The Flickr Karloff Image Generatr

A pair of Universal monster wall hangers from Black Heart,

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got off to a late start this year but the flower garden is starting to shape up quite nicely...

Still a ways off but getting closer. Photo by Mike Rogers Pix.

So, this was the object of the class I took at Wonderfest this year. The idea was to get to use some techniques I've never tired before: painting wet-on-wet with multiple colors on the brush (the backplate), using pastels for shading (the backplate again, the shades on the bandages), and some metallic waxes (the sarcophagus.)
It was fantastically instructive.

This is what makes this version of the kit exclusive: the glowing brazier. It was cast by the class's instructor and pre-wired with flickering LEDs to make installation a snap.

I should re-take this, since it's not quite in focus.

Vintage postcard by Edition Hugo, Movie Collection, no. 810. American poster by Universal for Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage postcard by Edition Hugo, Movie Collection, no. 801. Spanish poster for Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

German postcard by ZigZagPosters, no. B. 016. Original artwork: Kurt Degen. German poster for Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

American postcard by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y., 2001. American poster by Universal for The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932).

French postcard by Editions Zreik, Paris, no. 24. Original artwork: Bos. Vintage poster for Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage press photo. Boris Karloff and Marilyn Harris in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

German flyer by Illustrierte Film-Bühne, no. 3656. Photo: Universal. Boris Karloff, Colin Clive and Dwight Frye in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

American postcard by American Postcard, no. 37. Boris Karloff and Mae Clarke in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

American postcard by American Postcard, no. 38. Boris Karloff and Mae Clarke in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

Frankenstein (1931) is an iconic American Horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal. Whale based the story on the 1927 play written by Peggy Webling based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'. For Boris Karloff, his role as the monster was a breakthrough. The film became a huge success and received several sequels. In 1991, it was listed on the National Film Registry.

For Frankenstein (1931), the Peggy Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay was written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. In a village in the Bavarian Alps, Dr Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel) (played by Colin Clive) is a brilliant scientist possessed by the idea of reviving dead tissue. To carry out his experiments, he goes out at night to dig up corpses along with his hunchback servant Fritz (Dwight Frye). But instead of providing him with a healthy brain, Fritz gives him the brain of a murderer. Henry is about to marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) to inherit his father's estate, but he increasingly loses sight of reality and becomes completely absorbed by his experiments. One stormy night, his greatest life wish is fulfilled when he uses lightning to revive his creation, a man made entirely of parts from corpses. The creature (Boris Karloff), often known as Frankenstein's monster, seems simple and harmless at first, meekly doing whatever Frankenstein commands, but soon Henry and Fritz begin to suspect that the creature could be dangerous and lock him in the cellar. Their fears prove well-founded when the monster breaks out and kills Fritz. Henry realises his mistake and, helped by his old teacher Dr Waldman, sets out to eliminate the monster with a lethal injection. They manage to administer the monster the injection, but it only renders the monster unconscious. As Henry goes to his wedding, the monster reawakens and kills Waldman. It then escapes from the castle. After some wandering, it meets a farmer's daughter who is not afraid of it, but in his ignorance, he throws her into the water and she drowns.

In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York's Roxy Theatre on 12 February 1931, Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) starring Béla Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal's 1931 releases. As a result, the head of production, Carl Laemmle Jr., announced immediate plans for more horror films. Frankenstein (1931) was initially to be directed by Robert Florey. Following his acclaimed role as Count Dracula, Béla Lugosi was Florey's first choice for the role of Dr Frankenstein. However, when he proved unsuitable for the role, he was offered to play the monster instead so that Universal could at least include his name on the film poster. Robert Florey shot two test reels with Lugosi in the role of the monster. Reportedly, these reels were disappointing. Universal then took Florey and Lugosi off the project. They were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would still play the monster years later in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Roy William Neill, 1943). After Florey's departure, the newly arrived British director James Whale took over and later cast Colin Clive and Boris Karloff. He had the screenplay rewritten to give the monster more character. Jack Pierce came up with the familiar look for the monster. Pierce was inspired by brain operations when surgeons cut off the top of the skull. He flattened the top of the skull and added staples. Pierce covered Karloff's hair with a skullcap. He drew a square skull and forehead using cotton soaked in collodion. The actor felt that his eyes were still too bright and Pierce made wax eyelids. Kenneth Strickfaden was responsible for the special effects surrounding the monster's creation, especially the electricity. Boris Karloff reportedly feared being burnt by the electricity in the scene. The effects were so successful that they became an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein's Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens". It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil (transformer) built by inventor Nikola Tesla himself.

Frankenstein (1931) was produced with an estimated budget of $291,000. The film was a sensation. A scene in which the monster throws a girl into the water, accidentally drowning her, was long considered too controversial. In the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York, among others, the second part of this scene was cut. Cinemas in the state of Kansas wanted a total of 32 scenes removed from the film before they were willing to show it. If they had been removed, would have cut half of the film. Frankenstein (1931) introduced several elements not found in the original book, but today closely associated with Frankenstein and his monster: Frankenstein's laboratory, the idea that Frankenstein steals the body parts for his creation from graves at night, the idea that Frankenstein uses lightning to bring his creation to life, the idea that Frankenstein would have an assistant, still called Fritz in this film but named Igor in many later films and series, Frankenstein's cry of joy "It's alive!" when the monster is successfully brought to life and the idea of an angry mob eventually armed with torches hunt down the monster. Frankenstein was well-received by critics. The New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall said that the film "aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. [T]here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm". People flocked to the cinema and the box office receipts amounted to $5,000,000. It was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1931-1932 period, proving to Universal Pictures executives that there was an audience for Horror films. The film had a significant impact on popular culture. The imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster has since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein (1931) for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, French and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Dutch press photo. Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935).

Bride of Frankenstein (1933) is a classic American horror film directed by James Whale. It's the sequel to Frankenstein (1931), also directed by James Whale and starring Colin Clive as Baron Frankenstein and Boris Karloff as his creature.

In a castle on a stormy night, Mary Shelley, her husband Percy and Lord Byron are sitting together. Byron regrets that the story of Frankenstein ended so abruptly. Mary then tells the sequel by the fireside. It seems that the creature (Boris Karloff) created by Baron Frankenstein (Colin Clive) from body parts has died in a burning mill. But after the angry mob has dispersed and Baron Frankenstein, who was badly wounded in the fight with the monster, is brought home, the monster burrows out of the charred wood debris. Soon the villagers are once again mourning the dead and injured. The first victims are the parents of Maria, the child killed in the previous film, who wanted to see for themselves that the monster was dead and died in the process. After the creature is initially captured and put in chains, it manages to escape and retreats deep into the woods, where it meets a blind hermit (Oliver Peters Heggie) who takes care of the creature. Under his peaceful care, the monster takes on more and more human traits, learns to speak and can appreciate the pleasures of cigars, wine and music. One day, when some hunters come along who have lost their way, they recognise the monster and shoot it in their overzealousness. The situation escalates and the hermit's hut goes up in flames. The creature has to flee again and retreats to an abandoned crypt. There, the monster meets the insane Dr Praetorius (Ernest Thesiger), a former teacher of Frankenstein, who is also obsessed with the idea of creating life. Praetorius secures the creature's support by promising to construct a mate for it. To do this, however, he needs the help of Baron Frankenstein, whom he forces to cooperate by blackmail. As additional leverage, he has Frankenstein's wife Elisabeth (Valerie Hobson) kidnapped. Together, Frankenstein and Praetorius succeed in creating a bride for the monster (Elsa Lanchester).

Universal considered making a sequel to Frankenstein as early as its 1931 preview screenings, following which the film's original ending was changed to allow for Henry Frankenstein's survival. James Whale initially refused to direct Bride, believing he had "squeezed the idea dry" on the first film. Kurt Neumann was originally scheduled to replace Whale but decided to film The Black Cat instead. Following the success of Whale's The Invisible Man, producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. realised that Whale was the only possible director for Bride of Frankenstein. Although the plot of Bride of Frankenstein follows directly from the previous film, Frankenstein, there are many changes, such as the setting and the appearance of the castle. Some roles also reappear, but are played by different actors: Dr Frankenstein's wife is played by Valerie Hobson instead of Mae Clarke, the mayor E. E. Clive instead of Lionel Belmore and the father of the little girl Maria (who was killed in the first film) Reginald Barlow instead of Michael Mark. Baron Frankenstein, Henry's father, is not seen at all in this film but is only mentioned. Baron Frankenstein's actor Frederick Kerr had died in the meantime and the role was not recast. Bride of Frankenstein was released to critical and popular acclaim, although it encountered difficulties with some state and national censorship boards.

A particularly successful punchline in Bride of Frankenstein is that the author of the Frankenstein novel, Mary Shelley, who can be seen as the narrator in the opening sequence, is played by the same actress (Elsa Lanchester) as Frankenstein's bride. The meetings between Byron and the Shelleys are historical. Byron had left England in April 1816 after some scandals surrounding his person and rented Villa Diodati in Switzerland for a few months. Mary W. Shelley is said to have been inspired to write her novel in the gloomy atmosphere there. Bride of Frankenstein is considered one of the best classic Universal horror films from the 1930s. Despite a few inconsistencies in the script, the plot sparkles with humour and ingenuity. The sets, especially Frankenstein's laboratory, are excellent and the actors - especially Boris Karloff and Ernest Thesiger - are in top form. The presentation of Praetorius' miniaturised humans (homunculi), which he holds captive in jars, is a masterpiece of trickery for the time. Franz Waxman's leitmotif-influenced film music is also considered by some to be one of the first great horror film scores. Gilbert Kurland was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound in 1936. Since its release the film's reputation has grown, and it is now frequently considered one of the greatest sequels ever made; many fans and critics consider it to be an improvement on the original, and it has been hailed as Whale's masterpiece. In 1998, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

American postcard by American Postcard, no. 36. Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935).

British actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969) is one of the true icons of the Horror cinema. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. In the following decades, he worked in countless Horror films, but also in other genres, both in Europe and Hollywood.

Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in 1887 in London, England. Pratt himself stated that he was born in Dulwich, which is nearby in London. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard. ‘Billy’ never knew his father. Edward Pratt had worked for the Indian Salt Revenue Service and had virtually abandoned his family in far-off England. Edward died when his son was still an infant and so Billy was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder brothers and sisters. As a child, Billy performed each Christmas in plays staged by St. Mary Magdalene's Church. His first role was that of The Demon King in the pantomime Cinderella. Billy was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered. He conquered his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. After his education at private schools, he attended King's College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, the 22-year-old left university without graduating and sailed from Liverpool to Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs. In Canada, he began appearing in theatrical performances and chose the stage name Boris Karloff. Later, he claimed he chose ‘Boris’ because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that ‘Karloff’ was a family name. However, his daughter Sara Karloff publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, Karloff or otherwise. One reason for the name change was to prevent embarrassment to his family. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (T. Hayes Hunter, 1933), opposite Cedric Hardwicke. Karloff was distraught that his family would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs. In 1911, Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company and later joined the Harry St. Clair Co. that performed in Minot, North Dakota, for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. Whilst he was trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of difficult manual labour in Canada and the U.S. to make ends meet. He was left with back problems from which he suffered for the rest of his life. In 1917, he arrived in Hollywood, where he went on to make dozens of silent films. Some of his first roles were in film serials, such as The Masked Rider (Aubrey M. Kennedy, 1919), in Chapter 2 of which he can be glimpsed onscreen for the first time, and The Hope Diamond Mystery (Stuart Paton, 1920). In these early roles, he was often cast as an exotic Arabian or Indian villain. Other silent films were The Deadlier Sex (Robert Thornby, 1920) with Blanche Sweet, Omar the Tentmaker (James Young, 1922), Dynamite Dan (Bruce Mitchell, 1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (J.P. McGowan, 1927) in which James Pierce played Tarzan. In 1926 Karloff found a provocative role in The Bells (James Young, 1926), in which he played a sinister hypnotist opposite Lionel Barrymore. He worked with Barrymore again in his first sound film, the thriller The Unholy Night (Lionel Barrymore, 1929).

A key film which brought Boris Karloff recognition was The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931), a prison drama in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. With his characteristic short-cropped hair and menacing features, Karloff was a frightening sight to behold. Opposite Edward G. Robinson, Karloff played a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931), a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931), based on the classic Mary Shelley book, propelled him to stardom. Wikipedia: “The bulky costume with four-inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and extensive makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each.” The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?." The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932). The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) with Charles Laughton, and the starring role in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932) quickly followed. Steve Vertlieb at The Thunder Child: “Wonderfully kinky, the film co-starred young Myrna Loy as the intoxicating, yet sadistic Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's sexually perverse daughter. Filmed before Hollywood's infamous production code, the film joyously escaped the later scrutiny of The Hayes Office, and remains a fascinating example of pre-code extravagance.” These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom. Horror had become his primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal Horror films. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in two other films, the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939), the latter also featuring Bela Lugosi. Steve Vertlieb about Bride of Frankenstein: “Whale delivered perhaps the greatest horror film of the decade and easily the most critically acclaimed rendition of Mary Shelley's novel ever released. The Bride of Frankenstein remains a work of sheer genius, a brilliantly conceived and realized take on loneliness, vanity, and madness. The cast of British character actors is simply superb.” While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ullmer, 1934). Follow-ups included The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935), the rarely seen, imaginative science fiction melodrama The Invisible Ray (Lambert Hillyer, 1936), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945). Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides Horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in Howard Hawks' classic Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni. He played a religious First World War soldier in John Ford’s epic The Lost Patrol (1934) opposite Victor McLaglen. Between 1938 and 1940, Karloff starred in five films for Monogram Pictures, including Mr. Wong, Detective (William Nigh, 1938). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (Rowland V. Lee, 1939) as the murderous henchman of King Richard III, and with Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence (Terry O. Morse, 1940). In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve his chronic arthritic condition.

Boris Karloff revisited the Frankenstein mythos in several later films, taking the starring role of the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1944), in which the monster was played by Glenn Strange. He reprised the role of the ‘mad scientist’ in Frankenstein 1970 (Howard W. Koch, 1958) as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original creator. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his face (i.e., Karloff's) to the monster. From 1945 to 1946, Boris Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945), The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945), and Bedlam (Mark Robson, 1946). Karloff had left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. Karloff was a frequent guest on radio programs. In 1949, he was the host and star of the radio and television anthology series Starring Boris Karloff. In 1950, he had his own weekly children's radio show in New York. He played children's music, told stories and riddles, and attracted many adult listeners as well. An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. In 1962, he reprised the role on television with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley. He also appeared as Captain Hook in the play Peter Pan with Jean Arthur. In 1955, he returned to the Broadway stage to portray the sympathetic Bishop Cauchon in Jean Anouilh's The Lark. Karloff regarded the production as the highlight of his long career. Julie Harris was his co-star as Joan of Arc in the celebrated play, recreated for live television in 1957 with Karloff, Harris and much of the original New York company intact. For his role, Karloff was nominated for a Tony Award. Karloff donned the monster make-up for the last time for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66 (1962), which also featured Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. In the 1960s, Karloff appeared in several films for American International Pictures, including The Comedy of Terrors (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, The Raven (Roger Corman, 1963), The Terror (Roger Corman, 1963) with Jack Nicholson, and Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965). Another project for American International release was the frightening Italian horror classic, I tre volti della paura/Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963), in which Karloff played a vampire with bone-chilling intensity. He also starred in British cult director Michael Reeves's second feature film, The Sorcerers (1966). He gained new popularity among the young generation when he narrated the animated TV film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. 1966), and provided the voice of the Grinch. Karloff later received a Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children after the story was released as a record. Then he starred as a retired horror film actor in Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968), Steve Vertlieb: “Targets was a profoundly disturbing study of a young sniper holding a small Midwestern community, deep in the bible belt, terrifyingly at bay. The celebrated subplot concerned the philosophical dilemma of creating fanciful horrors on the screen, while the graphic, troubling reality was eclipsing the superficiality so tiredly repeated by Hollywood. Karloff co-starred, essentially as himself, an aged horror star named Byron Orlok, who wants simply to retire from the imagined horrors of a faded genre, only to come shockingly to grips with the depravity and genuine terror found on America's streets. Bogdanovich's first film as a director won praise from critics and audiences throughout the world community, and won its elder star the best, most respectful notices of his later career.”. In 1968, he played occult expert Professor Marsh in the British production Curse of the Crimson Altar (Vernon Sewell, 1968), which was the last Karloff film to be released during his lifetime. He ended his career by appearing in four low-budget Mexican horror films, which were released posthumously. While shooting his final films, Karloff suffered from emphysema. Only half of one lung was still functioning and he required oxygen between takes. he contracted bronchitis in 1968 and was hospitalized. In early 1969, he died of pneumonia at the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, in Sussex, at the age of 81. Boris Karloff married five times and had one child, daughter Sara Karloff, by his fourth wife.

Sources: Steve Vertlieb (The Thunder Child), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Dutch press photo by Nederlands Film Museum, Amsterdam. Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931).

British actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969) is one of the true icons of the Horror cinema. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. In the following decades, he worked in countless Horror films, but also in other genres, both in Europe and Hollywood.

Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in 1887 in London, England. Pratt himself stated that he was born in Dulwich, which is nearby in London. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard. ‘Billy’ never knew his father. Edward Pratt had worked for the Indian Salt Revenue Service and had virtually abandoned his family in far-off England. Edward died when his son was still an infant and so Billy was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder brothers and sisters. As a child, Billy performed each Christmas in plays staged by St. Mary Magdalene's Church. His first role was that of The Demon King in the pantomime Cinderella. Billy was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered. He conquered his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. After his education at private schools, he attended King's College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, the 22-year-old left university without graduating and sailed from Liverpool to Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs. In Canada, he began appearing in theatrical performances and chose the stage name Boris Karloff. Later, he claimed he chose ‘Boris’ because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that ‘Karloff’ was a family name. However, his daughter Sara Karloff publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, Karloff or otherwise. One reason for the name change was to prevent embarrassment to his family. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (T. Hayes Hunter, 1933), opposite Cedric Hardwicke. Karloff was distraught that his family would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs. In 1911, Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company and later joined the Harry St. Clair Co. which performed in Minot, North Dakota, for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. While trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of difficult manual labour in Canada and the U.S. to make ends meet. He was left with back problems from which he suffered for the rest of his life. In 1917, he arrived in Hollywood, where he went on to make dozens of silent films. Some of his first roles were in film serials, such as The Masked Rider (Aubrey M. Kennedy, 1919), in Chapter 2 of which he can be glimpsed onscreen for the first time, and The Hope Diamond Mystery (Stuart Paton, 1920). In these early roles, he was often cast as an exotic Arabian or Indian villain. Other silent films were The Deadlier Sex (Robert Thornby, 1920) with Blanche Sweet, Omar the Tentmaker (James Young, 1922), Dynamite Dan (Bruce Mitchell, 1924) and Tarzan and the Golden Lion (J.P. McGowan, 1927) in which James Pierce played Tarzan. In 1926 Karloff found a provocative role in The Bells (James Young, 1926), in which he played a sinister hypnotist opposite Lionel Barrymore. He worked with Barrymore again in his first sound film, the thriller The Unholy Night (Lionel Barrymore, 1929).

A key film which brought Boris Karloff recognition was The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931), a prison drama in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. With his characteristic short-cropped hair and menacing features, Karloff was a frightening sight to behold. Opposite Edward G. Robinson, Karloff played a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931), a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931), based on the classic Mary Shelley book, propelled him to stardom. Wikipedia: “The bulky costume with four-inch platform boots made it an arduous role but the costume and extensive makeup produced the classic image. The costume was a job for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5 kg) each.” The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?." The film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. Universal Studios was quick to acquire ownership of the copyright to the makeup format for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had designed. A year later, Karloff played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932). The Old Dark House (James Whale, 1932) with Charles Laughton, and the starring role in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932) quickly followed. Steve Vertlieb at The Thunder Child: “Wonderfully kinky, the film co-starred young Myrna Loy as the intoxicating, yet sadistic Fah Lo See, Fu Manchu's sexually perverse daughter. Filmed before Hollywood's infamous production code, the film joyously escaped the later scrutiny of The Hayes Office, and remains a fascinating example of pre-code extravagance.” These films all confirmed Karloff's new-found stardom. Horror had become his primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal Horror films. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in two other films, the sensational Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935) and the less thrilling Son of Frankenstein (Rowland V. Lee, 1939), the latter also featuring Bela Lugosi. Steve Vertlieb about Bride of Frankenstein: “Whale delivered perhaps the greatest horror film of the decade and easily the most critically acclaimed rendition of Mary Shelley's novel ever released. The Bride of Frankenstein remains a work of sheer genius, a brilliantly conceived and realized take on loneliness, vanity, and madness. The cast of British character actors is simply superb.” While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ullmer, 1934). Follow-ups included The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935), the rarely seen, imaginative science fiction melodrama The Invisible Ray (Lambert Hillyer, 1936), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945). Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides Horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in Howard Hawks' classic Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni. He played a religious First World War soldier in John Ford’s epic The Lost Patrol (1934) opposite Victor McLaglen. Between 1938 and 1940, Karloff starred in five films for Monogram Pictures, including Mr. Wong, Detective (William Nigh, 1938). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (Rowland V. Lee, 1939) as the murderous henchman of King Richard III, and with Margaret Lindsay in British Intelligence (Terry O. Morse, 1940). In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve his chronic arthritic condition.

Boris Karloff revisited the Frankenstein mythos in several later films, taking the starring role of the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton, 1944), in which the monster was played by Glenn Strange. He reprised the role of the ‘mad scientist’ in Frankenstein 1970 (Howard W. Koch, 1958) as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original creator. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his face (i.e., Karloff's) to the monster. From 1945 to 1946, Boris Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945), The Body Snatcher (Robert Wise, 1945), and Bedlam (Mark Robson, 1946). Karloff had left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. Karloff was a frequent guest on radio programs. In 1949, he was the host and star of the radio and television anthology series Starring Boris Karloff. In 1950, he had his own weekly children's radio show in New York. He played children's music, told stories and riddles, and attracted many adult listeners. An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. In 1962, he reprised the role on television with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley. He also appeared as Captain Hook in the play Peter Pan with Jean Arthur. In 1955, he returned to the Broadway stage to portray the sympathetic Bishop Cauchon in Jean Anouilh's The Lark. Karloff regarded the production as the highlight of his long career. Julie Harris was his co-star as Joan of Arc in the celebrated play, recreated for live television in 1957 with Karloff, Harris and much of the original New York company intact. For his role, Karloff was nominated for a Tony Award. Karloff donned the monster make-up for the last time for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66 (1962), which also featured Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. In the 1960s, Karloff appeared in several films for American International Pictures, including The Comedy of Terrors (Jacques Tourneur, 1963) with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre, The Raven (Roger Corman, 1963), The Terror (Roger Corman, 1963) with Jack Nicholson, and Die, Monster, Die! (Daniel Haller, 1965). Another project for American International release was the frightening Italian horror classic, I tre volti della paura/Black Sabbath (Mario Bava, 1963), in which Karloff played a vampire with bone-chilling intensity. He also starred in British cult director Michael Reeves's second feature film, The Sorcerers (1966). He gained new popularity among the young generation when he narrated the animated TV film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. 1966), and provided the voice of the Grinch. Karloff later received a Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children after the story was released as a record. Then he starred as a retired horror film actor in Targets (Peter Bogdanovich, 1968), Steve Vertlieb: “Targets was a profoundly disturbing study of a young sniper holding a small Midwestern community, deep in the bible belt, terrifyingly at bay. The celebrated subplot concerned the philosophical dilemma of creating fanciful horrors on the screen, while the graphic, troubling reality was eclipsing the superficiality so tiredly repeated by Hollywood. Karloff co-starred, essentially as himself, an aged horror star named Byron Orlok, who wants simply to retire from the imagined horrors of a faded genre, only to come shockingly to grips with the depravity and genuine terror found on America's streets. Bogdanovich's first film as a director won praise from critics and audiences throughout the world community, and won its elder star the best, most respectful notices of his later career.”. In 1968, he played occult expert Professor Marsh in the British production Curse of the Crimson Altar (Vernon Sewell, 1968), which was the last Karloff film to be released during his lifetime. He ended his career by appearing in four low-budget Mexican horror films, which were released posthumously. While shooting his final films, Karloff suffered from emphysema. Only half of one lung was still functioning and he required oxygen between takes. he contracted bronchitis in 1968 and was hospitalized. In early 1969, he died of pneumonia at the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, in Sussex, at the age of 81. Boris Karloff married five times and had one child, daughter Sara Karloff, by his fourth wife.

Sources: Steve Vertlieb (The Thunder Child), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Art by Mike Rogers Pix.

A guy that needs no introduction, plus, I have his name spelled out twice, but, anyway... :)
The ORIGINAL Frankenstein's monster, Boris...

I saw this photograph and I could not wait to get at it. I made a poster, kind of thing with it, just for fun.
I really, REALLY, had fun doing this, tomorrow, probably Lugosi, if I can find a suitable image.
(It's Halloween month, after all) :)

***This is a HYBRID image***
This was drawn with an art pencil and colored pencils, then photographed, because, no scanner.
Taken into Photoshop for finalizing.