Frankenstein movie review

Frankenstein, released in 1931 was the second of the Universal Monster movies, following the success of Dracula earlier that year. Frankenstein's monster is one the the most recognizable monsters of all time, and that iconic version of Frankenstein's monster is based off of Boris Karloff's portrayal in the classic 1931 classic. When most people think of the story of Frankenstein they think of the version that was in this film, it is more widely recognized than the version that was in Mary Shelly's novel. Universal based their version of Frankenstein off of the play Peggy Webling, which was based on the novel, rather than basing the story directly on the novel. This is also the role that launched Boris Karloff into a recognizable movie star as well, and truly the career defining roll, thought he roll was originally supposed to be played by Bela Lugosi, however there is conflicting stories behind why he ended up not playing the roll. Frankenstein is a tragic story that begs the question of who is really the monster, though some of that tragedy is lost in its first movie adaptation, though it is still there. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) with the help of his hunchback assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) creates a monster (Boris Karloff), but Fritz stole the wrong brain, and Frankenstein instead put the brain of a criminal into the monster, rather than the normal brain that he intended too. Frankenstein abandons the monster and goes on with his life, getting married to his fiance Eizabeth (Mae Clarke). Fritz tortures the monster with a torch and the monster escapes and stumbles through the country side, but when he kills a young girl, the whole village starts a hunt for him, which leads up to the iconic climax of the film. This is one of the best and most iconic horror films of all time, and upon its original release in 1931 many cities and municipalities called for it to be heavily censored, and for many years much of the movie was lost due to the over zealous censors of the time period. Thankfully the film has been restored over the years. The film was issued with a warning at the beginning of it, due to the shock and fear it caused in the audience. It may be hard to believe it, but at the time of its release Frankenstein was shocking and one of the scariest movies of time. Now it is sad that the Frankenstein monster has been turned into a cartoon of its original terrifying self, and he is on children's breakfast cereal, and pretty much everywhere. It is important to remember that these monsters weren't silly Halloween props, but they were from movies that actually shocked and terrified audiences who saw them in theater in the 1930s. If you let your mind go, and really appreciate the film, with a mind not perverted by modern horror and gore, but see it with the innocent mind of someone who in a time without television buys a ticket to see a movie at the theater, maybe a midnight showing for example, and they see this lumbering hulk of a monster, and a scientist exclaim that he now knows what it feels like to BE god. Think about how outrageously shocking that would have been then. This is an important and very influential film, and has inspired countless sequels, remakes, and reimaginings, it has inspired television and films that we still love to this day, like The Munsters and Edward Scissorhands both were inspired by the story of Frankenstein and his monster. But who is he monster, is it the monster who was abandoned and knew not right from wrong, or is it Frankenstein who created this being and then just discarded it? Would I recommend this film? Yes, I would never not recommend this amazing classic film, it is a must see for everyone, and deserves its place as one of the greatest films of all-time.