Day 5 is down and I'm pleased that I'm keeping up with two films a day so far, I'm actually likely to finish my Universal/Hammer list that I made out by halfway through the month.
9) Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
An audience needs something stronger than a pretty little love story. So, why shouldn't I write of monsters?
The monster learns to drink and smoke! Gooooood.
What a fine surprise this film was. It's typical of horror sequels, particularly of this era but really to this day, to simply be a rehash of the original, perhaps with more blood. They might have easily just recycled Frankenstein with some copycat replacement characters, but instead this is absolutely a Part 2, picking up right where the first film ended and continuing the story in a way that feels completely organic.
Featuring one of the more creative recaps of the first film I've seen a sequel do, the opening has Mary Shelley and Lord Byron himself chatting about her story, before she begins to tell more of the tale. There's more camp and humor in Bride compared to the first film (including the rather irritating screaming woman from The Invisible Man), but it doesn't take away from the emotional development, as it puts the monster front and center with him learning to be more human. Meanwhile we have a gloriously evil villainous scientist dragging poor Frankenstein back into the world of monster making. Dr. Pretorius was almost the star of the film outright, if it wasn't for Karloff's great work as the monster.
The film was also very finely shot, as you can really see the advancement in technology and technique both as we're getting further and further away from the silent era. The whole film is full of interesting framing and lighting, and wonderful moody sets.
I actually might say this was overall a better film than the first one (and I thought the first was great), and I'd call it essential viewing if you watch the first film.
10) The Invisible Ray (1936)
The universe is very large, and there are some secrets we are not meant to probe.
It's Lugosi vs Karloff Round 2, this time with pseudoscience.
This film felt rather like the abundant sci-fi movies of the 1950s, despite being from 1936. Putting aside all the truly nonsensical science featured in the film, this was an enjoyable romp. with Karloff once again playing the villain against Lugosi, who's sporting a terrific goatee. Instead of a mad scientist creating a monster, this time the scientist himself is the experiment gone wrong (part of that 1950s vibe I mentioned above). The film actually touched on some proto-slasher elements late in the film, as Karloff started bumping off the cast.
One criticism that must be leveled at it was a fairly dodgy depiction of African natives. "For its time" or not, it was pretty painful.
Overall not a classic but if you're a fan of the two actors check it out. I also liked the film repeating the cast credits at the end with the heading of "A Universal cast is worth repeating". That's some amusing boasting there.
9) Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
An audience needs something stronger than a pretty little love story. So, why shouldn't I write of monsters?
The monster learns to drink and smoke! Gooooood.
What a fine surprise this film was. It's typical of horror sequels, particularly of this era but really to this day, to simply be a rehash of the original, perhaps with more blood. They might have easily just recycled Frankenstein with some copycat replacement characters, but instead this is absolutely a Part 2, picking up right where the first film ended and continuing the story in a way that feels completely organic.
Featuring one of the more creative recaps of the first film I've seen a sequel do, the opening has Mary Shelley and Lord Byron himself chatting about her story, before she begins to tell more of the tale. There's more camp and humor in Bride compared to the first film (including the rather irritating screaming woman from The Invisible Man), but it doesn't take away from the emotional development, as it puts the monster front and center with him learning to be more human. Meanwhile we have a gloriously evil villainous scientist dragging poor Frankenstein back into the world of monster making. Dr. Pretorius was almost the star of the film outright, if it wasn't for Karloff's great work as the monster.
The film was also very finely shot, as you can really see the advancement in technology and technique both as we're getting further and further away from the silent era. The whole film is full of interesting framing and lighting, and wonderful moody sets.
I actually might say this was overall a better film than the first one (and I thought the first was great), and I'd call it essential viewing if you watch the first film.
10) The Invisible Ray (1936)
The universe is very large, and there are some secrets we are not meant to probe.
It's Lugosi vs Karloff Round 2, this time with pseudoscience.
This film felt rather like the abundant sci-fi movies of the 1950s, despite being from 1936. Putting aside all the truly nonsensical science featured in the film, this was an enjoyable romp. with Karloff once again playing the villain against Lugosi, who's sporting a terrific goatee. Instead of a mad scientist creating a monster, this time the scientist himself is the experiment gone wrong (part of that 1950s vibe I mentioned above). The film actually touched on some proto-slasher elements late in the film, as Karloff started bumping off the cast.
One criticism that must be leveled at it was a fairly dodgy depiction of African natives. "For its time" or not, it was pretty painful.
Overall not a classic but if you're a fan of the two actors check it out. I also liked the film repeating the cast credits at the end with the heading of "A Universal cast is worth repeating". That's some amusing boasting there.
