Frankenstein

Frankenstein is a 20th Century film directed by James Whale made in 1931. The screenplay has been adapted from the play by Peggy Webling and the original novel by Mary Shelley. There are elements of the film, such as the bolts in the Monster's neck, that were thought of by Universal Pictures. Things had been changed from the novel and the play to fit in the film. The film is short at 71 minutes long, but in 1931 this would've been a feature length film compared to the 90 minute films we see now. Frankenstein is a classic horror film that has recently celebrated it's 75th Anniversary, making it one of the world's most loved classic horror films.

Sound had only recently been introduced into films in 1927, and Frankenstein would've been one of the first horror films to featured sound.

At the beginning of the film there is an advanced 'friendly' warning by Edward Van Sloan, an American film actor who was best known for his roles in Universal horror's.

'We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation – life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even – horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance to – uh, well, we warned you.' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(1931_film)


The presentation is very calm and clearly explains what the audience is going to see, until Van Sloan tells you that the film might even horrify you. This would've uneased the audience and prepared them for a fright. Whilst giving this warning, Van Sloan is placed in front of a curtain, like he is about to start a play. This may been adapted from the play of Frankenstein. 

We then see the titles to the film, they show the name of the Producer (Carl Laemmle Jr.) and who the film was distributed by (Universal Pictures). The background of the titles is a man looking evil, with clawed hands and an odd light shining from his eyes. The title Frankenstein isn't in a scary font, it is quite normal. Typically you would expect the title to have the classic dripping effect so it looks like blood, but in this case it is rather normal and safe. The next section to the titles shows the crew which includes the sound crew. Sound was very important in this film, as sound had only been introduced into films in 1929. We then see a list of the actors involved in the film. All the characters have the name of their actor next to them apart from the Monster. The name of the actor is left with a '?' to leave an enigma for the audience. 


As you expect, the film is completely in black and white, which helps in some scenes of the film as you can see the high and low contrast shots, and it easily shows the lighting, which helps to set the mood of the scene. The sound is also very crackly, which is expected as sound had only just been put into films and microphones weren't that great.  

The mise en scene at the beginning of the film shows a graveyard. Obviously this is a creepy location and somewhere that is quite typical of a horror film. Panning is used quite a lot in the scene, as being able to move with the camera was new for the crew, as camera's were heavy and hard to move around. Being able to pan made it easier for them to make the scene flow better and look smoother. On this graveyard scene there is a fading transition that makes a smoother cut from one part of the scene to the other, this fade isn't used much in the film which is a shame, as I found that going to a blackout after each scene was choppy and made the film hard to follow at times. The sound effects in this scene sounded very fake. Every time the coffin moved, it would make the same creak as the time before. Hearing 'We must find another brain,' leaves an enigma with the audience, making them wondering about why they need a brain, and what is going to happen later in the film. Shadows play a very big part of this film, as they give you little bits of detail that you wouldn't usually see. Shadows are something that are seen everyday, but Frankenstein uses shadows in a way that confuses the mind, whilst making it hard to see behind the shadow. 


After the black out from the graveyard we change location to the House of Frankenstein. Here we are met with another narrative, as well as the Monster plot, of the romance between Henry Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza, Henry's fiance. We see a pivotal change in Frankenstein here when he decides to drop out of University. Henry had been studying science and had embarked on an experiment to piece a human body back together and bring it back to life using various electrical devices he invented. When he drops out of University we see a psychological change that sees him wanting to focus more on his 'experiment' than his fiance and University. In the House of Frankenstein, depending on where the camera is, the volume of the sound changes. The further away the actors from the camera the quieter the sound became. Again this probably comes from the fact that microphones wouldn't have been on a rod where it can be moved close to the actors involved. 

We then cut to another blackout and rejoin Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz at Henry's lab. We can see from the mise on scene that this is a place where evil is going to happen. The walls are brick which gives a cold feeling + we can also hear thunder and see lightning which adds to the effect. There is then a close up of the brain and Frankenstein, where he almost looks amazed and mesmerised by it. The film almost sounds to start like a Sci-Fi film, as weird noises start when Frankenstein turns on the machine. Again there is another pan upwards to show the crooked lab and the rest of the building. Frankenstein shouts 'Don't touch that!' to Fritz and as he says that you hear a clap of thunder and this coincides with Frankenstein's anger. We hear Frankenstein mention that he used to cut up dead animals and human hearts. Once keeping a human heart beating for 3 weeks, and this shows his admiration and obsession about his work. This is demonstrated by using many close ups. Once the machine starts up the ambiance in the room changes, everything gets a lot darker and you see a long shot of the body on a slab. Frankenstein takes off the sheet to reveal the monster tied up in straps and buckles. Straps and buckles that give a resemblance of a patient being taken away to a psychiatric ward. There is then what seems to be a pan of the body being lifted up towards the ceiling, here we have an enigma as we don't know where the body is going. As this is happening, there are shots of the electrical equipment being shown and more claps of thunder and lightning. The body is then brought back down and we see a close up of a quivering hand from the monster. Frankenstein then shouts, 'It's alive! It's alive! In the name of God! Now I know what it's like to be God!' This part of the film was cut in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts for being blasphemous. This censored part was not fully restored until 1999.
In the next part of this scene, Dr. Waldman, Frankenstein's old medical professor, tells him that the brain he stole from the University is evil and no good will come of it. Frankenstein then ventures upstairs to bring the monster into the light. This is a pivotal moment in the film as we see Frankenstein's Monster for the first time. 

When the monster first walks out it is very dark and he is walking backwards, this would've kept the audience of the edge of their seats. After walking backwards a little we cut to a close up of the band of his head where he very slowly (again keeping the suspense) turns around. This would've been a moment of terror in the 1930s. They then use two further close ups that are zoomed in more to give emphasis on his face. When the monster revealed himself you would've expected him to have made a sound of maybe grunting or shouting. Instead the actor is silent, this would've added to the eeriness and the suspense of what he is going to do next. This silence prepares you for an unexpected loud noise or for something that will scare you. The Monster then comes forward looking almost like a sad, confused child that is very scared. Fire is waved around at him and this scares him, so therefore he uses fighting to defend himself. The Monster is then drugged, tied up and dragged away into his cell where Fritz goes to him. The monster is then whipped with chains by Fritz.


There is then darkness, and in this darkness all you can hear is bangs and smashes. This keeps the audience enticed and afraid of what is happening. There is then a scream which opens up the next scene, this scream sounds like torture. The door is then opened to the monster's cell, and if you look closely behind you can see the body and shadow of Fritz hanging from the ceiling. This shadow reiterates the point I made before about the film being partly based on shadows. The Monster makes some weird moaning noises that make him sound very angry. When Frankenstein and Dr Waldman go back into the Monster's cell, we see that the body has disappeared. This may not have been done intentionally, the body may have just been out of shot, but it looks like the body has disappeared. 


Dr Waldman then carries out an examination of the monster for Frankenstein who has been taken home by Elizabeth and his father Baron Frankenstein. There are many panning shots of the surgical equipment that is going to be used for the examination of the monster. Unknowing to Waldman the Monster has started to wake up. They used close ups of his face to show his eyes blinking, and then a long shot where you can see both the monster and Waldman. The Monster's arm then slowly creeps up behind Waldman when he then strangles him. This then fades into Frankenstein walking down the lab stairs and outside where he is free to roam.


This then fades into the day of Henry and Elizabeth's wedding. The opening shot of the scene is then zoomed out to show the bridal party. Most of this film is made up of stationary shots because of how large the cameras were back in the 1930s. The biggest part of movement we see with the camera is the next shot of the town. The camera may have been placed on a track to shoot this, as it looks like the camera has been placed on the back of a car to show all the people who have come out in celebration for the wedding. 

This then cuts to a house out in the country. A little girl is left on her own, and the Monster comes out of the bushes towards the girl. The mise en scene here also shows the girls innocence as she is wearing pale colours whilst he is wearing blacks and greys. The girl gives him some flowers and they throw the flowers into the lake making them float like a boat. The Monster then runs out of flowers and throws the girl into the lake, where she drowns. 


We then cut back to the wedding, where Elizabeth has a bad feeling because Dr Waldman isn't back in time for the wedding. She mentions to Frankenstein that, 'Something is coming between us,' not knowing that the Monster has escaped. There is then a mention that the Monster has escaped and Frankenstein locks Elizabeth in her room for safety, little does he know that when he is checking the house, the Monster is in the room with Elizabeth. Again when they are searching for the Monster, they cleverly change the volume of the bangs and noises that they keep hearing. 

 

We then see the Monster lurking in the shadows behind Elizabeth, she screams and everyone runs to her. There is then a series of crashes and bangs and just as Frankenstein opens the door we see the curtains moving where the Monster has escaped. Frankenstein then says that he will destroy the Monster for what he has done to Elizabeth. In this sense love has beaten the Monster has Frankenstein doesn't care about his experiment anymore, all he cares about is his fiance.

The next shot is then of the Father of the dead girl walking through the town with the girl's body in his arms. The town is in disgust as the Father shouts that his daughter has been murdered. They go to the House of Frankenstein to tell of this tragedy and to tell him that they must fight the Monster. All the men in the town search for the Monster, they go up the mountains towards Frankenstein's lab, where the lighting gets darker and darker the closer they get. This dim lit, shadowy location sets the scene for a terrifying ordeal. Frankenstein then wanders off from the rest of the men, ad is left on his own. Out from behind a stone the Monster pops out, this would've scared the audience as it was unexpected. 

There is then a fight between Frankenstein and his Monster, where there is minimal camera movement, but it follows the action. Frankenstein is then knocked out, and the Monster drags his body up to the lab which is disguised as a windmill. The men hear the fighting and follow the Monster to the windmill. There are shadows of the men with weapons as they walk, and they get bigger as they get closer to the windmill, making them look more intimidating. Frankenstein then wakes up and fights again with the Monster. During the fight, they both end up on the top of the mill and the Monster throws Frankenstein off the side where he lands on a sail and then to the floor. For a film that doesn't have the SFX and technical advantages that we have today, the fall looks pretty realistic. The men at the bottom then set fire to the windmill with the Monster still inside. This would've been expensive to do as fire is a Special Effect that would've been hard to get right in the 1930s. The Monster starts to panic, and a wooden beam from the building falls onto him. It then cuts to a long shot of the outside of the building and the men chanting as the windmill falls to ruins, we then fade out to a short scene showing Baron Frankenstein, his son and Elizabeth and their servants enjoying a drink. We do not actually know if the Monster escaped or died. 

The film then finishes, and moves onto the credits, again showing the cast. This time though at the beginning of the credits it says, 'A Good Cast is Worth Repeating,' something which Universal was very well known for, as it was cheaper to use the same cast in every film. There was also a difference in the Monster's name as it now said, 'Frankenstein's Monster.....Boris Karloff,' rather than the '?' used before.


Frankenstein represents people differently depending on what their character is, and what social group they are in. For example they represent the Monster as an evil creature with no heart, something that is terrifying and something to be feared. This is stereotypical of what a Monster should be like, the audience would've been expecting the Monster to look terrifying, and by doing this the producers met the audience's demands. The representation of social groups is also well thought out. The House of Frankenstein for example is ornately decorated, they have servants, and they are very well dressed. Whereas the people who live in the town are represented to the target audience through where they live, in this case in small dirty looking town houses, and the clothes they wear. The town people tend to wear shabby looking clothes and look dirty. You can see a vast difference in the representation of locations, as if you look at the House of Frankenstein and Henry Frankenstein's lab the lighting and placement of everything is strategically done to make the set look as it should be. For example Henry Frankenstein's lab is dimly lit, being lit by fire most of the time, giving it a mysterious look and making part of it look creepy, again this is what the audience would've been expecting. When the Monster is being whipped, it is quite a disturbing scene tat is rather uncomfortable to watch. In the 1930s this might've been acceptable, but this scene was cut in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts until 1986 when they we re-instated back into the film. This violence and the violence when the people of the town go to find and fight the Monster could'e had a negative effect on people as it might have lead to copycat violence. Elizabeth comes across as a good role model in the film, acting as a caring, loving fiance that always looks after Henry. This would've represented the women of the time, as they were expected to look after the men all of the time. 


Universal Pictures is global company that was founded by Carl Laemmle in 1912. This American company holds many studios where films were produced, and Frankenstein was one of them. Universal didn't have a niche market at the time, but it was known for its Horror films. Frankenstein was actually produced by Laemmle's son, Carl Laemmle Jr. hence why they used Universal to shoot in and distribute the film. 

Frankenstein was distributed by Universal being released on the 4th December 1931. The film made around $53,000 a week after it's release. The budget for the film was $291,000 and in the USA, it has made a gross of $12,000,000. Promotional materials would've included posters, as you can see at the side, radio adverts, and it would also have been passed by word of mouth. There would've been no TV commercials as America didn't have TVs until 1941. These adverts would've been nationwide across America, and then branching off into Europe. Obviously the internet wasn't invented then so message about Frankenstein wouldn't have been spread virally. Frankenstein has now been released on DVD, and been available internationally, making it one of the greatest and classic horror films of all time. Frankenstein recently celebrated it's 75th anniversary and has entered it's way into Universal's Legacy Series. 




Universal Pictures Corporation holds the copyright for Frankenstein, and has done since the 16th November 1931. The original musical score was composed by Bernhard Kaun, with help from fellow composer Guiseppe Becce. They were uncredited in the film, but would've had performing rights, and would've earned royalties from the film. The actors and crew would also earn royalties from the film, as that is how they would be paid. If someone were to download the original musical score the royalties would now go to Universal Pictures. Frankenstein did not breach any laws or legal restrictions, it kept inside the boundaries. Apart from the film being banned from 3 states for nearly 50 years, the parts of the scene that would be censored were seen as blasphemous, and offensive to the audience. Especially the scene with the child, this was cut soon after the original release after a negative response from the audience. The BBFC gave Frankenstein a certificate of A when it was first released, and cuts had to be made. When the film was issued on video in 2002 it gained a PG rating.