“The Monster Is Loose!”
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FRANKENSTEIN – MCA/Universal – $29.99 retail
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I can still remember the first time I saw Boris Karloff’s sad, somewhat pathetic portrayal of Dr. Henry Frankenstein’s monster in James Whale’s original 1931 Frankenstein. As a kid, I didn’t much care for sports or games, so I spent countless hours on weekends transfixed by the “Creature Double Feature” monster movies which a Boston-based TV station played every Saturday. I must have been eight or nine when I first saw Frankenstein, and like every eager child, I felt both fear and empathy for that poor creature. It was shortly after my first viewing that I bought Aurora’s monster model kit of the Frankenstein monster, which was later joined by the entire Universal Monsters family on my bedroom bookshelf.
It seems appropriate, then, that MCA/Universal Home Video has inaugurated their new “Classic Monster Collection” line of DVD titles with James Whale’s seminal classic. Starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, and the incomparable Dwight Frye, Frankenstein was an amazing achievement for its time and the film that really began the whole Universal Monsters empire. Though Tod Browning’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi had been released earlier that same year to some success, it was Frankenstein’s record-breaking box-office take in December, 1931 which proved monster movies could also be money movies for the nearly-disbanded Universal Studios.
By now, it’s hard to imagine that anyone doesn’t know the basic story based on Mary Shelley’s nineteenth-century gothic novel about a scientist (Dr. Frankenstein) who hopes to play God by giving life to a creature he pieced together from various corpses. Frankenstein is a moral tale with universal (pardon the pun) appeal that also effectively taps into our fear of the great unknown -- of death and the afterlife. It also plays upon the frustrations we experience as human beings, watching someone we know and love pass on, unable to stop it or bring them back (it was the loss of Mary Shelley’s mother at an early age that greatly inspired Frankenstein).
In the 1931 and best-known film version, only a portion of Shelley’s novel is used (the other half would later be fashioned into the superb 1935 sequel The Bride of Frankenstein), and it relegates the monster to a speechless, grunting thing. Yet, there’s something more interesting in attempting to decipher what the monster is trying to communicate ... and in many ways Karloff’s expressions speak louder than words (especially during the touching scene in which he beams at the sunlight, reaching for the sky). Not surprisingly, Whale’s film would serve to influence subsequent versions for stage and screen as much as Shelley’s original work. And like most of the Universal monsters, the Karloff creature has become a cultural icon ... even the name “Frankenstein” takes on a familiar connotation.
It was sheer joy to revisit this great film in its restored version on DVD. What I had forgotten most was how economical and tight the film structure is and how cleverly Whale devised each scene to alternate chills with moments of quiet exposition. In addition to being a great director in terms of style and composition, Whale was also a great collaborator with his actors, and here just about everyone is in top-form. Karloff has often been praised for giving one of the greatest pantomime performances from beneath that cumbersome makeup, and it still holds up today. Clive hits just the right balance of intelligent scientist and obsessed creator; and character actors like Dwight Frye as Dr. Frankenstein’s faithful assistant Fritz serve not only to add color to the otherwise morbid tale, but also a bit of comic relief (a trademark of Whale’s films).
Universal has done a great job with the Frankenstein disc, and it’s got me all the more eager for their forthcoming monster titles. The 71-minute black and white feature film is presented in its full-frame (1.33:1) original aspect ratio on a dual-layered, single-sided disc with a Dolby Digital two-channel mono soundtrack. There are no layer changes during the film, which fits neatly on one layer leaving the other for all the bonus material. The picture quality is very good, with good contrast in the black and white film stock, although there are some noticeable imperfections in the source print (a few scratches and fading here and there). The one area I wish they had put a little more effort into is the soundtrack. For the most part, the audio quality of the two-channel mono is fine, but there are some scenes after the creation of the monster early in the film (which resonate with booming thunder and crackling electricity) that are too quiet, and require a significant volume boost.
In the plus column, Universal makes up for this minor quibble by packing the disc with some fascinating supplementary material, beginning with an informative feature-length running audio commentary from film historian Rudy Behlmer. Mr. Behlmer digs deep into the trivia vault for some interesting insights like the fact that film director John Huston, who was then a writer-for-hire at Universal, contributed a draft of the infamous “friendly warning” introductory scene which was tagged onto the film before its release; and explaining how Whale, Karloff, and makeup artist Jack Pierce collaborated on the monster’s now-legendary look.
There’s also a great 45-minute original documentary by author and film historian David J. Skal titled “The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster,” featuring interviews with such people as makeup artist Rick Baker, Karloff’s daughter Sarah, and film-maker Bill Condon who wrote and directed Gods and Monsters , the film about James Whale; complete cast and film-maker biographies and filmographies; the theatrical trailer for the 1951 re-release; production notes on the making of the film; an archive of production and publicity photos, including various poster artwork; and an odd nine-minute short titled “Boo!” which contains clips from Nosferatu, The Cat and the Canary, and Frankenstein, all edited to an annoying narration track that’s supposed to be funny (I don’t really know what the intention of this short film is, other than to poke fun at some of Universal’s own films).
Overall, the disc is a winner, especially at a reasonable retail price of $29.99 (which means savvy internet shoppers can find it for about $20 online). Future titles in the series will include Dracula, The Bride of Frankenstein, and The Mummy, and if Frankenstein is any indication, all you horror fans out there (like me) are in for a fright-filled fall ... or to quote Karloff’s most famous incarnation: “Aaargh!”
Digital Domain Menu
