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Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Showboat, based on Edna Ferber's 1926 novel, is a seminal American musical, the first to explore serious themes (most notably racism) and to truly integrate song with story and character. The plot follows three generations of a theatrical Mississippi riverboat family from the 1880s to the 1920s. The 1936 film version, directed by Englishman James Whale (Frankenstein), is probably the one that best captures the spirit its creators intended. First and foremost, it features Paul Robeson as Joe. His indelible rendition of "Ol' Man River," delivered strong, straight, and without bathos, is a stunningly powerful anthem about the plight of African Americans in the United States. (The song is set against a fascinating expressionist montage in 1930s social realist style.) Other standout performances include torch singer Helen Morgan as Julie, the actress banished from the showboat for her "mixed race" ancestry. Her "Bill" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" are simply sublime. Hattie McDaniel (Gone With the Wind) is her usual outrageous self. Irene Dunne (The Awful Truth) is spunky and delightful as Magnolia Ravenal. Her most endearing moment occurs early in the film when she leads the company in a funky cakewalk, swinging her hips with joyful abandon. (She also does a number in blackface!) When Dunne and the narrative leave the riverboat for the big bad city, fame, and heartbreak, the movie loses much of its snap and substance and descends into rather conventional melodrama. Still, this film represents an essential moment in the American musical theater, one not to be missed. --Laura Mirsky ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Excellent Adaptation of a Theatrical Landmark
Jerome Kern's and Oscar Hammerstein's SHOWBOAT is a landmark Broadway musical. It was brought to the screen in 1936 by Universal Studios with most of it's drama, joy, and heartbreak intact. James Whale (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN) might seem an odd choice for this project, yet his direction hits the mark: realistic and gritty when it needs to be, stylized and theatrical when it can afford to be. The film is blessed with a magnificent cast, most of whom had previously played their roles on stage: Irene Dunne played Magnolia in the 1927 touring company, Allan Jones appeared as Ravenal in summer stock, and Paul Robeson starred as Joe in the 1928 London production and then again in the 1932 Broadway revival. Charles Winninger, Helen Morgan, and the underrated Sammy White starred in the 1927 and 1932 Broadway productions and understand their characters thoroughly. White's eccentric dancing is hilarious and Morgan's turn as the tragic Julie may well have you fighting back tears. While some favorite songs are missing, three were written specifically for the movie; one of them,"I Have The Room Above Her," found it's way into the recent Broadway revival directed by Harold Prince. SHOWBOAT isn't perfect: Hammerstein's screenplay unnecessarily alters the final section of the story, and Irene Dunne's performance in blackface of "Gallivantin' Around" might possibly offend some in this day and age. But SHOWBOAT has so much to delight and engage the viewer that these minor flaws can, and should, be overlooked. By the way, keep an eye open for Eddie "Rochester" Anderson in the opening scenes.

DEFINITIVE FILM VERSION.
This middle version of SHOW BOAT is the most authentic. Although the 1951 M-G-M version is mighty pretty to look at in its ravishing Technicolor, this version is much truer to what Edna Ferber had in mind. Without going into great detail about the story, I'll just say that the film is about the life and loves of the personnel on an old-time Mississippi showboat. Charles Winninger is terrific as Captain Andy (he played the role on Broadway). The little-seen-in-movies Helen Morgan played her role of Julie on the stage as well, and her performance is unforgettable: a rare chance to watch a legendary artist at work: she would die in obscurity via alcoholism in 1941. Irene Dunne is fine as Magnolia, few movie-goers know that she was a professional singer as well as a fine dramatic actress and a wonderful Screwball comedienne. Paul Robeson is magnetic when he sings that classic paean to the the Mississippi river, Ol' MAN RIVER. Helen Westley and Hattie McDaniel shine in their supporting roles as Parthy Hawks and Queenie Joe's wife respectively. In fact, the cast is full of diverse character actors: Barbara Pepper (Doris Ziffle on GREEN ACRES), Elspeth Dudgeon (the ancient patriarch in THE OLD DARK HOUSE), Flora Finch (she was a silent star circa 1915 in comedy shorts called "Bunnyfinches" with her co-star John Bunny) Marilyn Harris (whom Frankenstein's monster threw into the lake), Harry Barris (one of the original Rhythm Boys with Bing Crosby & brother of blues singer Mildred Bailey), Helen Jerome Eddy (Annie Alden in Mae West's KLONDIKE ANNIE). The story had been filmed less successfully priorly in 1929 with the now-forgotten Laura LaPlante as Magnolia. The acting kudos went to the heroin-addicted Alma Reubens as Julie; Reubens would die in an insane asylum at the age of 33.

To Curtis Crawford
Picky, picky, picky. Did you remember that this was one of the first musicals made into a movie and that it was made way back in 1936? That's close to seventy years ago. I would hope they have learned a little since then. I saw the movie then and I have never forgotten it or the wonderful music. I thought Alan Jones had a wonderful voice, as did all the others. This movie is one of my fondest memories.

What an Awesome Movie Needs to be on DVD though
Man this is an awesome movie and i dont see why it hasnt come out on DVD yet. This is the best cast for this movie, the 1936 version is the best one out there. there is only one thing to make it better get it out on DVD. James Whale as the director of America's first true musical makes him such an awesome director, you dont even have to talk about Frankenstein, this is his greatest film. With the best song ever written Ol' Man River sung by Paul Robeson the only Joe ever. Get this Whale's Favorite of his movies out on DVD soon

One Unmentioned Point
All the reviews here are excellent. However one point has gone unmentioned. In the first scene, the first line of the movie announcing the arrival of the showboat is spoken by Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. This was his only line and his only appearance in this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (112)

AFI top 100 film, Universal's Frankenstein is#1, now on DVD!
Universal Studios made its indelible mark in Hollywood due to its famous mastering of the Horror movie. In 1931 Universals "Frankenstein" changed the film world forever. Even today it remains a very basic classic horror movie. The American Film Institute (AFI) voted it into the top 100 films in the first 100 years of film (1998).

Universal gathered the movie genius' and embarked on adapting Mary Shelly's novel to the screen. James Whale was chosen as the director and the make-up master Jack Pierce to create the giant Frankenstein Monster (played by Boris Karloff).

NOTE: The movie actually had a opening caution film introduction because of its 1931 unspeakable subject matter. People were genuinely scared, horrified but curious to see this film.

Summary: The mad Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) & his hunchback Assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) are robbing graves for bodys to construct a man to bring back to life. The Dr. still needs a brain to fullfill his inventory. Fritz steals a brain from the local medical school. Unfortunately the only one available is an abnormal one. The Dr. creates his monster being with the abnormal brain unknowingly. Through lightning storms, electrical shocks and unbelievable special effects brings the Monster to life! Now the horror is unleashed.

This is the first in Universal Studio's "Classic Monster Collection" DVD Series. This collection is the very best of their horror movies completely digitally remastered and uncensored. With lots of special features, photos and narratives. A must have DVD collection of classic Hollywood horror films.

It's Still Alive After All These Years
After repeated attempts of securing a Frankenstein, director James Whale hired a middle-aged character actor named William Henry Pratt (stage name: Boris Karloff) who had previously been limited to cameos, stand-ins, and predominantly small eccentric parts to play Frankenstein's monster. Karloff's restrictive age, massive obscurity, and absence of experience may have emerged as hindrances for this newly discovered personality. However, time and popular opinion has obliterated these fears into long lost paranoid hallucinations.

It is Boris Karloff's indisputably iconic and singularly haunting performance as the child-like brute, misunderstood and despised by all, whose only longing and desire is to be loved and cared for by others that continues to be one of cinema's timeless jewels of acting perfection, dramatic magnitude, and note-fully seamless pathos. Karloff's monster, like Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates or Robert De Norio's Travis Bickle, is one of cinema's fortunate accidents of how the exact casting of just the right perfect someone can unbelievably bolster the film. Karloff's casting as the inevitably sympathetic artificial concoction of a mad scientist with a deity complex turned out to be one of many grandiose happy accidents that has allowed this 70 year-old gothic horror film to continue to be copiously admired, internationally beloved, and enthusiastically cherished up to contemporary times.

Frankenstein retains numerous stellar elements including a magnificently captivating early sound ensemble cast including Edward Van Sloan (Doctor Waldman), Mae Clarke (Elizabeth), Frederick Kerr (Baron Frankenstein), Dwight Frye (Fritz), and the unforgettable Colin Clive, the archetypal mad scientist, (Henry Frankenstein), brilliantly provocative Frankenstein make-up by make-up genius Jack Pierce, manically splendid and cleverly articulated German Expressionistic sets ,that place this tale in an indescribable alternate Grimm Fairy Tale reminiscent landscape, James Whales immeasurably eloquent moral consolidation and inventively multi-faceted interpretation of Mary Shelly's tale, and forever crowned with one of cinema's most cunningly virtuoso and unredeemable bravura performances of inarticulate primal indignation and childish rage ever recorded on film by Karloff as the monster.

However due to it's age and Hollywood production values at the time, Frankenstein is not totally absent of problems: lacking of a musical score to countermarch the film's profuse talkativeness, predictably saddled with pedestrian and extremely dated comedic and romantic sub plots, and weakened by an awfully trite comedic conclusion. Despite these blemishes, Frankenstein consummately embodies the finest narrative qualities of the early Universal monster films, contains the simply greatest incarnation of Frakenstein's monster, and stubbornly remains both in ambiance and creative evocativeness the finest film version of the Mary Shelly story.

Talk about staying power!!!

As for Frankenstein's DVD format, it contains a uncannily pristine Pan and Scan
Standard presentation, intriguing Making-Of Documentary, Film Historian Rudy
Behlmer's audio commentary, original theatrical trailer, and much more.

Universally (pun intended) recommended to anyone interested in film classics,
the Universal Monster films, or films of the 1930's. Followed by James Whales
superior sequel The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

P.S. Never Give Franky Flower Petals Near a Pond

Excellent
Being born in the 50's and enjoyin the classic Universal Horror Movies in the 60's was a great time for Horror Movies.
The Frankenstien DVD collection is excellent to say the least, especially seeing "House of Frankentstien" again, along with my other favorite, "Son of Frankenstien". It's real nice to see 5 Classic Horror Films on one DVD set. I would highly reccomend this to anyone who remembers the horror movies of the 50's and 60's, and to those who don't? go out and buy this DVD. It puts the new "slice 'em/dice 'em" movies to shame.

It's About Franken' Time!
Look, don't read this, just buy this thing before Universal realizes what they've done! They've opened their rusty old vault doors and let their most prized creations escape into open air! FRANKENSTEIN (dir.James Whale, w/ Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) is loose! His BRIDE (dir. James Whale again! w/ Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) too! Their hideous SON (Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill) is also rampaging! If that's not enough, the GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (Lon Chaney jr., Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Sir Cedric Hardwicke) now walks among us as well! Yes, this collection has them all, and tosses in the HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney jr., John Carradine, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill) that long overgrown piece of wretched real estate! Hurry, before Universal slams those creaky doors shut once more! If you're a horror nut like yours truly, then this is a nightmare come true! Highest recommendation...

Its alive! ITS ALIVE
What a great collection. I had Frankenstein and the Bride on VHS but getting them again on DVD was great. I have all three legacy collections. The Bride is the best, Frankenstein is the second best, Son is the third, House is the fourth and Ghost is the fifth. I like all five altough its obvious Ghost and House were made for entertainment. I heard they're working on a third Mummy movie. Wonder if they'll release the original Mummy series in a legacy set? I liked the Mummy movies and Van Helsing and I have to wonder what Stephen Sommers next project could be. The Invisible Man? That would be interesting. With his seris also in a legacy set? For now I'm satisfied though (but I hope that does happen) ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

It appeared, at the end of the epochal 1931 horror movie Frankenstein, that the monster had perished in a burning windmill. But that was before the runaway success of the movie dictated a sequel. In Bride of Frankenstein, we see that the monster (once again played by Boris Karloff) survived the conflagration, as did his half-mad creator (Colin Clive). This remarkable sequel, universally considered superior to the original, reunites other key players from the first film: director James Whale (whose life would later be chronicled in Gods and Monsters) and, of course, the inimitable Dwight Frye, as Frankenstein's bent-over assistant. Whale brought campy humor to the project, yet Bride is also somehow haunting, due in part to Karloff's nuanced performance. The monster, on the loose in the European countryside, learns to talk, and his encounter with a blind hermit is both comic and touching. (The episode was later spoofed in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein.) A prologue depicts the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, being urged to produce a sequel by her husband Percy and Lord Byron. She's played by Elsa Lanchester, who reappears in the climactic scene as the man-made bride of the monster. Her lightning-bolt hair and reptilian movements put her into the horror-movie pantheon, despite being onscreen for only a few moments. But in many ways the film is stolen by Ernest Thesiger, as the fey Dr. Pretorious, who toasts the darker possibilities of science: "To a new world of gods and monsters!" Absolutely. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (90)

A Classic Horror Sequel That Outdoes the Original
Even after nearly 70 years, few horror movies match the perfect juxtaposition of spooky ambiance and morbid hilarity that can be found in James Whale's THE BRIDE OF FRANEKENSTEIN. Superior to the first film--though that one is also a masterpiece--Whale's direction is brilliant throughout. Especially interesting is the scene where the "Bride" is created: The use of harsh lighting, odd camera angles, and abrupt cutaways creates an eerie and uncomfortable feeling that heightens the horror of the event depicted, and while watching it all unfold seamlessly, it easy to see why the film is considered the archetype for all mad-scientist horror flicks.

The acting is also quite superb. Ernest Thesiger (Doctor Pretorious) and Elsa Lanchester (The "Bride") both deliver wonderfully quirky over-the-top performances, but they don't upstage Karloff, who still imparts his portrayal of the monster with the same ambivalent mixture of pathos and loathing that helped make the first film so memorable. The performances alone make this film worth watching (again and again!), but add to it the gothic sets, the fine direction, and the outrageous mixture of horror and comedy, and you have a classic horror flick that has yet to be beaten.

Whale's best film, by far!

THIRTIES GEM
This caricature by some very knowing people is a macabre comedy classic....i.e., The Monster (Boris Karloff) is the only sympathetic character! James Whale, who had a good gothic sense of humour, directed, with Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley in the prologue, and then as the Bride. For many of us, the scene where she says "Eeeek!" in repulsion when she first sees her intended was so satisfyingly silly that she won our hearts forever! Inimitable Thesiger plays the weird doctor who convinces Frankenstein into making a mate for his monster. One of the silver screen's most fondly regarded horror stories, this excellent sequel to the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN offers an excellent blend of black humour and thrills, with all concerned in top form. Lanchester excels in her playing of the bride; she's also seen in the prologue as author Mary Shelley! The pastoral interlude with the blind hermit and the final, riotous creation scene are among the highlights of this truly classic film of which the lighting, photography, sets and direction could hardly be better.

Universal's definitive Frankenstein motion picture
Rarely is a sequel, particularly a horror sequel, better than its predecessor, but Bride of Frankenstein (1935) easily replaced the 1931 original classic as the definitive Universal Frankenstein movie. Director James Whale did not want to do another Frankenstein movie for the most admirable of reasons, and largely because of his feelings on the matter he brought to a life a sequel that sought perfection in every discernible way and provided a much deeper and more poignant look at the monster of Frankenstein's creation - the comedic exploitation of the monster did not begin on his watch. The addition of a full-scale musical score added depth and its own emotional layers to the drama, Karloff brought amazing pathos and humanity to the creature, and Elsa Lanchester, in a few short minutes, gave the world one of the truly eternal horror images and icons in the form of the Bride of Frankenstein's Monster (which is what the film should have been called).

Most of the principal cast members of the original Frankenstein movie reprise their roles here, including Colin Clive as Frankenstein and the inimitable Boris Karloff as the monster. Mae Clarke, however, was unavailable for health reasons, and a seventeen-year-old Valerie Hobson took on the role of Elizabeth, Frankenstein's fiancée. This is a noticeable change, as Hobson played Elizabeth in a strikingly different manner. As you may have guessed, Frankenstein's monster did not actually die in the big fire that ended the first motion picture. The windmill was built over a cistern (more like a great big underground pond, if you ask me), and the monster escapes the conflagration, not before killing a couple of people and scaring Minnie, this film's version of interminable comic relief, half to death. Dr. Frankenstein, for his part, also survives (although we already knew this thanks to the last-minute concluding scene of the first movie). He regrets his foolish attempts to play God, even though he still speaks with a mad zeal about the dreams he pursued so dangerously. Enter Dr. Praetorius (Ernest Thesiger), a former professor of Frankenstein's and the kind of evil genius our reformed young doctor should have become. Praetorius has been doing his own God-like experiments and now seeks to join his knowledge with that of Frankenstein to make not a man, but a woman. In the film's only borderline ridiculous moments, we see the products of Praetorius' work - the film work and special effects are brilliantly done, but the whole idea is just laughably silly. Still, you can't help liking old Praetorius because he is everything a mad scientist should be. Frankenstein has now become - well, (...) a cowardly man who seems incapable of acting on his own accord. Luckily, Dr. Praetorius knows how to deal with a man such as Frankenstein, and he eventually succeeds in getting the good doctor back in the lab for one final experiment.

As for Frankenstein's monster, we finally get to see the humanity of the character emerge. Seeking friendship, he is met only with fear, screams, and malice. He does manage to find a friend in the countryside, however - the sound of violin music takes him to the home of a blind hermit. In one of the most touching scenes in cinema history, the blind man takes the monster in, thanks God for finally sending him a friend to assuage his loneliness, and shines the full light of humanity, all too briefly, on the lonely creature. Naturally, this time of happiness does not last long, but the monster does develop the ability to speak before he is separated forever from his friend. He ends up crossing paths with Dr. Praetorius, who quickly sells him on the idea of a mate, setting the stage for another pyrotechnic creation scene that gives us the unforgettable Bride of Frankenstein.

The cinematography, musical score, and basically everything else are well-nigh perfect in this film; despite the ridiculous editing demands of the censors, Bride of Frankenstein achieves the pinnacle of monster movie success. Still, it bothers me that these films have defined Frankenstein's monster as a creature much different than the literary monster of Mary Shelley's creation. The first film completely stood Shelley's story on its head, missing the point entirely. How ironic it is for Bride of Frankenstein to feature a prologue featuring the character of Mary Shelley herself, in company with her companion Percy Bysse Shelley and the flamboyant Lord Byron, explaining the meaning of her work and then introducing yet another bastardization of the real Mary Shelley's literary masterpiece. The original monster, as envisioned by Shelley, was not the creature at all; it was Dr. Frankenstein, not so much because he played God but because he abandoned his monstrous creation and left him alone to fend for himself. Bride of Frankenstein rights some of this wrong by showing the depth of humanity in the monster, but it cannot undo the wrongs already done the character. In the context of the cinema, he will forever be a "monster," a shadow of his true literary self, forced to suffer at the hands of man while the true villain of the story fails to even attempt to redeem himself or to suffer the harsh yet noble fate that he so rightfully earned in Shelley's original story.

A Alltime Classic
theres 1 thing i dont like and its the title
The Bride of Frankenstein.... but it aint hte bride of frankenstein because frankenstein is suppose to be the scientist or whatever u call him
if the title was
The Bride of Frankenstein's Monster then it'd tell the whole thing on what its about

But still its 1 of my fav horror films of all time!

James Whale's new world of gods and monsters
From a cultural standpoint the 1931 Universal film version of "Frankenstein" that introduced Boris Karloff as the Monster is an important film because it ended up replacing Mary Shelley's novel in the popular consciousness. The great sin by the novel's Dr. Frankenstein was not the creation of the creature but abandoning it once it was alive, but in James Whales' film it is clearly the act of creation that is the abomination. This idea ends up being quite ironic given that the authoress herself appears in the prologue to the 1935 sequel, "The Bride of Frankenstein," which is actually the better film.

Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton), and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon) are sitting around on a dark and stormy night and having apparently narrated the events of the first film, Mary tells her audience that the collapse of the windmill was not the end of the story and that both Dr. Frankenstein and the monster have both survived. The doctor has learned the error of his ways and wants to stop tampering with the forces of life, but his wife, Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) is kidnapped by Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), an even madder mad scientist if ever there was one. Alone Frankenstein created a man; together they will create a mate for the monster, a bride (also played by Lanchester in an unforgettable performance that owes much to the traditions of German expressionist film).

The sequel is a better film mainly because the production is much more polished and Colin Clive has come back from the edge in terms of both his character and his performance. However, while the film works perfectly well on its own it has been reinterpreted in light of Whale's homosexuality, which became part of the cultural landscape with the 1998 biopic "Gods and Monsters." Critics like Gary Morris are not alone in now seeing "Bride of Frankenstein" as a bold gay parable, especially given that Thesiger was also openly gay in the Hollywood of the 1930s and that his performance is pure high camp. However, you can enjoy the film perfectly without working out the idea that the monster and his bride have a pair of male parents.

It is important to see both of Whales' "Frankenstein" films and to appreciate the important differences between the two works. To do so you only have to look at a pair of memorable scenes. In the 1931 film this would be the scene where the monster comes across little Maria (Marilyn Harris), throwing daisies in the lake and he accidentally drowns her as they play together. In the 1935 sequel the key scene is when the monster comes upon the hermit (O.P. Heggie) living alone in quiet solitude and finds a friend. Both scenes represent the apotheosis of pathos in their respective films, but they also indicate great irony of how the more human the monster becomes, the wider the gulf that is created between him and humanity.

Even as a master metaphor of current age the saga of the Frankenstein monster remains a very human story as well, and it draws its enormous narrative power from both. The performance by Karloff, who is now able to speak a few words (most notably, "I love dead"), creates a pathos for the monster that is unmatched in all the Frankenstein films made since. Much more than the original and despite the title, "The Bride of Frankenstein" is Boris Karloff's film. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Overdone, but still one of the best
I remember watching this and other old movies on tv all the time. However, I haven't seen this in at least 25 years. All I remembered is that it was one of the greatest ever.
I bought a copy recently, which was in excellent condition. Not at all to my surprise after watching as a kid and seeing it now for the first time as an adult, I had a different take.
What I like about all old movies, is that they move quickly. They speak fast and change scenes fast, except the romance scenes.
This movie completely ignores two of the three (4) musketeers, but maybe the book does too. I haven't read it. Everyone is unrealistically fearless, even at their death.
Having said that; the movie is still so much fun and is still the best version made. The good guys are great and the bad guys are horrible.

A FINE STAB AT DUMAS.
This 1939 film is based on Alexandre Dumas' classic novel - the story of two brothers - one a French king, the other kept prisoner in an iron mask. A moderately entertaining costume piece which matches the Dumas novel in its length if not its effectiveness. its running time is one hour and 50 minutes of which far too much had been devoted to the Bennett sighs, the Joseph Schildkraut whimpers and the artless (and rather hopeless) attempt of nightclub floozy Marion Martin to play that famous courtesan la Valliere. By the time the Three Musketeers are rushed to the rescue of plot as well as princeling, the film is teetering on the edge of dullness. Told directly, with a deal of steel-clashing and merely the trace of gallant vapouring, it could have served a romance as blithe as PRISONER OF ZENDA. But told in the Hollywood-Dumas manner, with no guard against repitition, with pauses for tableaux and well-rehearsed speeches, with an over-fondness for pageantry and stiff heroics, it emerges as something considerably less tolerable. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

"It's alive! Alive!" shouts Colin Clive's triumphant Dr. Frankenstein as electricity buzzes over the hulking body of a revived corpse. "In the name of God now I know what it's like to be God!" For years unheard, this line has been restored, along with the legendary scene of the childlike monster tossing a little girl into a lake, in James Whale's Frankenstein, one of the most famous and influential horror movies ever made. Coming off the tremendous success of Dracula, Universal assigned sophomore director Whale to helm an adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel with Bela Lugosi as the monster. When Lugosi declined the role, Whale cast the largely unknown character actor Boris Karloff and together with makeup designer Jack Pierce they created the most memorable monster in movie history: a towering, lumbering creature with sunken eyes, a flat head, and a jagged scar running down his forehead. Whale and Karloff made this mute, misunderstood brute, who has the brain of a madman (the most obvious of the many liberties taken with Shelley's story), the most pitiable freak of nature to stumble across the screen. Clive's Dr. Frankenstein is intense and twitchy and Dwight Frye set the standard for mad-scientist sidekicks as the wild-eyed hunchback assistant. Whale's later films, notably the spooky spoof The Old Dark House and the deliriously stylized sequel The Bride of Frankenstein, display a surer cinematic hand than seen here and add a subversive twist of black comedy, but given the restraints of early sound films, Whale breaks the film free from static stillness and adorns it with striking design and expressionist flourishes. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (112)

AFI top 100 film, Universal's Frankenstein is#1, now on DVD!
Universal Studios made its indelible mark in Hollywood due to its famous mastering of the Horror movie. In 1931 Universals "Frankenstein" changed the film world forever. Even today it remains a very basic classic horror movie. The American Film Institute (AFI) voted it into the top 100 films in the first 100 years of film (1998).

Universal gathered the movie genius' and embarked on adapting Mary Shelly's novel to the screen. James Whale was chosen as the director and the make-up master Jack Pierce to create the giant Frankenstein Monster (played by Boris Karloff).

NOTE: The movie actually had a opening caution film introduction because of its 1931 unspeakable subject matter. People were genuinely scared, horrified but curious to see this film.

Summary: The mad Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) & his hunchback Assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) are robbing graves for bodys to construct a man to bring back to life. The Dr. still needs a brain to fullfill his inventory. Fritz steals a brain from the local medical school. Unfortunately the only one available is an abnormal one. The Dr. creates his monster being with the abnormal brain unknowingly. Through lightning storms, electrical shocks and unbelievable special effects brings the Monster to life! Now the horror is unleashed.

This is the first in Universal Studio's "Classic Monster Collection" DVD Series. This collection is the very best of their horror movies completely digitally remastered and uncensored. With lots of special features, photos and narratives. A must have DVD collection of classic Hollywood horror films.

It's Still Alive After All These Years
After repeated attempts of securing a Frankenstein, director James Whale hired a middle-aged character actor named William Henry Pratt (stage name: Boris Karloff) who had previously been limited to cameos, stand-ins, and predominantly small eccentric parts to play Frankenstein's monster. Karloff's restrictive age, massive obscurity, and absence of experience may have emerged as hindrances for this newly discovered personality. However, time and popular opinion has obliterated these fears into long lost paranoid hallucinations.

It is Boris Karloff's indisputably iconic and singularly haunting performance as the child-like brute, misunderstood and despised by all, whose only longing and desire is to be loved and cared for by others that continues to be one of cinema's timeless jewels of acting perfection, dramatic magnitude, and note-fully seamless pathos. Karloff's monster, like Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates or Robert De Norio's Travis Bickle, is one of cinema's fortunate accidents of how the exact casting of just the right perfect someone can unbelievably bolster the film. Karloff's casting as the inevitably sympathetic artificial concoction of a mad scientist with a deity complex turned out to be one of many grandiose happy accidents that has allowed this 70 year-old gothic horror film to continue to be copiously admired, internationally beloved, and enthusiastically cherished up to contemporary times.

Frankenstein retains numerous stellar elements including a magnificently captivating early sound ensemble cast including Edward Van Sloan (Doctor Waldman), Mae Clarke (Elizabeth), Frederick Kerr (Baron Frankenstein), Dwight Frye (Fritz), and the unforgettable Colin Clive, the archetypal mad scientist, (Henry Frankenstein), brilliantly provocative Frankenstein make-up by make-up genius Jack Pierce, manically splendid and cleverly articulated German Expressionistic sets ,that place this tale in an indescribable alternate Grimm Fairy Tale reminiscent landscape, James Whales immeasurably eloquent moral consolidation and inventively multi-faceted interpretation of Mary Shelly's tale, and forever crowned with one of cinema's most cunningly virtuoso and unredeemable bravura performances of inarticulate primal indignation and childish rage ever recorded on film by Karloff as the monster.

However due to it's age and Hollywood production values at the time, Frankenstein is not totally absent of problems: lacking of a musical score to countermarch the film's profuse talkativeness, predictably saddled with pedestrian and extremely dated comedic and romantic sub plots, and weakened by an awfully trite comedic conclusion. Despite these blemishes, Frankenstein consummately embodies the finest narrative qualities of the early Universal monster films, contains the simply greatest incarnation of Frakenstein's monster, and stubbornly remains both in ambiance and creative evocativeness the finest film version of the Mary Shelly story.

Talk about staying power!!!

As for Frankenstein's DVD format, it contains a uncannily pristine Pan and Scan
Standard presentation, intriguing Making-Of Documentary, Film Historian Rudy
Behlmer's audio commentary, original theatrical trailer, and much more.

Universally (pun intended) recommended to anyone interested in film classics,
the Universal Monster films, or films of the 1930's. Followed by James Whales
superior sequel The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

P.S. Never Give Franky Flower Petals Near a Pond

Excellent
Being born in the 50's and enjoyin the classic Universal Horror Movies in the 60's was a great time for Horror Movies.
The Frankenstien DVD collection is excellent to say the least, especially seeing "House of Frankentstien" again, along with my other favorite, "Son of Frankenstien". It's real nice to see 5 Classic Horror Films on one DVD set. I would highly reccomend this to anyone who remembers the horror movies of the 50's and 60's, and to those who don't? go out and buy this DVD. It puts the new "slice 'em/dice 'em" movies to shame.

It's About Franken' Time!
Look, don't read this, just buy this thing before Universal realizes what they've done! They've opened their rusty old vault doors and let their most prized creations escape into open air! FRANKENSTEIN (dir.James Whale, w/ Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) is loose! His BRIDE (dir. James Whale again! w/ Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) too! Their hideous SON (Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill) is also rampaging! If that's not enough, the GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (Lon Chaney jr., Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Sir Cedric Hardwicke) now walks among us as well! Yes, this collection has them all, and tosses in the HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney jr., John Carradine, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill) that long overgrown piece of wretched real estate! Hurry, before Universal slams those creaky doors shut once more! If you're a horror nut like yours truly, then this is a nightmare come true! Highest recommendation...

Its alive! ITS ALIVE
What a great collection. I had Frankenstein and the Bride on VHS but getting them again on DVD was great. I have all three legacy collections. The Bride is the best, Frankenstein is the second best, Son is the third, House is the fourth and Ghost is the fifth. I like all five altough its obvious Ghost and House were made for entertainment. I heard they're working on a third Mummy movie. Wonder if they'll release the original Mummy series in a legacy set? I liked the Mummy movies and Van Helsing and I have to wonder what Stephen Sommers next project could be. The Invisible Man? That would be interesting. With his seris also in a legacy set? For now I'm satisfied though (but I hope that does happen) ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Claude Rains practically owns his film debut in The Invisible Man, despite the fact that his face (let alone his body) is seen only for seconds in the final moments. As the brilliant scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility, Rains steps into the film wrapped up like a mummy behind a layer of bandages and blanketed in heavy clothes. When he removes his garments, there's nothing underneath, a simple but effective bit of 1930s movie magic that, apart from a few glitches, works as well today as it did in 1933. Like Frankenstein, another cautionary tale of science gone horribly wrong, the consequences of the doctor's experiments are dire: the chemicals drive him insane. Director James Whale infuses the film with plenty of humor, much of it arising from the quaint quirks of the local villagers, but it turns to black comedy as the doctor transforms from an impish prankster upsetting bicycles and taunting tavern patrons to a megalomaniac bent on world domination. It's slow going even at 71 minutes, but full of delightful touches and boasts a terrific performance by the all but unseen Rains, whose rich, cultured voice envelopes the picture in a kind of omnipresent fog. Vincent Price took up the role in the sequel, The Invisible Man Returns. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (39)

A Good Science Fiction Film For Its Time
THE INVISIBLE MAN can be an enjoyable movie - particularly if you don't take it too seriously. By the standards of the early 1930's the special effects are good enough and the acting by Claude Rains as the invisible man is superb.

The story by H.G. Wells about a scientist who develops a method of becoming invisible and then gradually goes insane is unique. Local police who try to capture the invisible man provide much slapstick humor.

Gloria Stuart who played the girl friend of the invisible man also acted in REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM and THE THREE MUSKETEERS in the 1930's as well as TITANIC and THE LOVE LETTER in the 1990's. Director James Whale directed FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in the 1930's.

A deserved classic
Though this marvelous film was made 70 years ago, it holds up beautifully today. The primary reason is the riveting performance by Claude Rains, who is seen on screen full face for only a few seconds at the conclusion of the piece. His voice virtually carries the picture and his performance is dynamic, comic and quite masterful. In contrast, the weakness of the film are the supporting players, with the exception of those in the British tavern.

Gloria Stuart, recently "re-discovered" in her role as the elderly Rose in Cameron's "Titanic," is singularly awful in her role as the Invisible Man's (Jack's) girlfriend. Though beautiful, she overacts and puts on a childish display in every scene. She adds virtually nothing to the narrative except a pretty face. William Harrigan plays Jack's partner and reluctant accomplice and he is also dreadful and theatrical. Henry Travers is excellent and pay special attention to catch an uncredited Walter Brennan in a brief speaking role in the tavern.

The script is excellent and provides many hilarious moments. The special effects are similarly good and leagues ahead of their time. Though a trifle awkward in spots, one must remember this is 1933 and the effects must have stunned and delighted audiences of that era. This is a must-see classic movie, made memorable by the riveting concept and a seering performance by Claude Rains.

Classic Monster Movie Thriller
This movie is 1 of of the 6 classic monsters

i saw it 3 in a half years ago on AMC'S Monster fest 2000
not that bad of a movie i liked it then i kept seeing it pop up on AMC throughout the weeks to come .. its really hit the spot light of Special Effects and even a little bitta humor in the movie i like it and i think every1 should buy the private collection movie of this classic universal SHOCKER

An Universal movie monster that you must see!
'Invisible Man, The' is one of the most sucessful Universal monster movies of the thirties, along with 'Frankstein' and 'Dracula'. A superior adaptation of a H.G. Welles novel, the movie has humour, suspense and a excelent development of the story that made this movie actual for all ages.
Claude Rains (the actor that made 'Phantom of the Opera) gives life to Jack Griffin, a young scientist that discover a strange formula to turn himself invisible and goes crazy along the process. The movie has some great scenes,like the tricks that Griffin plays with the people of a little village and the persecutions of the police, always confused by the inteligent and unusual invisible enemy. Great special effects for the time makes the movies even more valuable and Rains gives a strong and convincible performance, although all the time 'invisible' for the public.

He may be invisible, but The Invisible Man is a must-see
The Invisible Man is one of the most impressive Universal "monster" films of the 1930s, a motion picture masterpiece still as vibrant and engaging now as it was in 1933. It is also a representative of the rarest of movies - one which succeeds much better than the novel upon which it was based. Don't get me wrong - H.G. Wells was a brilliant writer, one of the two founding fathers of science fiction, but The Invisible Man left me as cold as the invisible man must have felt running around naked in the bitterly cold countryside. The invisible man is thoroughly unlikable in the novel, much more so than he is here. A running time of just 71 minutes and a brilliant tour de force of a film debut by Claude Raines make Jack Griffin a fascinating albeit quite mad character who never completely turns the viewer off with his misguided antics. Of course, the sword cuts both ways. In the novel, one gets a much deeper appreciation of the pain and struggle the man faces trying to restore himself to visibility. In the movie, the transition to raving megalomaniac occurs much more quickly, with several palliative dashes of humor thrown into the mix early on.

There isn't that much to the story, really. A man wrapped in bandages and clothed in a long overcoat, glasses, and hat suddenly enters the Lion's Head pub and inn one snowy night demanding a room. He makes it very clear that he wants privacy and soon begins performing chemical experiments. The fellow is a scientist named Jack Griffin (Claude Rains), a young chap who, after five years of private work, discovered the secret of invisibility; unfortunately for him, he has yet to figure out an antidote, as becomes evident when he begins to shed his clothes and bandages - yep, the title was right, he really is the invisible man. Now most fellows, were they to become invisible, would probably run right out and try to see the girl next door in her birthday suit, but Griffin is different. That special ingredient in the potion tends to make a person just a little bit insane, and Griffin has already begun forming plans to get filthy rich and make the world grovel at his invisible feet. His surly attitude and just plain weirdness soon get him evicted, and soon his secret is out. He has a jolly good time playing pranks on local villagers, but his pranks soon turn to mass murder. The police dragnet is fun to watch (it isn't easy to catch an invisible man), but the movie takes a continually darker tone as the inevitable conclusion approaches. I am of the belief that the story of The Invisible Man really doesn't teach any sort of lesson with it, although others are certainly free to voice their own interpretations of the story. Griffin is just too disagreeable to teach me anything (apart from the ubiquitous "don't meddle in God's domain" thing).

The special effects in the film are actually quite amazing. Many of them are rather simple but well-done, and the central bits featuring clothes walking around on their own serve the story very well indeed. There is one scene featuring a pair of pants skipping down the road accompanied by Griffin singing the kind of ditty a madman might be prone to sing that is absolutely priceless. Alongside Dracula and Frankenstein, The Invisible Man completes the threesome of truly must-see 1930s Universal "monster" films, even though we all know it's really pure science fiction and not horror. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

James Whale has a stellar cast but a second rate horror film
"The Old Dark House" is a bit disappointing simply because with all the talent collected on both sides of the camera you would expect an absolute classic horror film. This 1932 film is directed by James Whale based on the novel by J. B. Priestley. In front of the camera are Boris Karloff, Melyvn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger and Raymond Massey. During a raging storm in the Welsh mountains, Philip Waverton (Massey), his wife Margaret (Stuart) and Roger Penderel (Douglas) seek refuge in an old house. Inside are Horace Femm (Thesiger), an eccentric atheist; his sister Rebecca (Eva Moore), a religious fanatic; and Morgan (Karloff), their mute hulking butler, who has a tendency to get homicidal when he becomes drunk. Two other weary travelers, Sir William Porterhouse (Laughton) and Gladys DuCane (Bond) are stuck for the night as well. Morgan gets drunk and attacks Margaret and things continue to escalate until the butler frees Saul (Brember Wills), a pyromaniac locked up in a remote wing of the house. The set up is a bit forced, as this is probably the oddest group of people thrown together during a storm you will ever see in a film and while the second half is suspenseful as things get out of hand the finale is rather unsatisfying. "The Old Dark House" is the first film in which Karloff gets top billing and it was the first American film for both Laughton and Massey.

Have A Potato !
Out of the four classic 'horror' films James Whale directed for Universal ('Frankenstein', 'The Invisble Man', and 'Bride of Frankenstein' being the others) this movie is certainly the odd one out. There are no monsters and no mad scientists, just a collection of extremely strange characters. For once Boris Karloff is upstaged not by one, but two of his fellow cast members. Ernest Thesiger gives a wonderfully weird performance throughout and larger than life Charles Laughton dominates every scene he appears in. Because of the lack of any 'monster' and the fact that virtually the whole film takes place inside the house, it is the dialogue and characters that make this film so truly memorable. If you've heard that 'The Old Dark House' was a 'lost' film then you needn't worry about picture or sound quality. The film's restoration work has produced a very good quality print. Unusually for me, I watched this film 3 or 4 times within a week of receiving it, not least because of the great commentaries provided by James Curtis and especially Gloria Stuart. 'The Old Dark House' certainly demands multiple viewings, which is the best praise I can give it.

Perfect for a late-night movie fest
This movie reminds me of all the fun movies that were on the local Chiller Theater when I was growing up. Terrific thrills and chills in an old-fashioned manner. James Whales, best known for Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, directed and his touches are visible, from intelligent dialogue to the chaotic action scenes.

A wind-blown Gloria Stuart is awesome to behold as a damsel in distress. Well cast and well acted, this is one of the classics.

Nice!
This was an interesting film to watch, although I admit, a bit campy at times; nevertheless, the acting is quite good, and I especially liked the character of "Saul," at the end, he's a riot! (Especially when he laughs uncontrollably like a madman.)

Boris Karloff was excellent in this film as well.

thesiger's oscar worthy performance.
thesiger steals everything but the sets (as he also did in bride). he should have at least gotten an acadamy nomination for one of the two films.
whale's delightfully sardonic humour shines throughout the film.
a masterpiece all the way through. ... Read more