Frankenstein (1931) - IMDb
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An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.
Director:
James Whale
Writers:
John L. Balderston (based upon the composition by), Mary Shelley (from the novel by) (as Mrs. Percy B. Shelley) | 4 more credits  »
Stars:
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3 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards  »
Videos
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
Director: James Whale
The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.
Director: Tod Browning
A practical man returns to his homeland, is attacked by a creature of folklore, and infected with a horrific disease his disciplined mind tells him can not possibly exist.
Director: George Waggner
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale
A living mummy stalks the beautiful woman he believes is the reincarnation of his lover.
Director: Karl Freund
One of the sons of Frankenstein finds his father's monster in a coma and revives him, only to find out he is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.
Director: Rowland V. Lee
A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
Director: Jack Arnold
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  
A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star. He is then captured and brought back to New York City for public exhibition.
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Stars: Fay Wray,  Robert Armstrong,  Bruce Cabot
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau
After being awakened, Larry Talbot chips Frankenstein's Monster out of a block of ice. When Talbot changes to the Wolf Man, the two creatures battle each other.
Director: Roy William Neill
Directors: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, and 2 more credits  »
Stars: Lon Chaney,  Mary Philbin,  Norman Kerry
Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
Director: Robert Wiene
Edit
Storyline
Henry Frankenstein is a doctor who is trying to discover a way to make the dead walk. He succeeds and creates a monster that has to deal with living again. Written by Josh Pasnak <chainsaw@intouch.bc.ca>
Warning! The monster is loose! See more  »
Genres:
21 November 1931 (USA) See more  »
Also Known As:
Dr. Frankenstein See more  »
Filming Locations:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color:
Did You Know?
Trivia
The movie's line "It's alive! It's alive!" was voted as the #49 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100). See more »
Goofs
When the Monster throws Dr. Frankenstein off the parapet from where they are fighting, you can see through both the Monster, the parapet, and the dummy of Dr. Frankenstein as it heads toward the windmill blades. See more »
Quotes
See more »
Crazy Credits
The closing credits start with "A GOOD CAST IS WORTH REPEATING...". The first four actors' names are listed in all caps-sans serif font with the "S" in John Boles & Boris Karloff plus in CAST & IS tilted to the right 45 degrees. The remaining 5 cast members have their names listed in Serif font with both Caps & lower case letters. See more »
Connections
a flawed but historic hour of cinema
21 February 2005 | by tayandbay
(United States) – See all my reviews
Just as the Beatles influenced popular music for decades after they came and went, so did "Frankenstein" shape the landscape for cinematic horror. Had this film been an artistic and/or commercial failure, the American Horror Film would have evolved in a totally different direction, had it survived at all.
It is remarkable that the conventions established in this early talking film would continue to be utilized by serious filmmakers for over four decades, until "The Exorcist" (1973) changed the rules.
However, "Frankenstein" remains a flawed classic, partially because it's characters have, over time, become almost comical (even without the endless satires), partially because of some of the supporting performances (which inspired the endless satires), and partially because of the primitive technology available at Universal Studios in 1931. Even the tiny Hal Roach Studios produced more sophisticated product at the time.
But what of the assets? Charles D. Hall's art direction is striking, as are some of Arthur Edeson's photographic compositions. Colin Clive remains compelling as Henry Frankenstein, the intense medical adventurer, although he seems pushed to the brink at times by director James Whale, a smart, imaginative filmmaker who didn't always know when to apply restraint.
Then there is Boris Karloff as the monster; Karloff was (and is) underrated as an actor, mainly because he became content to lend himself more as a personality rather than as a performer in numerous films, especially after the mid-1940's. But Karloff, aided by magnificent makeup designed by Jack Pierce, perfectly captured the misery, desperation and loneliness of an artificially fabricated creature in this film, guided by Whale's unexpectedly sensitive direction.
"Frankenstein" survives as a flawed, but historic -- and necessary -- document that set the course for one of cinema's most enduring genres.
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