Frankenstein Vs. Bride Of Frankenstein

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

OK, having rewatched both of these for the first time in maybe 2-3 years or so, I stand by my choice - Frankenstein is, to me, a much better film than Bride Of Frankenstein (both are rated 8/10 on the IMDB which I guess more or less puts them at a tie as far as the general consensus goes?).

I know that there are those who love Bride more than the first movie and I can't fault anyone for that as it is a great movie but for me, the first one wins, at least as a horror movie. You get that awesome gothic cemetery, Karloff's amazing completely physical performance and manic work from Clive and Frye that really just brings it all home for me. Sure, the 'death scene' at the end uses a pretty ropey looking dummy but aside from that, the effects hold up really well and the scene where the monster kills the little girl still makes me fight back a tear no matter how many times I see it. I love this movie dearly and see no flaws with it.

Bride, on the other hand, as great as it is, suffers a bit from the more comedic elements. I find Una O'Connor's Minnie character irritating and while I like the way they open the film with the Shelley bit, I don't know that it necessarily helps anything. The last twenty minutes or so though, once Henry's bride has been kidnapped and Pretorious is going full steam ahead with his plan? Pretty much a flawless stretch right there. The movie ends on an incredibly strong note and again, it chokes me up a little bit. I love the art direction and set design in the movie and what's not to love about the Bride herself? She doesn't get enough screen time I guess, but when she's up there the screen is electric.

[Todd Jordan Smut is good. Find all posts View Profile Close Todd Jordan]

Much more partial to Frankenstein myself, but mostly due to nostalgic reasons. I never saw Bride until I was an adult, but Frankenstein I used to see as a kid from time to time. Karloff is just awesome and I really dig Dwight Frye in it. It's so iconic, so classic, its tough to beat it. And yeah, the little girl scene is so effective and still packs a little punch, even after seeing it so many times.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

It seems to me that BRIDE is generally regarded as the better film, at least from most critics. I don't hold that opinion myself, always preferred FRANKENSTEIN. Pretty much for all the reasons mentioned above. I don't care for the comic elements in BRIDE, nor the overall general fantasy elements, the original is much more of a straight-up horror film.

[Koukol Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Koukol]

As Ian said FRANKENSTEIN is more of a Horror film as it's more horrorifying.

BRIDE is a brilliant film making it the darling of some critics but I'll bet they're not really into most horror films.

I think both are brilliant but i prefer FRANKENSTEINS balls to the walls Horror that must have been extremely shocking in its time.

[bgart13 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bgart13]

I prefer FRANKENSTEIN overall, but BRIDE is better with cinematography and the technical side of things in general. I would actually like to see someone edit the two together to make one long movie -- I've wondered how it'd play out. I know bits would have to be excised, but I wonder how the general mood would be (I'd imagine the building of lunacy would be even more effective).

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Bride of Frankenstein is infinitely the more sophisticated film. Technically and aesthetically James Whale and crew surpass the first one. But the comedy annoys me as much as the story going off on tangents. The monster should not be talking and Dr. Pretorious should not be pulling little people out of jars. Una O'Conner is so far out there she's not funny, just annoying. Whale directs the lab sequences and the bride scene brilliantly. His compositions and lighting are elegantly beautiful. But not enough is done with the bride; after all that build-up we want more interaction from her. For these reasons, I prefer the straightforward horror of Frankenstein. It has such pathos. Karloff invests the monster with a humanity that reverberates throughout the entire film. He's a killer, but he doesn't always realize what he's doing. At the end, the mad doctor is renewed by love, who gives birth to an heir in the house of Frankenstein. So he managed to create new life after all, in the natural way. Isn't that right?

[bgart13 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bgart13]

I actually like that the monster talks in BRIDE, it shows his growth and becoming more human.

[Mad Dog Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mad Dog]

I like Bride, but it's been a long time since I've seen either. I need to watch them back-to-back.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I watched them two days apart, which is kinda sorta back to back. I was struck with how goofy the first half of Bride is.

[Marshall Crist Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marshall Crist]

FRANKENSTEIN is a good film and practically kick-started a genre. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN took the themes and motifs of the first film to a whole 'nother level and is an amazing technical achievement as well. I recall seeing it with an auditorium of cynical junior high schoolers and after the blind hermit fade-out there was spontaneous applause. It's not as "pure" a horror film as F '31, but if you can get past that...

[Robert W Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robert W]

I always found Frankenstein to be more a gothic and Bride more of a campy comedy.

As for Una O'connor's performance in Bride, I found it to be one of, if not, the single most annoying/irritating ever put on film.

Bride though wasn't the film if could have been though. For example there's the whole Fritz as serial killer angle that got taken out, not to mention the Billy Barty/Mini Boris homunculus scene that got censored out as well. Still, it's pretty surprising what Whale did get away with when you come to think of it.

As for which film I liked better, I actually prefer Son of Frankenstein and House of Frankenstein to either the original film or Bride.

[Gary Banks Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gary Banks]

As for Una O'connor's performance in Bride, I found it to be one of, if not, the single most annoying/irritating ever put on film.

She damn near ruins INVISIBLE MAN with her caterwauling. Now I just mute her and it is a breeze.

Both FRANKENSTEIN & BRIDE have their pros and cons. While Bride has more superior moments the little people scene should have been snipped and the others left in. I will will watch FRANKENSTEIN more often.

[Dave Starry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave Starry]

Is anybody planning on going to one of the Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein showings this coming Wednesday?...

http://www.fathomevents.com/classics...x?d=10/24/2012

There's a showing locally here in Spokane and I'm thinking of going. I went to the Fathom Event showing of "Lawrence of Arabia" recently and it was great -- an excellent restoration of the film and a bunch of bonus features shown before the movie started.

[Robert W Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robert W]

She damn near ruins INVISIBLE MAN with her caterwauling. Now I just mute her and it is a breeze.

Both FRANKENSTEIN & BRIDE have their pros and cons. While Bride has more superior moments the little people scene should have been snipped and the others left in. I will will watch FRANKENSTEIN more often.

Well the homunculus scene was sort of integral to the story, in that it was necessary to show that Pretorius as Frankenstein's "scientific" equal. It also underscored the perversity of the Pretorius character by showing an obvious homosexual/non-sexual reproducing being creating artificial life in defiance of Natural Law.

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

I think Frankenstein is a better horror film but Bride isn't even trying to be scary, it's a brilliant campy comedy that would be called post-modern if it had been made a few decades later. Genius and one of the most purely enjoyable films I've ever seen, I love it.