Frankenstein (1931)

 James Whale's "Frankenstein"


After the success of Universal's "Dracula," monster movies became a new commercial market for Hollywood studios. For the next half-decade, these monster movies were a great success. This was especially important due to the Depression-era audiences that were seeing these movies. Monster movies, gangster movies, and musicals were the most financially successful movies that Hollywood was producing, due in large part to the escapism they offered. 

However, after watching James Whale's "Frankenstein," I found myself being rather bored by it. Because the film is escapism, it was far more attractive to audiences attempting to watch a new spectacle. However, because spectaclism has evolved and grown over the last 90 years, the 'spectacle' elements of the film are a little more mundane and uninteresting. I did notice the parallels to the 1920 German film "The Golem," especially many of the visual references. I am also inclined to believe that no adaptation of Mary Shelley's original source material would ever have as much substance or live up to it. Despite this, I understand the vast important of not only this film, but the monster movie of the early 1930s in general.



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