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| Edison's Frankenstein |
FRANKENSTEIN (1910)
FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
In 1931, Universal Pictures began producing what would later be called the classic Universal monster films. They began with Dracula (1931) and, after finding out how successful a horror film could be, quickly followed up with Frankenstein (1931). It was this production, directed by James Whale, that created the iconic Frankenstein monster and the Frankenstein filmic trope. What many people 'know' about Frankenstein actually comes from this film and its sequels not from Shelley's novel.
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
Universal wanted to produce a sequel to their monster hit, Frankenstein, and decided to follow it up with The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935. At first Whale did not want to direct the picture. However, he agreed to direct it when Universal offered him complete artistic control. It was with this freedom that Whale was able to improve on his first creation and make Bride more cinematically masterful. Critics tend to agree that Bride surpasses Frankenstein due to its artistic cinematography, development of characters and themes, and haunting humor.
FUN FRANKENWORLD FACT: When crediting Mary Shelley's novel in the opening credits, Edison's version refers to her as 'Mrs. Shelley;' Whale's Frankenstein refers to her as 'Mrs. Percy B. Shelley,' and Whale's Bride refers to her as 'Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.' Apparently it took Mary Shelley being a character in the film to get her name right.
HAMMER FILMS
Between 1957-1974, Hammer Films produced seven Frankenstein films, known as the The Hammer Frankenstein Series. The series starred Peter Cushing and focused on the creator, Baron Frankenstein, rather than on the creature.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks wrote the screenplay for Young Frankenstein. It was both a parody of and homage to the classic Universal Pictures Frankenstein films that Wilder grew up watching and loved. Young Frankenstein followed the Frankenstein filmic tropes but in a comedic fashion. With a screenplay from the comic genuis of Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, along with Mel Brooks directing the immensely talented cast of Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman, Young Frankenstein was not only a box office smash but a multiple award winning film that became a cult classic.
FUN FRANKENWORLD FACT: Young Frankenstein used the actual set pieces from the laboratory from Whale's Frankenstein films.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975)
The film, Rocky Horror Picture Show, is based on the musical play, The Rocky Horror Show, by Richard O'Brien. The narrative focuses on a mad scientist, Dr. Frank N. Furter, who makes a man, "with blonde hair and a tan," to be his partner. The film is a Rock 'n' Roll musical spoofing and paying homage to the B-movies in the sci-fi and horror genres. Richard O'Brien, who describes himself as 'gender fluid,' also wanted the film to debunk the misconceptions the general public held about the LGBTQ community. In fact, the film makes fun of the fear people have of any sexuality that is not strictly heterosexual. One of the pro-queer moments in the film (seen in the clip below) is Rocky, Frank's creation, being brought to life in a rainbow.
FRANKENWEENIE (2012)
Frankenweenie (2012), Tim Burton’s black and white, 3D stop-motion animated film, is a children’s version of the modern Frankenstein story. Though Burton created a live action version in 1984, it is his 2012 feature length film that found success. In the film, set in the present, a young boy, Victor Frankenstein, brings his beloved dog, Sparky, back to life. The film follows many of the Frankenstein tropes and even has a dead turtle named 'Shelley', which gets resurrected into a Gamera type creature.
JURASSIC PARK (1993)
Jurassic Park is the Stephen Spielberg film based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name. The narrative focuses on scientists, led by Hammond, who tamper with nature by using dinosaur and frog DNA to clone and bring back to life extinct dinosaurs. Their creations become too powerful to control and cause tragedy. (Sound familiar?) In the clip below, Dr. Ian Malcolm questions the ethics of the project.
X-MEN FIRST CLASS (2011)
One of the plot lines in X-Men First Class is the backstory of Erik Lehnsherr, known as Magneto. As a boy, Erik was in a Nazi concentration camp, and one of the Nazi officers, Sebastian Shaw (also a mutant), kills Erik's mother in front of him to encourage Erik to use his mutant powers. Shaw recreates Erik into his monstrous weapon. Like Shelley's monster, Erik is the product of how he has been treated. In the film clip below, Erik, now an adult, searches for Shaw in order to have his revenge on his 'creator.' The end of the clip validates the film being included in Frankenworld.
Though based on the comic books by Mike Mignola, these movies are clearly the projects of the horror and monster genius, Guillermo del Toro. Therefore, it is no surprise that they contain characters and themes which make them welcome additions to Frankenworld. Guillermo del Toro, is a self-proclaimed devotee of Mary Shelley and her novel, Frankenstein. In his acceptance speech at the BAFTA awards, del Toro said, "... the most important figure from English legacy is, incredibly for me, a teenager by the name of Mary Shelley. She has remained a figure important in my life as if it was family. And so many times, when I want to give up, when I think about giving up, when people tell me dreaming of the movies and stories I dream is impossible, I think of her. Because she picked up the plight of Caliban, and she gave weight to the burden of Prometheus, and she gave voice to the voiceless, and presence to the invisible, and showed me that sometimes to talk about monsters, we need to fabricate monsters of our own. And parables do that for us."
In his Hellboy films, del Toro explores the Frankenstein themes of what is means to be human and the need for outcasts to be accepted by humanity. He gives Hellboy the things that Frankenstein's creature did not have, a loving father, friends, and a romantic partner, in order to explore how differently things might have turned out for the creature or, perhaps, just to give him a bit more of a happy
Film Clips Courtesy of:
Frankenstein, Universal Pictures, 1931
Bride of Frankenstein, Universal Pictures, 1935
Young Frankenstein, 20th Century Fox, 1974
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 20th Century Fox, 1975
Frankenweenie, Walt Disney, 2012
Jurassic Park, Universal Pictures, 1993
X-Men First Class, 20th Century Fox, 2011
Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Universal Pictures, 2008
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