“Eager to capitalize on the success of Dracula, Universal Pictures studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. pushed more horror films into production, but this James Whale–directed adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel feels anything but rushed. It also doesn’t bear that much resemblance to Shelley’s novel, using the plot as raw material to create a kind of dark fairy tale about loneliness, scientific overreach, and the thin lines dividing God and humanity, the living and the dead. And, unlike Dracula, Whale turns it into an unmistakably cinematic experience, one filled with unforgettable moments, from the reveal of the extraordinary Jack Pierce–created makeup effects to Dr. Frankenstein’s (Colin Clive) mad rapture at bringing his creature to life to the Monster’s tragic encounter with a girl floating flowers on the surface of a lake (a frequently censored scene thought lost in its original form for decades). Karloff plays the Monster as closer to a child than a fiend, a creature unaware of his destructive power or the fear he inspires until it’s too late.” -Keith Phipps, Vulture
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