The Bride of Frankenstein poster & wallpaper

Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester

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 seque...( read more  read more... )l. 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

Flixster Users

81% liked it

5,471 ratings

Unrated, 75 min.

Directed by: James Whale

Release Date: April 22, 1935

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 784 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

The Bride of Frankenstein Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester The Bride of Frankenstein Bride of Frankenstein The Bride of Frankenstein The bride of Frankenstein The Bride of Frankenstein The Bride of Frankenstein The Bride of Frankenstein Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester The Bride of Frankenstein Elsa Lanchester The Bride of Frankenstein The Monster and his Bride Boris Karloff and Director James Whale 'She's alive!...Alive!' Valerie Hobson and Boris Karloff The Bride of Frankenstein
Upload a Photo |

View All The Bride of Frankenstein Photos (25)

Your Rating


clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (784)

  • flixsterman
    July 19, 2009
    flixsterman
    This is arguably the best of Universal's classic monster movies. It's also director James Whale's last horror film. Whale, who directed the original Frankenstein, returned with a very different approach for the sequel. Where the sets of Frankenstein were close to perfect in th...( read more)eir European authenticity, sets for "The Bride" were essentially a hodge-podge of canted architecture and macabre facades. The director also reworked the characters. He reduced Henry Frankenstein [Colin Clive] to what amounted to be a minor supporting role, added Dr. Pretorius [Ernest Thesiger], a flamboyant mad scientist (providing dark comic relief), and gave voice to the monster [Karloff]. The result is a film that is entirely original and self-sustaining.

    Aside from the opening scene and perhaps some later close-ups of the bride [Elsa Lanchester], there is little to frighten an audience here. Instead Whale achieves something much more rare. He creates a film that subtly pokes fun at itself while, at the same time, is very serious in it's approach.

    If there is anything here to be critical of it is Whale's unabashed attempt at religious symbolism. The camera seems to love the cross prominently displayed in the hermit's shack, and the raising of the captured monster tied to a stake is an obvious and distasteful reference to the crucifixion. It seems to me that what we have here is a case of Whale's enormous ego getting the better of his good judgment. Otherwise, the film may be as close to flawless, in terms of direction, casting, makeup, and set design, as any production before or since. A true cinematic masterpiece.
  • ohagankieran
    February 7, 2009
    ohagankieran
    As well as being superior to the original, it also towered over the rest of the universal franchise. This is a landmark in the horror film history. Everything is basically superior in this film. In the original we had like this boring doctor guy who gets killed but in this one we...( read more) get this guy called Dr.Pretorius whose intentions are evil and blasphemous and uses Black Magic instead of Science, theres the Bride of course, and even Frankensteins chick who is the same character but this one is much hotter.
  • sononothing
    November 5, 2008
    sononothing
    One of the first true sequels and the first sequel that is superior to the original film, The Bride of Frankenstein picks up right where the original film leaves off. The monster (again played by Boris Karloff) is not dead and is still terrorizing the village as Dr. Frankenstein ...( read more)(Colin Clive returning) recovers from his fall from the windmill. His rest is short lived as Dr. Pretorious (played with relish by Ernest Thesiger) approaches Frankenstein about merging his creation experiments with his own and creating a mate for his monster.

    James Whale returns to direct and once again gives us an amazing array of sights to behold (including Pretorius's experiments). Karloff gets to speak in this one and gives us one of the best lines in film history as his monster becomes even more sympathetic than in the last film. A great achievement with a story that not only builds on the original, but expands it into new territory. A classic horror picture.
  • groaningbitch
    July 9, 2008
    groaningbitch
    "bride of frankenstein" is one of the rare cases in cinema that the sequel indisputedly surpasses the original. naturally lots have been remarked upon the brilliance of james whale.

    unawared by most, "bride of frankenstein" also extends the homoeroticism from its precessor on...( read more) the character dr. pretorius who utters the legendary line "to the new world of gods and monsters" while he flaunts his little men in the jars (strangely it provoked the japanese ban then due to its mockery toward the royalty.) the mostly apparent scene would be dr. pretorius intrudes dr. frankenstein's bedroom in spite of the maid's warning in his fiancee's presence, discussing the course of "creating life" with insistence on excluding her. (an "intercourse" with discrimination toward the woman) it's a impudent poise on the caricature of elder anemic homosexual, admitted by whale himself.

    and the most heterosexual character with masculinity would probably be the monster who is eager to have a female mate (compared with the deviant pretorius and the wimpish frankenstein), demonstrating his enormous interests toward the creature called "woman". but the monster's friendly lovemaking is rebuffed abruptly as whale's ruthless disdain for heterosexuality as well as the pride of his own orientation. but wouldn't be it another suggestive tone of homosexual identification with woman since frankenstein and pretorius are ardent to create a female being (a pursuit of feminity?). they might be my crude speculations.

    un-noticed by most, the actress who plays frankenstein's fiancee is substituted with valerie hobson instead of mae clarke in the original since mae clarke is forgotten or dismissed as the grapefruit lady in "public enemy". and it is wonderful opportunity for una o'connor to showcase her comic flair as the screaming maid whose neurotic nerves borders on annoyance.
  • pier007
    April 29, 2008
    pier007
    Although more funny than scary, this has to be one of the best sequels ever done. James Whale's narration is lyrical and stylish, the settings evoke gothic mystique and Boris Karloff perfectly embodies the tall walking corpse, who embarks on a murderous rampage after the events o...( read more)f the first film, only to find at the end that even he has a heart. excellent horror/black comedy universal classic.
  • twraiderfan
    October 4, 2009
    twraiderfan
    classic in every sense of the word
  • jerrykimbro1
    October 1, 2009
    jerrykimbro1
    A sequel even better than the original. A true all time classic!
  • GreenGoblin92
    September 30, 2009
    GreenGoblin92
    Another oldie crapfest.
  • ElCochran90
    September 11, 2009
    ElCochran90
    The best in the series of Frankenstein, as well as one of the strongest candidates for the best horror film ever made. It actually surpasses the original.

    94/100
  • CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    September 4, 2009
    CHILIcheeseDONUTSwithTUNAonTOP
    A much bigger budget for this sequel. Very campy with some obvious gay references. Frankenstein does actually does utter a few words. This film picks up right where the last one let off with Frankenstein killing the father of the child he killed in the previous one (I don't know ...( read more)why the townsfolk didn't wait around to make sure they burned his body since they were awfully riled up in the first one). Better in many ways, but don't skip the first one before you see this.

View All The Bride of Frankenstein Reviews

Critic Reviews

No recent reviews.

Comments

This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "The Bride of Frankenstein" !

Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Frankenweenie
    Frankenweenie (100%)
  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (62%)
  • The Scarlet Empress (Catherine the Great)
    The Scarlet Empress (Catherine the Great) (100%)
  • Mad Love
    Mad Love (57%)

More Movies like The Bride of Frankenstein

Theater Showtimes & TV Listings

The Bride of Frankenstein Trivia

  • Which British director directed the classic Universal horror films: Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and the Invisible Man?  Answer »
  • Who played Septimus Pretorious, the sinister doctor who promised Frankenstein's Monster a mate, in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935)?   Answer »
  • The movie line "We belong dead" [Bride Of Frankenstein] was voted # 1 as the greatest movie line by Premiere in 2007 ?  Answer »
  • Who portrays Frankenstein the monster in Bride Of Frankenstein ?   Answer »
More The Bride of Frankenstein Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The Bride of Frankenstein. Want to create one?

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All The Bride of Frankenstein Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add The Bride of Frankenstein to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View The Bride of Frankenstein News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

lukrezia Skin by lukrezia
30 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins