Frankenstein (1931)
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An obsessed scientist brings a grotesque creature to life using electricity and human parts, only to face the consequences of his creation.
The story
In a village in the Bavarian Alps, an obsessed scientist named Henry Frankenstein and his hunchbacked assistant, Fritz, work to assemble a living being from various human body parts. Henry seeks to create life through the use of electrical devices. When his former teacher shows his class the difference between a normal brain and a criminal's brain, Henry sends Fritz to steal a healthy one. However, the mission results in a compromised brain. As a massive storm approaches, Henry and Fritz prepare to activate their creation. The film explores the moral consequences of Henry's ambition as he attempts to play God by animating a grotesque, yet innocent, being.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the Bavarian Alps, Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz assemble a body from corpses to create a living being. After a complication involving the theft of a brain from a local school, they use a lightning storm to animate the creature. While the monster is initially innocent, it is chained in a dungeon after a misunderstanding. It eventually escapes, kills Fritz, and later strangles Dr. Waldman. The creature wanders the countryside, where it accidentally drowns a young girl named Maria. Meanwhile, Henry prepares for his wedding to Elizabeth Lavenza. After the monster enters Elizabeth's room and causes a scene, a local mob forms to hunt the creature. During a confrontation, the monster carries an unconscious Henry to a windmill, where he is saved by the structure's blades. The film ends with Henry's father celebrating the wedding at Castle Frankenstein.
- First release year
- 1931
- Runtime (minutes)
- 70
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- James Whale
- Writers
- Garrett Fort · screenplay; Francis Edward Faragoh · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Colin Clive · Henry Frankenstein; Boris Karloff · Frankenstein's monster; Mae Clarke; John Boles; Dwight Frye · Fritz; Edward Van Sloan; Frederick Kerr · the old Baron Frankenstein
- Genres
- horror; science fiction
- Themes
- mad science; creation of life; consequences of ambition
- Tone and mood
- horror; gothic
- Premise and plot tags
- mad scientist; monster; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre (1927 play) based on Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818 novel)
- Franchise connections
- Frankenstein
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success and was generally well received by both critics and audiences, becoming a culturally significant icon of the horror genre.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 91 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Awards and nominations
- National Film Registry · Preservation · 1991 · Selected
- Production trivia
- The character Fritz was not in the original novel.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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