Skip to main content

Frankenstein - A Great Classic Horror

Today's movie was the 1931 version of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff as the monster. AFI placed this one at number 87 on the list. Right from the very surreal opening credit sequence I knew this was going to be a chilling and haunting film. The movie opens on a funeral scene where the only sounds you hear are a bell ringing and people sobbing loudly. This was very haunting and set the mood perfectly.

The character of Fritz, Doctor Frankenstein's assistant, my favorite, was wonderfully portrayed by the late actor, Dwight Frye. Colin Clive gave a chilling performance as Henry Frankenstein. Then there was the monster himself. Monsters in today's movies are pretty scary, but usually due to visual effects. Frankenstein's monster is scary due to terrific acting on the part of Boris Karloff. His haunting howls, grunts, and screams sent chills up my spine.

A few scenes really stood out for me:
1) When Henry's former teacher Doctor Waldman begins a dissection of the monster who is just coming out of the effects of a sedative.
2) The little girl Maria shares her flowers with the monster.
The scene that got me the most though was what the villagers did to the monster. I won't say because I don't want to give the plot away, but I did almost need to run for the Kleenex box. Have one near you if you are the sensitive sort because you'll probaby need one.

Although the movie was very well made, I was slightly disappointed in the final scene. It was a bit anticlimactic in my opinion. My husband and I did not watch this one together, so thus far I can only give my thumbs up/thumbs down opinion. This one get a thumbs up from me for suspense and brilliant acting.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hitch and the Oscars

Well, after quite some time I"m finally getting here to update this blog. I noticed tonight it's been since January since I wrote anything. Don't know how this post will turn out, though because my body is trying to get a cold and I'm trying to keep ahead of it. Assuming everyone hasn't given up on this blog, does anyone have tried and true methods to offer on how to keep from getting sick? I have to work the next seven days straight through and absolutely have no time to get sick. On the up side, though, I met someone at my church who likes Lord of the Rings as much as I do so now I have someone (in real life) to talk about the movies with and my husband won't have to listen to me talk LotR non-stop, lol! Anyway, on to the update. There are two reasons for the lack of updates. First, all the shows I watch have been first run episodes, so what with keeping up with my t.v. shows, there hasn't been time to catch many movies. Second, there haven't been ma...

I'm so excited

Yesterday I got to watch a great movie on cable. It was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo . This is definitely one of my favorite Hitchcock films. I love the mystery and the eeriness of it (did I spell that right?). Plus, Jimmy Stewart is one of my all time favorite actors. He is sooo good in this film. Speaking of Hitchcock, my husband and I are spending Thanksgiving on our own this year due to him having to work the day after (and of course I need to shop, lol). We are going to resurrect a tradition we started a few years ago and haven't had a chance to do the last couple of years. Namely, we are going to spend the day watching Hitchcock films. On the list so far are classics such as Rope , Dial M for Murder and Rear Window . There are others too, but I don't remember what they are. Hey, if anyone else out in blogland has any suggestions, let me know. I'm up for anything except The Birds , which freaked me out and North by Northwest , which I watched once and it caused...

Inspiration

Every so often a movie comes along that truly inspires you every time you watch it, more than any other movie you've ever seen. You can watch it over and over and always learn something new about yourself and the world around you. It's the one movie you turn to when life hits a low point and you need someone or something to help pick you back up. I don't know what that one movie is for you, but for me I've discovered it's the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Return of the King most of all. I don't know why these movies help to pick me up. Maybe it's watching Frodo's struggling journey that helps me realize as hard as I think things are for me, some people struggle with something much harder to deal with and they do it with great perseverance and courage. Like Frodo, they come out a different and stronger person. Makes me realize I should stop complaining and just get on with the task or tasks at hand. Or maybe it's seeing that Frodo wasn't ...