FRANKENSTEIN the title character in Mary
Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel Frankenstein,
the prototypical "mad scientist" who creates a monster by which he
is eventually killed. The name Frankenstein has become popularly attached to
the creature itself, who has become the best-known monster in the history of
motion pictures. Shelley's novel, Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus
(1818), is a combination of Gothic horror story and science fiction. The book
tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss student of natural science who
creates an artificial man from pieces of corpses and brings his creature to
life. Though it initially seeks affection, the monster inspires loathing in
everyone who meets it. Lonely and miserable, the monster turns upon its
creator, who eventually loses his life. The first Frankenstein film was
produced by Thomas Edison in 1910. Two German films, The Golem (1914) and
Homunculus (1916), dealt with a similar theme derived from Jewish folklore.
The Hollywood film Frankenstein (1931), with Boris
Karloff as the monster, was based as much on The Golem as on
Shelley's novel. This film was a great success and was followed by dozens of
variations on the Frankenstein story in films such as Bride of Frankenstein
(1935) and Frankenstein Conquers the World (1969), a Japanese-made version.
The character of the monster has also been used as a vehicle for easy humor--as
in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and Mel Brook's Young
Frankenstein (1974).
[FRANKENSTEIN]
 
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