The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
22 Apr 1935 ● English ● 1 hr 15 mins
In this sequel to Frankenstein (1931), which begins exactly where the first movie left off, Mary Shelley, author of "Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus," reveals to Percy Shelley and Lord Byron that Henry Frankenstein and his Monster did not die. Both lived, and went on to even stranger misadventures than before.
As the new story begins, Henry wants nothing more than to settle into a peaceful life with his new bride. But his old professor, the sinister Dr. Pretorius, now disgraced, appears unexpectedly. Eventually, he and the Monster blackmail him into continuing his work. The Monster wants his creator to build him a mate, and Pretorius wants to see dead tissue become a living woman. Henry is forced to give his creature a bride. What will be the result of their experiment? Will the creature except to be the Monster's bride?
Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Valerie Hobson
Crew: James Whale (Director), John J Mescall (Director of Photography), Franz Waxman (Music Director)
Release Dates: 22 Apr 1935 (India)
Tagline: Created in a weird scientist's laboratory... from the skeletons of two women and the heart of a living girl!
Did you know? Due to his overwhelming fame as a "thriller" actor, Boris Karloff was billed simply as "Karloff" - no first name needed. Read More
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as The Monster
as Henry Frankenstein
as The Monster's Bride
as Elizabeth
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actress
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor
Direction
Director
Writers
Screenplay Writer
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Music
Music Director
Art
Art Director
Editorial
Editor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.37:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
Created in a weird scientist's laboratory... from the skeletons of two women and the heart of a living girl!
The Monster Talks and Demands A Mate!
A Mate... For The Monster!
The Monster Thriller
A BRIDE FOR THE MONSTER COMES TO LIFE IN A SCIENTIST'S LABORATORY! (original print ad - all caps)
She breathes, sees, hears, walks -- but can she love?
WARNING! Not for the young, the scarey, the nervous, BUT if you enjoy thrills, chills and spine-tingling sensation, while your hair stands on end -- SEE "The Bride of Frankenstein."
Warning! The Monster demands a Mate!
I Demand A Mate!
Coming! Universal's Shiveriest Sensation!
WHO will be The Bride of Frankenstein WHO will dare?
The Monster Talks and Demands A Mate!
A Mate... For The Monster!
The Monster Thriller
A BRIDE FOR THE MONSTER COMES TO LIFE IN A SCIENTIST'S LABORATORY! (original print ad - all caps)
She breathes, sees, hears, walks -- but can she love?
WARNING! Not for the young, the scarey, the nervous, BUT if you enjoy thrills, chills and spine-tingling sensation, while your hair stands on end -- SEE "The Bride of Frankenstein."
Warning! The Monster demands a Mate!
I Demand A Mate!
Coming! Universal's Shiveriest Sensation!
WHO will be The Bride of Frankenstein WHO will dare?
Filming Locations:
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
When Elizabeth is talking to Henry on the telephone, you can see her hand slip out of the ropes that have her tied up, then slip back inside the ropes again.
Revealing Mistakes
When the monster is being chased by the mob, (before they can catch him), he rolls a heavy boulder off a cliff, on them. The boulder is bumped by one of the villagers, and moves easily, showing it to be probably nothing more than a large ball of papier-mâché.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Pretorius states, "Nothing that is, except what He demands" as he approaches Frankenstein after warning everyone to say nothing, his mouth does not move.
Revealing Mistakes
When the blind hermit plays the violin he does not move his fingers when the notes are changing.
Continuity
This film is a direct continuation of Frankenstein, 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.)
Continuity
While the Monster is trying to keep the shepherd girl from screaming, his hand is alternately on/off her mouth between shots.
Continuity
As the blind man prays over the monster, he clutches the monster's hand in his own and holds it to his heart. In the wide shots, the tangle of hands is near the top of the man's chest, right under his chin. In the close-ups of the man praying, there are no hands visible.
Continuity
When Henry and Dr. Pretorius exit the carriage, Henry is carrying a walking stick. A moment later, as they climb the outside stairs, the walking stick is gone.
Continuity
In the prologue explaining what happened in the first Frankenstein, a man is shown in close-up being strangled by the monster; however, the monster's sleeves are torn and his arms already burned by the windmill fire. Clearly this close-up was newly filmed and inserted as if from the 1931 movie.
Continuity
When Henry visits Dr. Pretorius, Pretorius shows Henry his menagerie of homunculi. Pretorius says, "I have to keep my eye on the King." He then covers both King and Queen's glass jars with a dark cloth sheath. But after panning to the Arch Bishop's glass jar, the King and Queen are inexplicably uncovered again, whereupon the King climbs out of his jar and onto the table.
When Elizabeth is talking to Henry on the telephone, you can see her hand slip out of the ropes that have her tied up, then slip back inside the ropes again.
Revealing Mistakes
When the monster is being chased by the mob, (before they can catch him), he rolls a heavy boulder off a cliff, on them. The boulder is bumped by one of the villagers, and moves easily, showing it to be probably nothing more than a large ball of papier-mâché.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Pretorius states, "Nothing that is, except what He demands" as he approaches Frankenstein after warning everyone to say nothing, his mouth does not move.
Revealing Mistakes
When the blind hermit plays the violin he does not move his fingers when the notes are changing.
Continuity
This film is a direct continuation of Frankenstein, 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.)
Continuity
While the Monster is trying to keep the shepherd girl from screaming, his hand is alternately on/off her mouth between shots.
Continuity
As the blind man prays over the monster, he clutches the monster's hand in his own and holds it to his heart. In the wide shots, the tangle of hands is near the top of the man's chest, right under his chin. In the close-ups of the man praying, there are no hands visible.
Continuity
When Henry and Dr. Pretorius exit the carriage, Henry is carrying a walking stick. A moment later, as they climb the outside stairs, the walking stick is gone.
Continuity
In the prologue explaining what happened in the first Frankenstein, a man is shown in close-up being strangled by the monster; however, the monster's sleeves are torn and his arms already burned by the windmill fire. Clearly this close-up was newly filmed and inserted as if from the 1931 movie.
Continuity
When Henry visits Dr. Pretorius, Pretorius shows Henry his menagerie of homunculi. Pretorius says, "I have to keep my eye on the King." He then covers both King and Queen's glass jars with a dark cloth sheath. But after panning to the Arch Bishop's glass jar, the King and Queen are inexplicably uncovered again, whereupon the King climbs out of his jar and onto the table.
Trivia:
The Monster, Boris Karloff sweated off 20 pounds laboring in the hot costume and makeup.
When filming the scene where the monster emerges from the burnt windmill, Boris Karloff slipped and fell into the water-filled well. Upon being helped out, it was discovered that he had dislocated a hip in the fall. The hip was strapped into place and Karloff soldiered on. He continued to receive massage and heat treatments for the hip for the rest of the shooting of the film.
Elsa Lanchester said that her spitting, hissing performance was inspired by the swans in Regent's Park, London. "They're really very nasty creatures," she said.
Boris Karloff protested against the decision to make The Monster speak, but was overruled. Since he was required to speak in this film, Karloff was not able to remove his partial bridgework as he had done to help give the Monster his sunken cheek appearance in the first Frankenstein (1931). That's why The Monster appears fuller of face in the sequel.
Though virtually all of Billy Barty's scenes (as the little baby in the bottle) were deleted, he can still be briefly glimpsed in a wide shot of all the bottles on Dr. Pretorius's table (as well as in still photographs).
Elsa Lanchester was not the only person to have a dual role in this film. In addition to her role as Minnie, Una O'Connor also appeared in the prologue, as Shelley's maid who is holding the leash as the dogs go off screen.
Elsa Lanchester never receives on screen credit as "The Bride". The character is listed as being played by "?".
Due to his overwhelming fame as a "thriller" actor, Boris Karloff was billed simply as "Karloff" - no first name needed.
Not long before filming began, Colin Clive broke a leg in a horse riding accident. Consequently, most of Henry Frankenstein's scenes were shot with him sitting.
Director James Whale originally did not want to do a sequel to Frankenstein (1931). For a time, Universal considered producing a sequel without Whale's involvement. One possible story included an educated monster continuing Henry's research, while another chronicled Henry's creation of a death ray on the eve of a world war. However, after 4 years of badgering by Universal, Whale agreed to do the film.
Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the girl The Monster accidentally kills in the original Frankenstein (1931), appears uncredited as another young girl. She is the leader of the group of young schoolgirls who encounter the Monster as he runs away from the blind man's burning house. Director James Whale deliberately gave her a one-word line ("Look!"), so she would be paid more by the studio as an actor with a speaking role, instead of as an extra.
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).
Jack P. Pierce altered the make-up of Frankenstein's monster from this film's predecessor to reflect that he had survived the mill fire at the end of Frankenstein (1931) with some flesh burns and with much of his hair singed off.
The story of this sequel is rooted in a subplot of the original Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein (1818).
When filming the scene where the monster emerges from the burnt windmill, Boris Karloff slipped and fell into the water-filled well. Upon being helped out, it was discovered that he had dislocated a hip in the fall. The hip was strapped into place and Karloff soldiered on. He continued to receive massage and heat treatments for the hip for the rest of the shooting of the film.
Elsa Lanchester said that her spitting, hissing performance was inspired by the swans in Regent's Park, London. "They're really very nasty creatures," she said.
Boris Karloff protested against the decision to make The Monster speak, but was overruled. Since he was required to speak in this film, Karloff was not able to remove his partial bridgework as he had done to help give the Monster his sunken cheek appearance in the first Frankenstein (1931). That's why The Monster appears fuller of face in the sequel.
Though virtually all of Billy Barty's scenes (as the little baby in the bottle) were deleted, he can still be briefly glimpsed in a wide shot of all the bottles on Dr. Pretorius's table (as well as in still photographs).
Elsa Lanchester was not the only person to have a dual role in this film. In addition to her role as Minnie, Una O'Connor also appeared in the prologue, as Shelley's maid who is holding the leash as the dogs go off screen.
Elsa Lanchester never receives on screen credit as "The Bride". The character is listed as being played by "?".
Due to his overwhelming fame as a "thriller" actor, Boris Karloff was billed simply as "Karloff" - no first name needed.
Not long before filming began, Colin Clive broke a leg in a horse riding accident. Consequently, most of Henry Frankenstein's scenes were shot with him sitting.
Director James Whale originally did not want to do a sequel to Frankenstein (1931). For a time, Universal considered producing a sequel without Whale's involvement. One possible story included an educated monster continuing Henry's research, while another chronicled Henry's creation of a death ray on the eve of a world war. However, after 4 years of badgering by Universal, Whale agreed to do the film.
Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the girl The Monster accidentally kills in the original Frankenstein (1931), appears uncredited as another young girl. She is the leader of the group of young schoolgirls who encounter the Monster as he runs away from the blind man's burning house. Director James Whale deliberately gave her a one-word line ("Look!"), so she would be paid more by the studio as an actor with a speaking role, instead of as an extra.
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).
Jack P. Pierce altered the make-up of Frankenstein's monster from this film's predecessor to reflect that he had survived the mill fire at the end of Frankenstein (1931) with some flesh burns and with much of his hair singed off.
The story of this sequel is rooted in a subplot of the original Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein (1818).
