Friday, October 26, 2018

Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors: #6


Halloween season simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of golden age Universal horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip of it by counting down Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors!

#6. Frankenstein (1931- dir. James Whale)

The definitive Universal monster movie. James Whale was a great wit, but he plays Frankenstein very seriously (in fact, the only comic relief character, Baron Frankenstein, is a complete dim wit and not particularly funny). You won’t miss the cheekiness of Bride, Invisible Man, or The Old Dark House because you will be completely transfixed by Boris Karloff’s devastating portrayal of the Monster. He can be terrifying, as he is in his disturbing jump-cut introduction, but he is mostly deeply moving and sympathetic. It is a beautiful performance heavily indebted to silent film but without a lick of the over-emoting/over-gesticulating that marked much pre-sound acting. Karloff is completely, modernly naturalistic whether tragically trying to connect with a little girl or reaching for rays of sunlight as if they’re tangible love. Colin Clive is also great as frantic, obsessed Dr. F., and Dwight Frye is at his nastiest as the doctor’s sadistic assistant Fritz. Whale’s Gothic style is impeccable, and the inventive editing and staging make this a monster movie as towering, solid, and timeless as the creature himself.

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