Movie Review: The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The movie stars Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Ernest Thesiger, Valerie Hobson and Elsa Lanchester.

My wife had to work tonight so, before watching the Green Bay Packers preseason game, I squeezed in a father/daughter movie with my oldest daughter. We had a few movies on our list we hadn't seen before. However, she decided she wanted to watch "The Bride of Frankenstein" again so we did.

I've seen this movie a few different times, including one previous time with my daughter. Overall, while there are some things I'm not a big fan of when it comes to this film, I do think it is a decent movie.

I think the most intriguing character in this film is Dr. Pretorius (Thesiger) because he adds an element of evil to the film. Henry (Clive), of course, is the one who created life in the first movie. But, he immediately began to feel guilty about it right after. Pretorius, in comparison, seems to have no qualms about playing God and his lack of hesitation makes him pretty dangerous, especially when he has the monster (Karloff) as his henchman (though he did seem to have some issues controlling the creature).

Even though she has a surprisingly limited role, especially since the movie is supposed to be about her, I also found I liked the monster's bride (Lanchester). She's still really cool looking, even today, and I loved her surprise reaction to seeing her intended mate.

I think my biggest complaint about this movie is there seems to be an awful lot of filler material. This includes the unnecessary introduction and that weird scene in Dr. Prestorius' laboratory.

I also could have done without the monster learning to talk, at least to the extent he did. It's one thing to learn a couple simple words. But, he was talking really well in a very short amount of time. I think that spoiled the creature's impact as a result.

The movie definitely could have done just as well without that introduction and I really couldn't see the point of having the monster learning to talk (everything he demanded could have been communicated other ways). Overall, however, I do think this movie is a classic for good reasons and, if you haven't ever seen it, it's worth taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: A