Classic Movies - Universal Studios Monsters: Frankenstein

This week, let’s talk Classic Monster Movies of Universal Studios! The monster movies created by Universal Studios during the 1930s and 1940s will always hold special places in our childhood memories. It was great fun to be scared by the likes of the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy as we watched Spook Spectacular (St. Louis area) on Saturday night TV in the late 50s, early 60s. We usually watched in the dark as we lay on the floor. A pillow or blanket was always close at hand in case we needed to cover our faces in a hurry. Our favorite legendary actors of the “Universal” horror genre and those featured in this week’s posts are the terrifying trio of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr.

Today, let’s talk “Universal” Monster Classics of Boris Karloff! In 1931, a British-born, intellectual actor named Boris Karloff appeared in 13 talking pictures. One of them, Frankenstein, was about a young scientist (Colin Clive) who built himself a giant-sized man out of dead bodies and gave his creation life by shooting him full of electricity. Boris Karloff portrayed the flat-topped, knobby-necked creature that was first depicted more than a century earlier in the novel by teen-aged feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. From 1931 on, in spite of portraying many non-monster characters, Karloff was forever linked in the public’s mind with Frankenstein. In addition, people persistently referred to his character as “Frankenstein”, forgetting that it was the creator, not the creation, that bore the name.

Karloff reprised the monster’s role in two more films, Bride of Frankenstein (1935), with Colin Clive and Son of Frankenstein (1939), with Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi. Bride of Frankenstein is often considered the best of the three and it is definitely our favorite. We especially enjoy hearing the monster speak, saying such lines as “Food-good”; “Friend-good”; “Drink-good”; and “Fire-no good”. His tender, yet unreciprocated, love scene with his man-made bride (Elsa Lanchester) is one of the highlights of the film. In Son of Frankenstein, Karloff’s monster no longer speaks and is somewhat upstaged by the wonderful performance of Bela Lugosi as the amusingly sinister, broken-necked Ygor. In the first two films, Karloff’s creature is portrayed with some poignancy and we can sympathize with his plight, but in the third film, the monster is much more violent and destructive. We’ve heard that the increased violence is one of the reasons Boris Karloff decided to give up the role in the sequels that followed and which include Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, House of Frankenstein (Karloff appeared in this film, but not as the monster), and House of Dracula. We like these sequels well enough, but they just aren’t of the same caliber as those with Karloff as the Frankenstein monster.

Boris Karloff also created another memorable monster classic for Universal Studios in 1932’s The Mummy. The most exciting scene in the film occurs when the mummy awakens after centuries of lying dormant. As he shuffles off with the life-giving scroll, the young archeologist, who witnesses the mummy’s departure, let’s out a blood-curdling scream, then laughing hysterically exclaims, “He went for a little walk”. The Mummy was Karloff’s only appearance as the Egyptian creature although there are a number of sequels in which Lon Chaney, Jr. usually plays the role. Our favorites of those sequels are The Mummy’s Hand (1940) and The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), both with Dick Foran and Wallace Ford. Tom Tyler plays the mummy in the first of these films and Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the mummy in the second.

Many film roles, usually of the “fright” variety, lay ahead for Boris Karloff throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s. His narration of the TV Christmas classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), introduced him to a whole new audience and continues to endear him to each passing generation. Boris Karloff died from a heart attack in 1969 at the age of 81. He will forever be remembered for the Universal Studios Classic Monsters that he portrayed. He not only breathed life into those creatures, but humanity as well.

**Trivia Question for Today: Who is the character actor who plays Fritz, the hunchback who torments the monster in Frankenstein?

Trivia Answer for Previous Post: The one Sullivan sister was named Genevieve. She also served in the Navy as a WAVE. It was the death of her boyfriend, Bill Ball, at Pearl Harbor that prompted her five brothers to join the Navy to avenge his death.