen Gibson

Marilyn Harris

Carmencita Johnson

Rollo Lloyd

Murdock MacQuarrie

Josephine McKim

Torben Meyer

Edwin Mordant

Charles Murphy

Joseph North

Helen Parrish

Edward Peil Sr.

Tempe Pigott

Sarah Schwartz

Peter Shaw

Mary Stewart

Frank Terry

Anders Van Haden

Dorothy Vernon

Lucio Villegas

Joan Woodbury

Ted J. Kent

John J. Mescall

Carl Laemmle Jr.

James Whale

Franz Waxman

C. Bakaleinikoff

John P. Fulton

Irma Kusely

William Hedgcock

Otto Lederer

Gilbert Kurland

Robert Florey

Edwin Wetzel

Mary Shelley

R.C. Sherriff

Lawrence G. Blochman

Philip MacDonald

Tom Reed

Alan Jones

Fred Frank

Harry Mancke

Joseph A. McDonough

Ken Strickfaden

Jack Cosgrove

Edmund Pearson

David S. Horsley

William Dodds

Josef Berne

Abe Meyer

Morton Covan

Cleo E. Baker

Larry Aicholtz

Clifford Vaughan

Monte Montague

George DeNormand

Oliver Wallace

Russell Lawson

Flo Brummel

Charles D. Hall

Vera West

William Hurlbut

Jack Pierce

John L. Balderston

Maurice Pivar

Fred Stoll

Frankenstein (Universal) Collection

Horror

Science Fiction

Bride of Frankenstein

Universal Pictures

James Whale Productions

United States of America

English

hermit

monster

lightning

cemetery

mill

mad scientist

black and white

comedic relief

frankenstein

shrunken human

CinemaSerf

Ernest Thesiger is superb in James Whale's sequel to "Frankenstein" as the scientist who has perfected the art of growing rather than harvesting tissue. When he meets up with Baron Frankenstein's original monster they set about coercing the reluctant Baron to create a wife for the lonely Boris Karloff. This is a cracking tale of science fiction, horror and even romance as the monster ends up endowed with far more "humanity" than either scientist. Una O'Connor and Elsa Lanchester are both great too, though feature sparingly. The special effects stand better scrutiny than many a sci-film being made twenty years later and the cannibalised classical musical score brings tension, joy, love and despair a-plenty to compensate for, admittedly a rather stilted script. Easily amongst the best "Frankenstein" films ever made in my book.

**_Dr. Frankenstein and his former mentor try to create a mate for the monster_**

The monster (Karloff) survives the windmill burning of the previous film and wanders the countryside of Bavaria while Doctor Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) approaches Baron Frankenstein (Colin Clive) with the idea of collaborating to create a mate for the monster, which presumably will domesticate him. 

This Universal classic from 1935 was one of the first sequels to a mainstream film and arguably started the concept of a movie franchise or, at least, a cinematic trilogy: The 1931 movie, this sequel, and the follow-up “Son of Frankenstein” (1939) all feature Boris Karloff as the monster along with other overlapping actors and characters. It has a story arc and comes to a clear ending in the third flick. 

Valerie Hobson is a highlight on the female front as Elizabeth Frankenstein (replacing Mae Clarke from the first film). Meanwhile Elsa Lanchester plays the dual role of Mary Shelley and the titular character at the end.

The prologue presents a glaring issue since Mary conveys this sequel to Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley not long after the success of “Frankenstein,” which was published in 1818. Since the film obviously contains fashions & technology of the early 1930s mixed with elements of the 1800s (which the director described as an “alternate universe”), Mary would have to be predicting what it would be like in the distant future, at least 1899 (which is the tomb’s date on a recently deceased woman in the story).

This is one of those rare occasions where the sequel is better. It’s marked by increased camp (but not overkill), the monster’s memorable friendship with a blind man in the forest, and the fact that he learns to speak in a monosyllabic fashion (which Karloff objected to). It’s an iconic addition to the Frankenstein story, a Gothic horror tragedy highlighted by unforgettable renditions of the monster and his “bride.”

The B&W movie runs 1 hour, 15 minutes, and was shot entirely in the studio at Universal Studios in Greater Los Angeles.

GRADE: B+

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Trailer

Bride of Frankenstein Official Trailer #1 - (1935) HD

Bride of Frankenstein( 1935)

She's Alive!

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A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Sun Jun 19 2022

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