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Frankenstein
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Frankenstein (1931) More at IMDbPro »

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Frankenstein (1931) -- Horror classic in which an obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
James Whale
Writers:
Mary Shelley (novel)
Peggy Webling (play)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Frankenstein on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
21 November 1931 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Tagline:
A Monster Science Created - But Could Not Destroy! more
Plot:
Horror classic in which an obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(39 articles)
Portland’s Rooftop Cinema Summer Schedule
 (From Scorecard Review. 9 July 2009, 12:17 PM, PDT)

Doug Jones Talks Frankenstein, The Hobbit, & Hellboy 3
 (From Screen Rant. 24 June 2009, 11:18 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
The ultimate Universal monster classic more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
71 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (cinema version) (cut) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (video rating) (2002) | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Canada:(Banned) (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Norway:16 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
John Carradine turned down the part of the Monster because he considered himself too highly trained to be reduced to playing monsters. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The monster's coat and shirt are pulled over his chest for Dr. Waldman to perform a dissection. In the next scene, as the monster is coming down the stairs, having just killed Waldman, we see that he has neatly tucked in his shirt and buttoned his coat, just as any newly-created-from-corpses, tortured, simple-minded monster would do. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Dr. Henry Frankenstein: Down! Down, you fool!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "South Park: Imaginationland: Episode II (#11.11)" (2007) more

FAQ

How many Universal Studios "Frankenstein" sequels followed this movie?
Where was Ygor?
When is it acceptable to call Frankenstein's monster "Frankenstein"?
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33 out of 45 people found the following comment useful:-
The ultimate Universal monster classic, 17 January 2003
10/10
Author: Mika Pykäläaho (bygis80@hotmail.com) from Järvenpää, Finland

When I watched James Whale's "Frankenstein" last night I tried to look it through the unaware eyes of an innocent 1931 audience. Unfortunately I failed. No matter how I try, this film still has absolutely nothing horrifying in it. Nevertheless when I watched the great DVD documentary I finally understood why moviegoers of the early 30's found "Frankenstein" frightening. No one had actually ever seen anything like it before in the motion picture. What we think is funny scared the crap out of people who saw it when it was originally released. It's just so bloody hard to realize it nowadays when we've pretty much seen it all when it comes to movie violence and horror. Knowing how corny and funny this film looks that ridiculous pre-credits warning is absolutely hilarious.

Once again, the fact that the film does not make us shiver doesn't make it a bad movie. It allows the modern audience to enjoy the film in another way. Colin Clive is terrific as Dr. Henry Frankenstein. When he shouts hysterically "It's alive! It's alive!" we are witnessing one of the greatest moments of horror film history ever. Boris Karloff is phenomenal as the creature. Although he may not be scary he's performance is stylish and touching and his make-up is soooooo cool. Supporting roles are good too, Edward Van Sloan and especially Dwight Frye (Van Helsing and Renfield from the 1931 adaptation of "Dracula") are brilliant. "Frankenstein" has to be the ultimate monster classic of the Universal studios. When we think about the concept of "classic movie monster", the image of Boris Karloff's creature of Frankenstein is the image 95% of us has first. It is the most recognized and beloved monster of them all.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Frankenstein (1931)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Sequel goofs. ( SPOILERS) keithbryantm
Better Than Bride of Frankenstein GoneNuclear
Novel adaptation to film the_killer_girl
SPOILER: The Brain... paul-tait
Ted Danson born to play this role! padfoot7726
Quote Help yodoods1
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Recommendations

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