Some Thoughts on the 90th Anniversary of Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Most everyone who knows me knows that I love the Hammer horrors. When I think of Dracula, it's Sir Christopher Lee who comes to my mind. I have seen most of the classic Hammer horror movies multiple times. It might then surprise some to discover that my favourite horror movie of all time was made by Universal. It is Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and it's not only my favourite horror movie, but I consider it the greatest horror movie ever made. It opened on this day in Chicago, New York City, and Portland, Oregon.

I wrote an in-depth post on Bride of Frankenstein ten years ago, which you can read here, but I thought I would discuss the impact the film has had upon me. Like most Gen Xers I saw it when I was young. It would be the movie that cemented my love for the old Universal horror movies. I enjoyed Frankenstein (1931) a good deal, but I found Dracula (1930) a bit dull (my apologies to the movie's fans). Bride of Frankenstein impressed me in a way that Frankenstein and Dracula hadn't. It seemed much more modern in both its attitudes and its execution that the other Universal monster movies I had seen.

Indeed, even though it was released after the Pre-Code Era had ended, it seemed as if director James Whale got way with more in Bride of Frankenstein than he had in the first movie or Tod Browning had in Dracula. I was not very old when I realized that Dr. Pretorius could be a coded homosexual, a feat made easy by Ernest Thesiger's overly camp performance. There is also a good deal of religious symbolism in the movie, including one point in the movie where the villagers capture Frankenstein's creature and tied him to a pole in a cruciform pose. It honestly seems to me that there is more violence in Bride of Frankenstein than some of Universal's Pre-Code movies.

As grim as Bride of Frankenstein can be, it also has a good deal of humour. Much of this comes through Dr. Pretorius's wit, although there is outright comedy to be found in Una O' Connor and E. E. Clive. The presence of humour alongside horror in Bride of Frankenstein put it more in line with later horror movies than earlier ones, this even as it dealt with themes which even the Pre-Code horrors rarely bothered to touch.

Ultimately, it would be Bride of Frankenstein that would lead me to seek out other Universal horrors, from James Whale's The Dark Old House (1932) to The Black Cat (1934). Along with the soap opera Dark Shadows and the Hammer horror movies, the Universal monster movies would make me a fan of the horror genre. It was Bride of Frankenstein that helped me along a path that would lead me to such authors as Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, and Clive Barker and directors such as John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and Wes Craven. To me it's still the greatest horror movie of all time.