Talk:Frankenstein (1931 film)

"Doctor" Frankenstein??
Henry Frankenstein was NOT a doctor in any of his Universal appearances. The character was established as a Goldstadt Medical College dropout. He was never referred to as a doctor in either the first film or the second in either the films or the credits. The sole reference to Henry as a doctor was in 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein' in 1848 and that is only on the cover of 'The Secrets of Life and Death' and that could be a continuity error (which are legion in the Universal Horror series) or a reference to events taking place after 'Bride of Frankenstein.' People not comprehending this fact should not be editing this entry based on misconceptions! (Sellpink (talk) 23:56, 5 June 2019 (UTC))


 * I believe that those people may be confused by him being referred to as a doctor in the book, though it's been a while since I read it. 2601:600:8D02:6090:442A:CA07:1542:E39A (talk) 17:34, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Universal "Revenues"
Could someone with access to the cited material please clarify this: "In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues." The meaning is unclear. Is this meant to say that Universal's revenues declined by $2.2 million? Or that the studio had an operating loss of $2.2 million? Or..? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.178.117.223 (talk) 14:13, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

References to use

 * Please add to the list references that can be used for the film article.



Based on...?
The article states that the film was "very loosely based on" the novel, but wasn't it in fact more or less an accurate translation of a popular stageplay running at the time? Granted, the play would have been loosely based on the novel, but in the interest of accuracy shouldn't the play be credited as the source? 12.22.250.4 22:51, 26 October 2006 (UTC)
 * You are right, but that point is clarified further down in the same paragraph. David L Rattigan 09:37, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The novel has been adapted several times, with stage productions appearing as early as the 1820s. Many of the playwrights changed or added parts of the plot, often borrowing from one another. Universal's take on Frankenstein was no exception, so it would be justified to call it "based on motifs of the novel". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.180.68.33 (talk) 10:39, 4 January 2010 (UTC)


 * How technical do we want to get? The actual film credit for the novel does not list the author as Mary Shelley but rather using the old-fashioned form "Mrs. Percy B. Shelley". We of course know she was married to the poet, etc. Do we want to use this in the infobox to accurately reflect the film? I'd say to list her name as Mary Shelley but put in something like (credited as Mrs. Percy B. Shelley)Sir Rhosis (talk) 04:06, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

ERROR: Frankenstein does not call monster "Herr Frankenstein"
There seems to be a lot of people expanding and editing this article lately; some is good, some is bad. It appears a lot of people want to play film historian and this is a very historic picture indeed; however a lot of it is coming off like Original Research and, frankly, a lot of it reads like a school essay. But one recent addition is a glaring error that I feel compelled to remove but not without an explanation. I know that some people work hard on their contributions and I wouldn't remove it if it wasn't a blatant error: In the trivia section (which has now apparently become the go off in a tangent section) someone asserts that Frankenstein calls the monster "Herr Frankenstein" in the scene where he is reaching for sunlight, implying that the popular mistake of calling the monster "Frankenstein" may have begun with this scene. It is in fact WALDMAN saying "Take care, Herr Frankenstein, take care", or something very close to that, TO FRANKENSTEIN. Apart from the fact that should be obvious... it's clear to me that it's Waldman's voice, plus, think about it... Henry Frankenstein has just opened the skylight so the monster can experience sunlight for the first time. He wants the monster to see it and feel it. Why would he suddenly freak out and tell the monster to be careful? What danger is there in the sunlight? But, the line is said just as Henry approaches the monster... and it is clearly said BY WALDMAN as a warning TO FRANKENSTEIN not to get too close to an 8 foot monster with a defective brain! But the bottom line is this can be confirmed by turning on the English subtitles on the DVD, where, as the line is spoken off camera, they attribute it to Waldman (it reads something like "Waldman: Take care, herr Frankenstein, take care"). So, since this is an error, and then the author goes on to a whole tangent based on this error, I feel compelled to remove it. There is a similar event that actually does take place in Bride of Frankenstein, in which Dr. Pretorius clearly says "The bride of Frankenstein!" in reference to the two monsters. This (along with a line by Lord Byron in the prologue that could be interpreted similarly) is the real first occurance in a Universal film of someone erroneously referring to the monster as Frankenstein.Cris Varengo 15:45, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

"Fritz' error"
How was it his error? He was startled, thus he dropped the "normal brain", a jar in which a normal human brain was in; after having done this, he grabbed the next available one - that of a murderer, an "abnormal brain". Qwerty (talk) 12:03, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I think you explained his error right there. He didn't read what the label on the jar said, and therefore his carelessness in choosing a replacement was the creation of the monster itself. -The Photoplayer 02:11, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Both jars were labeled - The fault should be with Dr. Frankenstein unless Fritz brought him the brain in his bare hands. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.210.39.103 (talk) 18:15, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Scary monster list
Shouldn't we add as to why the monster was put on the list (drwoning a small child) I mean if I hadn't actually read the list I would still be in the dark about it.203.53.167.180 09:28, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Messy
The sequels and parodies section needs cleaning up. -- Beardo 05:41, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Clean up needed
Can someone -- preferable the person who posted it -- clean up the second paragraph of what is now called the "Production" section? I really can't make heads or tails out of it, and would hate to just delete it if someone can make sense of it. Ed Fitzgerald (unfutz)  (talk / cont)  04:27, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

One difference between the book and the film
From the article:


 * In the novel, Frankenstein's name is Victor, not Henry (Henry Clerval was the name of Victor's best friend) and he is not a doctor, but rather a college student of numerous sciences.

Is it actually stated in the film that Henry Frankenstein was a doctor? I viewed the film on TCM the other night and from the dialogue, it seemed pretty clear that Henry was a student under Dr. Waldman and left his studies prematurely because the university was hindering his experiments. Given the pseudo-scientific disciplines Henry had mastered in the film besides medicine and given that a medical degree is hardly necessary for patching together body parts, the description given above of the Victor character from the novel seems perfect for Henry as well. Thoughts? --Sephiroth9611 (talk) 20:05, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

In popular culture
Should there be an "In popular culture" or "legacy" section? It seems appropriate, since it is such an iconic film and has been referenced many times in other media. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.245.41.209 (talk) 03:26, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Unsourced sections
The Production section has an Unsourced Section tag since October 2013. However, I count seven footnotes, or about one per paragraph. Therefore, I think that should be removed and if someone thinks particular facts need references, they can add Citation Needed tags. The Sequels and Parodies section also has an Unsourced tag since July 2015. While there are no footnotes in this section, each paragraph references another WP article so I think the tag should be removed. JmA (talk) 23:43, 1 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Hi - At first I was going to say  be bold and do it, but then I looked at the section.  I think you'd need to add between 6-8 cn tags in that section, which will make it look much more clunky than the single Section improve references tag.  I mean, there's a block quote at the beginning, with no reference.  I think we should leave it.  If I can, I'll see about looking for references this week.  Onel 5969  TT me 00:35, 2 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Hello - The block quote is from the movie itself.  You can verify it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY-h77CXLQ8 . Does it need additional sources?  The second paragraph, after that quote is mostly about Bela Lugosi and has five footnotes.  What statements there would need additional references?  I think the third paragraph is adequately noted because it contains cross-links to the respective actors/actresses.  The fourth paragraph is probably the only one I believe may merit an outside source.  And what about the Sequels and Parodies section?
 * One additional thought: the block quote isn't really about the Production of the movie. It could perhaps be moved to its own section, before the plot or after the cast? JmA (talk) 02:29, 2 August 2015 (UTC)

Differences between the book and the film
I think that it should definitely be mentioned in this article that the film and the book are completely different stories that have almost nothing to do with each other. Also for this reason, a list of differences would not be appropriate. NathanielJS (talk) 05:23, 15 March 2015 (UTC)
 * A list of differences, overall or specific, shouldn't be listed in any case unless reliable sources have noted them. For editors to make such comparisons is a form of original research, and possibly lends undue weight to them. DonIago (talk) 07:06, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

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Cast and Characters
Since this a movie, my page will feature the cast list while explaining how the actors got the role and the fun facts that happened on the set of this movie, the sources were I got the explanations for the Cast Lists are from IMDB:


 * Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein
 * A Mad Scientist who creates The Monster and is engaged to Elizabeth. Those originally considered for the cast included Leslie Howard as Henry Frankenstein and Bette Davis as Elizabeth. Director James Whale insisted on Colin Clive for the role of Henry. The leading character of Mary Shelley's book, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, was renamed Henry because it was decided Victor would sound too "severe" and "unfriendly" to American audiences at the time.


 * Mae Clarke as Elizabeth Lavenza
 * Henry's Fiancée who tries to find out about his experiments with Victor and Dr. Waldman.


 * John Boles as Victor Moritz
 * Henry's Friend, who along with Elizabeth and Dr. Waldman, also tries to find out about his experiments.


 * Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster
 * Henry's Creation who wreaks havoc on the village. The most difficult aspect of casting was The Monster. James Whale happened to spot Boris Karloff in the Universal commissary and passed him a note offering a screen-test, which Karloff jumped at. The actor later joked that he was offended by being viewed as such an ugly character, since on the day that Whale spotted him, he was wearing his most elegant suit and thought he was looking his most handsomest.
 * Karloff's make-up took four hours each day for Jack P. Pierce to apply, and his cumbersome costume weighed 48 pounds in the uncomfortable heat of summer. The Monster in this film does not physically resemble the character in Mary Shelley's novel. It was Jack Pierce who came up with innovations such as the Monster's flat head, the bolts through the neck, the droopy eyelids, and the poorly-fitted suit. Any future Frankenstein film that features any of these physical abnormalities is taking its inspiration from Pierce's make-up work. Karloff offered to remove his partial bridgework as part of the monster make-up process to create the sunken-cheek look. The popular image of Frankenstein's monster as green-skinned was sourced in this film. Jack Pierce applied a grayish-green greasepaint for The Monster's skin that appeared as a deathly pale gray tone on black and white film. This contrasted with the gray values of the normal characters in the movie. The one exception was the use of a much darker color on The Monster's exposed arm - representing dead, black flesh - prior to its being brought to life.
 * John Carradine turned down the part of The Monster because he considered himself too highly trained to be reduced to playing monsters. Boris Karloff often referred to the Frankenstein Monster as "the dear old boy". In a 1985 interview, Mae Clarke said, "I thought Boris Karloff was magnificent. That scene with the skylight! When he looked up and up and up and up and waved his hand at the light, it was a spiritual lesson--looking at God! It was like when we die, the Beatific Vision, which makes people understand the words: 'Eye was not seen, nor ear heard, the glories that God has prepared for those who love Him.'" The Monster's make-up design by Jack P. Pierce is under copyright to Universal through the year 2026 and licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc.


 * Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Waldman
 * Henry's former college professor who investigates his experiments with Victor and Elizabeth.


 * Dwight Frye as Fritz
 * Henry's Assistant who also abuses The Monster. Dwight Frye hadn't long played the character of Renfield in Dracula (1931) when he was cast as Fritz, the hunch-backed assistant.


 * Frederick Kerr as Baron Frankenstein
 * Henry's Father who is also suspicious about him.


 * Lionel Belmore as Herr Vogel
 * The Burgomaster of the village who plans Henry and Elizabeth's wedding.


 * Marilyn Harris as Maria
 * a little girl who befriends The Monster, also being Ludwig's Daughter. During production, there was some concern that seven-year-old actress Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by The Monster, would be overly frightened by the sight of Boris Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Harris ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in his full make-up and wearing his full costume, took his hand, and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with "The Monster".
 * Harris had done several takes of Maria being thrown in the lake, none of which turned out quite right. (For example, on the first take, she actually floated as The Monster thought she would. A petticoat or two were removed to facilitate her going under water.) Although wet and tired, she agreed to do one last take of the scene, the one that appears in the finished film, after director James Whale promised her anything she wanted if she would do so. She asked for a dozen hard-boiled eggs, her favorite snack. Whale gave her two dozen. The DVD commentary for the film suggests that Harris wasn't actually a good swimmer, quoting her as saying that she had only a couple of swimming lessons before filming and had never dived under water before.


 * Michael Mark as Ludwig
 * Maria's Father who creates a town mob to kill The Monster at the end of the film.

Additionally, Mae Bruce appears as a maid who screams when she sees an unconscious Elizabeth. Ted Billings and Jack Curtis appear as villagers in the town mob at the end while Arletta Duncan portrays Elizabeth's bridesmaid with William Dyer appearing as the gravedigger at the opening of the film. Francis Ford portrays a character named Hans while Mary Gordon and Soledad Jiménez appear as mourners at the funeral in the opening scene with Carmencita Johnson appearing as a little girl at the parade.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.203.158.81 (talk) 18:37, 26 August 2022 (UTC)

94.201.206.212 (talk) 15:24, 7 August 2022 (UTC)


 * If you're suggesting that the Cast section of the article be changed to this, then the most obvious issue is that by and large you haven't provided reliable sources for your edits. DonIago (talk) 15:45, 7 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Exactly, IMDB is not reliable. PrisonerB (talk) 13:07, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
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Girl in Lake scene "rediscovered"
The article says the cut scene where the monster throws the girl in the lake was redisocvered in the 1980s. Yet Victor Erice's movie Spirit of the Beehive was made in 1973, and it shows a theater of people watching this very scene. 2601:643:8D80:9D10:D852:3E30:3232:B0C1 (talk) 06:40, 10 April 2024 (UTC)