Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

William Hurlbut (adaptation) and
John L. Balderston (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

WHO will be The Bride of Frakenstein WHO will dare ?

Plot:

Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (goaded by an even madder scientist) builds his monster a mate.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Mad Scientist | Experiment | Miniature People | Crypt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	The Monster (as Karloff)
Colin Clive	...	Henry Frankenstein
Valerie Hobson	...	Elizabeth
Ernest Thesiger	...	Doctor Pretorius
Elsa Lanchester	...	Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Gavin Gordon	...	Lord Byron
Douglas Walton	...	Percy Bysshe Shelley
Una O'Connor	...	Minnie
E.E. Clive	...	Burgomaster
Lucien Prival	...	Butler
O.P. Heggie	...	Hermit
Dwight Frye	...	Karl
Reginald Barlow	...	Hans
Mary Gordon	...	Hans' Wife
Anne Darling	...	Shepherdess (as Ann Darling)
Ted Billings	...	Ludwig
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adair	...	A Hunter (uncredited)
Norman Ainsley	...	Little Archbishop (uncredited)
Billy Barty	...	Little Baby (uncredited)
Frank Benson	...	Villager (uncredited)
Maurice Black	...	Gypsy (uncredited)
Walter Brennan	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Mae Bruce	...	Villager (uncredited)
A.S. 'Pop' Byron	...	Little King (uncredited)
John Carradine	...	Hunter at Hermit's Cottage (uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Procession Leader (uncredited)
Grace Cunard	...	Villager (uncredited)
Jack Curtis	...	A Hunter (uncredited)
J. Gunnis Davis	...	Uncle Glutz (uncredited)
Kansas DeForrest	...	Little Ballerina (uncredited)
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Gypsy's Mother (uncredited)
Helen Jerome Eddy	...	Gypsy's Wife (uncredited)
Neil Fitzgerald	...	Rudy (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler	...	A Mother (uncredited)
John George	...	Villager (uncredited)
Helen Gibson	...	Villager (uncredited)
Marilyn Harris	...	Girl (uncredited)
Rollo Lloyd	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Josephine McKim	...	Little Mermaid (uncredited)
Torben Meyer	...	Man Being Strangled By the Monster in Flashback During Prologue (uncredited)
Edwin Mordant	...	The Coroner (uncredited)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Villager (uncredited)
Tempe Pigott	...	Auntie Glutz (uncredited)
Sarah Schwartz	...	Marta (uncredited)
Peter Shaw	...	Little Devil (uncredited)
Mary Stewart	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Frank Terry	...	A Hunter (uncredited)
Anders Van Haden	...	Villager (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Maid (uncredited)
Lucio Villegas	...	Priest (uncredited)
Joan Woodbury	...	Little Queen (uncredited)

Directed by
James Whale

Writing credits
William Hurlbut		(adaptation) and
John L. Balderston		(adaptation) (as John Balderston)
William Hurlbut		screenplay &
Mary Shelley		novel "Frankenstein"
Josef Berne		adaptation (uncredited)
Lawrence G. Blochman		adaptation (uncredited)
Morton Covan		adaptation (uncredited)
Robert Florey		story (uncredited)
Philip MacDonald		adaptation (uncredited)
Edmund Pearson		screenplay (uncredited)
Tom Reed		contributing writer (uncredited)
R.C. Sherriff		adaptation (uncredited)

Produced by
Carl Laemmle Jr.	....	produced by
James Whale	....	producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman		(musical score)

Cinematography by
John J. Mescall		(photographer)

Film Editing by
Ted J. Kent		(film editor) (as Ted Kent)

Art Direction by
Charles D. Hall

Makeup Department
Irma Kusely	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Otto Lederer	....	makeup associate (uncredited)
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Harry Mancke	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Joseph A. McDonough	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
William Hedgcock	....	sound technician (uncredited)
Gilbert Kurland	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	photographic effects
David S. Horsley	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)
Ken Strickfaden	....	special electrical properties (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Dodds	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Alan Jones	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Maurice Pivar	....	supervising film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	orchestra conductor (as Bakaleinikoff)
Clifford Vaughan	....	orchestrator: musical score (uncredited)
Oliver Wallace	....	musician: organ (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presents
Carl Laemmle	....	president: Universal Pictures Corp.
Flo Brummel	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Buddy Daggett	....	secretary: Carl Laemmle Jr. (uncredited)
Monte Montague	....	double: Ernest Thesiger (uncredited)
Peter Shaw	....	double: Ernest Thesiger (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1935) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Realart Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal (1935) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Net5 (2004) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Universal Orchestra  orchestra
• Universal Scoring Stage  orchestra

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Lives Again! (USA) (working title)
The Bride of Frankenstein (USA) (poster title)
The Return of Frankenstein (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:H (re-rating: 1943) | UK:PG (video rating: 1989) | UK:X (re-rating: 1956) | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Norway:16 (1986) | USA:PG (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 (1976) | Germany:12 (video rating: 2000) | USA:Approved (PCA #768)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The tiny mermaid in Dr. Pretorius' bottle was Josephine McKim, a member of the 1924 and 1928 U.S. Women's Olympic Swim Teams and one of the four members of that team to win the 1928 gold medal in the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay. McKim was also Maureen O'Sullivan's body double in the infamous nude swimming scene of the previous year's Tarzan and His Mate (1934).

Goofs:

Continuity: The film is a direct continuation of Frankenstein (1931), yet in that first film, Maria's father is named Ludwig. In this film he is named Hans and is played by a different actor. (This wouldn't be an issue if the actor who played Ludwig wasn't clearly shown in the recap of the first film.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lord Byron: Prologue
[looking out the window at a thunderstorm]
Lord Byron: How beautifully dramatic! The cruelest savage exhibition of nature at her worst without.
[turns to face Mary and Percy Shelley, both seated]
Lord Byron: And we three. We elegant three within. I should like to think that an irate Jehovah was pointing those arrows of lightning directly at my head. The unbowed head of George Gordon, Lord Byron. England's greatest sinner. But I cannot flatter myself to that extent. Possibly those thunders are for our dear Shelley. Heavens applause for England's greatest poet.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Wonder Years: Alice in Autoland (#6.12)" (1993)

Welcome to Whale's mind...

Forget 'The Godfather II'. Forget 'The Empire Strikes Back'. This is THE greatest example of a sequel surpassing the original. Coming four years after the original 'frankenstein' in 1931, James Whale was originally reluctant to make a sequal but changed his mind after being allowed to make the film more on his own terms. No other director has ever managed to blend horror, comedy and pathos as successfully Whale. The film features some of the most memorable scenes in cinema history notably the monster's encounter with a lonely hermit and the introduction of 'The Bride'. The film has it all: superb casting, tremendous sets and make up, memorable dialogue ("To a new world of Gods and monsters") and a brilliant score by Franz Waxman. Boris Karloff must surely be one of the greatest actors to ever appear on film. He manages to improve on his characterisation of the Monster, due mainly to the addition of dialogue ("Friends, good!"), and, unlike in the first movie, actually makes us feel sorry for the Monster. Colin Clive returns as the reluctant Doctor F, Una O'Connor makes a wonderful addition as the twittering and hysterical Minnie, but it is Ernest Thesiger who steals the film with his hillarious performance ("Have a cigar. They are my only weakness") as the sinister Dr. Pretorious. Although Elsa Lanchester appears as the Bride for only about 2 minutes at the film's finale, it will be the role for which she is forever associated. The film is regarded as the high point of the Universal horror series and stands as a testament to the genius of James Whale.