Frankenstein is a 20th century film that was directed by James Whale in 1931. It was adapted from the play by Peggy Webling and the original novel by Mary Shelley. Universal pictures made the movie their own by adding elements into the film, these are things like the bolts in the side of the monsters neck, There are things that had to be changed from the novel for the movie. The film is just over 70 minutes long, this would have been seen as normal but when we compare that to the average modern movie at 90 minutes long we can see that it is actually significantly shorter. Frankenstein has lived on since it was released in 1931, Children still dress up as frankenstein for halloween today, this is very impressive as it has just celebrated its 75th anniversary.
In the film industry, sound had only been introduced to pictures for a couple of years when frankenstein came out, this made it one of the first films to successfully interpret sound into the film.
At the very start of the film, we do not jump straight into the story, instead we are taken onto what looks like the curtains of a theatre. We then see Edward Van Sloan come into the shot and he starts to give a 'friendly' warning about the picture. Edward Van Sloan is a very well know actor who is best known for his roles in Universals horrors. When Van Sloan is talking, he is very calm and collected, he clearly states what the audience is going to see, He then goes on the explain that the film might horrify you, this would start to make the audience feel uneasy as they have no idea how the picture is supposedly going to horrify them. The audience would have then start feeling even more uneasy when at the end of the speach, Van Sloan says ' we warned you '.
Then the movie starts, and the first thing that we see is the title screen, this includes the name of the producer ( Carl Laemmle Jr. ) and who the film is distributed by ( Universal Pictures). if we then look at the background of the title screen, we see that there is something that looks evil there, we see a pair of claws as if they are peeping over something, and we see something that looks like a demonic head with very large eyes, we can also see that there is strange lights coming out of the eyes of this 'thing'. This would make the audience start to feel tense because they have no idea what this is and if it is significant to the story, If we look at the title ' Frankenstein ', we can see that it is in some bold font that looks strangely normal, for a horror you would typically expect to see a scary font.The next title screen includes the names of the crew and the sound crew, we also see the names of all of the characters and the actors that play them, The only name that does not have an actors name next to it is the monster. This would make the audience think that this story might be real and that the monster might not actually be an actor with make-up on.
The whole movie is in Black and white because colour had not been introduced to films yet, This almost comes as an advantage to the film because you can se the high and low contrast shots alot better and you can see the shadows and intentional lighting better, The contrast and the shadows included in a shot really helps with the mood that the shot is supposed to set. The quality of the sound is also very average, this is simply because sound had not been introduced to films for long so the quality of the microphones were not very good.
The very first thing that we see is a shot of a graveyard, this does not set a very good mood for the audience at the start of the picture, a graveyard is a creepy and eery destination and they are quite common in alot of horror films. There was quite alot of planning that went into filming this scene because there was very little opportunity for the crew to move the camera, this was not only because of the set, but also because the cameras back then were very large and very heavy. Panning was used quite alot in this film, this made the whole feature look alot smoother and not as jolty. In this scene we see a man digging up a grave and retrieving a coffin, this would have been seen as very shocking to the audience as they would never have seen anything like it before, also as the scientist talks about the body, the audience would have felt uneasy as the scientist seems to be taking some joy out of desecrating the grave. At the end of this scene there is a very smooth fade out which goes into the next scene, this is not seen much in this move, usually it just cuts to a black screen and then onto their next scene. The sound effects in this scene are not very realistic, if you listen closely you can hear that all of the creaks that the coffin makes are actually the same creak every time. This shows that the budged for this movie was not over the roof. When in the scene the scientist says ' we must find another brain ', the audience are very intrigued and very confused at the same time, it would make them think about what the scientist would want with a brain. Shadows are cleverly used in this scene and throughout the whole film, they show you details that you would never be able to spot if they had not been there, the cleverly placed shadows in frankenstein confuse us and make each shot alot more sophisticated.
The next scene is one that is set in a House, in this scene we are introduced to a sub narrative, one about the romance between Henry Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza ( Henry's fiance ). This is when we first find out that frankenstein was some sort of scientist and that he dropped out of university, and that something changed about frankenstein when he dropped out. When Frankenstein was at the university he had a interest in the human body and he had embarked on an experiment to put together a human body and to bring it to life. When he left, Frankenstein moved away from home to embark on this experiment and this became the most important thing for him. Whilst in the house of frankenstein we see that the microphones in this time where not as advanced as they are today, this is because we can tell when the actor gets further away because they become harder to hear.
The next scene is one in the lab, with Frankenstein and his assistant, 'Fritz'. When we see the lab, we can almost instantly see that this is where frankenstein wants to bring the creature to life, this is simple because of all of the equipment that is around. There is no furnishing in the lab, this results in a very cold eery feel as there is no wallpaper, just stone bricks. In the background we can also see there is lightning, this adds to the thought that this is going to be the place where evil is performed. There then is a shot of frankenstein looking at the brain, This shot is very shocking because he is looking at the brain with such amazement and he seems to be mesmerized by it. Frankenstein then turns on the machine, the machine makes alot of weird noises, like the start of a sci-fi film. We see alot of sparks and alot of electricity and hear loads of electricity sounds. The camera then pans up to ther rest of the lab and the rest of the buildings. The next thing that we hear is frankenstein shout ' Don't touch that !', as he shouts this we can also hear a clap of thunder, This almost represents frankensteins anger and shows that he is almost evil and apart of this experiment. Frankenstein also boasts about keeping a human heart alive for three weeks on its own, this shows us that he is very passionate about his work and also very obsessive towards it.
When we get a good look at the 'Monster of frankenstein', we can see that it has been covered, strapped down and buckles had been used, This gives the audience the impression that the monster could be dangerous and that it needs to be restrained. We see the body being slowly lifted to the top of a tower, this confuses the audience greatly, they don't know where the body is going and why it is going there. We get the sense that something is happening when we hear alot more claps of thunder and when we see the electrical equipment going crazy with sparks and sounds very lively. When the body is slowly brought down, we see a close up of a quiver in the monsters hand, The scientist then shouts franticly.
In the next shot we see, Dr. Waldman ( Frankensteins old tutor ), who then goes on to warn frankenstein that the brain that was stolen from his laboratory was one of a criminal and therefor this creation will be no good.
The next scene is when frankenstein hears the monster coming and opens the door for it, this is a very tense time for the audience because it will be the first time that they will see the monster. When we see the first sight of the monster, we see that he is slowly walking through the door backwards, this creates a massive amount of tension to the audience because this shows that the monster is alive and that it is functioning, They also get very anxious because they do not yet see the monsters face. The camera then zooms in to the back of the head of the monster, This adds to the suspense because it makes it obvious that this is when we are going to see the monster for the first time. When the monster slowly turns around and reveals his face, the audience would have been scared in the 1930's simply because this would be the first time that many of them would not have seen anything like this. When the monster shows his face, he is totally silent, with a dead expression on his face, this adds to the eeriness and to the suspense because the audience has no idea what the monster is going to do next. The expected thing for the monster do to is scream at the camera or grunt to scare the audience. Instead of this the monster just slowly walks forward looking confused like a lost child, then as frankenstein waves his hands in front of the monsters face, he gets scared and starts to lash out at the scientist out of self defense. This almost shows a different side to the monster than what the audience expected, due to the warning at the beginning of the film and due to the signs in the film up to this point, it shows the monster to be quite innocent and timid, but also shows that there is some bad in him as he used violence to retaliate. The monster is then dragged away into his cell pursued by fritz who then whips it with chains.
There then is black out where the only thing that we can hear is lots of bangs and smashes, we also hear some grunts and noises, this keeps the audience on edge and makes it sound like there is a struggle between some people. There is then a piercing scream that sounds like someone is being tortured, this would scare the audience as they have no idea what is going on to cause these sounds. As the door to the monsters cell is then opened we see the monster standing there alone, the monster seems out of breath and seems to be very angry and if we look closely we can see that there is a shadow of a hanging body in the background, when the shot changes as the doctor and frankenstein enter the monsters cell, you can see that the hanging body has disappeared, this could have been intentional by the producers to add to the mystery and the confusion of the audience, or it could have been unintentional and a genuine mistake by the film crew.
In the next scene we can see that the monster is lying back down on the table which he was brought back to life on, we can also see that Dr.Wldman is going to perform some sort of surgery on the monster. We know this because there is a shot of all of the surgical equipment that the doctor intends on using, unaware that the monster is waking up, the doctor prepares for the surgery and then we see a close up of the monsters eyes as they blink open. This is then quickly changed to a long shot where we see the monsters arm slowly creep up behind the doctor and the monster then goes and grabs the doctor, strangling him to death, this would have been considered a very violent scene in the 1930's and would have been very shocking. This shot then fades out to one of the monster walking down the stairs and out of the front door of the lab, were he is free to roam the outdoors. This would have also added to the suspense the audience was experiencing as this made them think about the monsters current situation, he was free to roam and encounter any un-expecting civilian.
We then fade out to a scene of Henry's and Elizabeth's wedding. In this scene there is a very groundbreaking shot, this is the shot of all of the townspeople that have come to celebrate the wedding, for this shot the camera is placed on the back of a car that is driven slowly through the town, all of the townspeople are dancing and cheering and the choreography of the people is very impressive.
After this we cut to a scene a house out in the countryside, we see a little girl that has been left to play on her own. We then see the monster break out of the bushes, the monster then approaches the little girl. The little girl is wearing all light and pale colours and the monster is wearing all dark colours, this could be to try and show that the little girl is very pure and innocent and that the monster is evil. The girl then does something that would have come as a shock to the audience, she then tries to play with the monster. This would then prove even more that the girl is very innocent. They both go over to the side of a lake and start playing together. The little girl hands the monster some flowers and throws one in, making it float like a boat. The little girl then proposes to the monster that he tries, the monster does and when he runs out of flowers and gets aggravated, the monster then picks up the little girl and throws her into the lake. this scene was of big concern to the film industry as it was seen as to graphic for the audience at this time.
We then cut back to the wedding, were Elizabeth is feeling down because Dr.Waldman has not returned from the lab to attend the wedding, she mentions the she thinks that there is something that is coming between them unaware that the monster has escaped. Word of the escape had then found its way to frankenstein and he locks Elizabeth in her room for safety. Whilst he is checking the house we see the monster quietly enter Elizabeths room via the window and sneaking up behind her without alarming her, we then cut back to frankensteins search around the house and we start to hear crashes and banging coming from Elizabeths room. We also hear screams and noises that sound like they are from the monster. Frankenstein then makes it to her room and opens the door, when he does we see that the monster has escaped back through the window and Elizabeth is left stunned. Frankenstein then goes on and says that he will destroy the monster for what he has done to elizabeth, this is an important part of the movie because it shows that deep down frankenstein actually cares about his love for Elizabeth more than his beloved experiment.
The next shot that we see is one of a father carrying the lifeless body of his daughter through the streets of the celebrating people, as the father reaches his destination, with the townspeople behind him in shock, he proceeds to shout that his daughter has been murdered, They then go outside the house of frankenstein and tell him of the tragedy and say that they all need to go out and fight this monster. All of the towns men then proceed to light up alot of torches and go out looking for the monster, they go up into the mountains towards frankensteins lab and as they get closer and closer to the lab, the lighting gets dimer and dimer and there are more and more shadows appearing. This sets the intense mood to the audience and makes them think that a scary scene is about to come up. Frankenstein then wonders off from the rest of his group because he thinks that the monster is in a different direction. Then all of a sudden , the monster pops up from behind a rock right next to frankenstein, at this point the audience would have been very scared because it was very unexpected. In the next part of this scene, the monster and frankenstein fight, there is minimal camera movement throughout this ordeal but it still moves slightly to follow the action. The scientist is then knocked out by the monster and is dragged up to the lab. The rest of the towns men hear this ordeal and pursue the monster up to the lab. Shadows are used very cleverly in this per suet because as the men get closer and closer to the lab, their shadows and shadows of their weapons get bigger and bigger. This would have been used to make the group of men seem more intimidating and dominant. Frankenstein then wakes up as the monster has retreated inside the lab, there is then another struggle between the monster and his creator, this struggle ends up on the top balcony of the building and it results in the monster throwing Frankenstein over the banister and down onto one of the sails of the windmill and then to the floor. Considering the technology that was available in the 1930's, it looked very realistic and believable, this would have just made it even more shocking for the audience to watch. The townsmen then burn down the laboratory with the monster still inside. There is a long-shot of the whole building going up in flames, which would have been very tricky for the film editors to get right.
In the net scene We see Frankenstein, his father, Elizabeth and their servants enjoying a drink, we do not know if the monster had lived and escaped or if he died. This would even further make the audience think because it could still be out there, waiting to strike again.
The film then finishes and it cuts to the end credits, but instead of having a question mark after the monsters name, it actually says ' Boris Karloff' this would put the audiences mind at ease as they now know that the monster was actually being played by someone and that it is not real
The film Frankenstein represents different people differently depending on who it is and what social group that they are in. It represents the monster as an evil thing that does not have a heart. The audience would have expected the 'Monster' of the story-line to be this and to look terrifying so in this sense they met the audiences demands.
The different social groups are represented differently throughout the whole film, for example the Frankenstein family are the more wealthy social group as they dress well, they have a large house and they have servants. In contrast to this the townspeople are represented as the more common social group, this is through their cloths, their houses and the way that they act.
Universal Pictures is global company that was founded by Carl Laemmle in 1912. This American company holds many studios where films were produced, and Frankenstein was one of them. Universal didn't have a niche market at the time, but it was known for its Horror films. Frankenstein was actually produced by Laemmle's son, Carl Laemmle Jr. hence why they used Universal to shoot in and distribute the film.
Frankenstein was released on the 4th of December 1931 and it made around 53,000 dollars in the first week after its release. The overall bugdet of the film was 291,000 dollars and it made a total gross of 12,000,000 dollars.
To advertise this film, they would have used many different methods, they would have used many posters, many radio adverts and plain and simple word of the mouth. One thing that thy were at a major disadvantage of was the opportunity to promote their film through trailers and tv advertisements. Frankenstein has now been released on DVD and has gone down in history, One of the best classical horror films.
