The camp humor and heartbreaking pathos of The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) makes it one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. The production still is of star Elsa Lanchester in her bride costume. link
This terrifying yet pathetic scene was cut by the censors of several states. Through the child who does not fear him, the monster discovers his own humanity. Yet he kills her.
Baron Frankenstein’s sadistic assistant torments the monster with fire, the only thing he fears. Eventually it destroys him.
InBride of Frankenstein, 1935, the pathos of the monster’s distorted humanity was emphasized. His obliging creator makes him a woman of his own who takes one look at her prospective mate and screams in horror. Elsa Lanchester is the synthetic woman.
“It should be a helluva downer, but Whale’s story — and, more importantly, Karloff’s performance — generates a greater realization. I walk out of BRIDE knowing that everyone feels misunderstood. Everyone is in need of a friend who both accepts and “gets” them. There are many times in life when we don’t have such friends, but that’s a sad fact mitigated by our unity in longing. Anyone who really pays attention to BRIDE identifies with the creature. In one of the single finest performances ever captured on film, Karloff represents all of our longing, all of our simple joy, all of our optimism, and in the end, a determined and brave wisdom to which all of us can only aspire.”
“Sometimes I have wondered whether life wouldn’t be much more amusing if we were all devils, no nonsense about angels and being good”, via universalmonstersblog.
