Wednesday, 29 June 2016

22 Frankenstein ( 1931 )


This  was  the  other  seminal  horror  film  to  come  out  in  1931, universally  recognised   as  a  classic. Like  Dracula  , Frankenstein  was  based  on   a  successful  play  rather  than  the  source  novel. Frankenstein  though, as  directed  by  James  Whale, is  much  more  watchable  today  than  Dracula  with  better  sets, better  acting  and  a  more  coherent  narrative. It's  also  more  morally  ambiguous - does  the  demented  Frankenstein  really  deserve   a  happy  ending  after  the  havoc  he's  caused  while  his  creation  burns  to  death ? As  with  Lugosi's  Dracula , the  film  made  a  star  out  of  Boris  Karloff  as  the  Monster.

Mae  Clarke  ( as  Elisabeth )

Sex : No. Her  wedding  dress  shows  a  bit  of  cleavage

Death : Survives


This  was  Mae's  golden  year  too  as  this  and  The  Public  Enemy  with  James  Cagney  proved  to  be  her  most  popular  films. Her  career  however  lasted  until  1970. She  died  of  cancer  in  1992  aged  81.

Marilyn  Harris  ( as  Maria )

Sex : No

Death :  In  a  scene  which  still  packs  a  hefty  emotional  punch, Maria  drowns  when  the Monster  misinterprets   the  game  they've  been  playing  and  throws  her  into  a  lake. Her  death leads  directly  to  the  Monster's  destruction.





Seven -year  old  Marilyn  was  unable  to  capitalise  on  the  film's  success  and  she  was  more  or  less  an  extra  in  her  subsequent  films. She  left  the  business  in  1944  when  she  got  married  and  died  of  cancer  in  1999  aged  75.

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