Frankenstein (1931) is Universal Pictures’ pre-Code horror film, directed by James Whale and starring Colin Clive as the obsessed scientist Henry Frankenstein and Boris Karloff as the creature he builds from corpses. Universal made it quickly after the success of Dracula earlier that year. It drew on Peggy Webling’s 1927 stage play, which was based on Mary Shelley‘s 1818 novel. Jack Pierce’s makeup, with its flat head, neck bolts and heavy brow, became the definitive image of Frankenstein’s Monster. The film’s crackling laboratory and the cry of “It’s alive!” have shaped the image of the mad scientist ever since.
At a glance
| Release date | November 21, 1931 (US); opened at New York’s Mayfair Theatre on December 4, 1931 |
| Director | James Whale |
| Writers | Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh (screenplay), adapted from the play by John L. Balderston; uncredited contributions by Robert Florey and John Russell |
| Based on | Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre (1927 play) by Peggy Webling, from the novel by Mary Shelley |
| Starring | Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan |
| Runtime | 70 minutes |
| Rating | Released before the MPAA rating system; cut by several state censor boards |
| Budget | $262,007 |
| Box office | Reported rentals of $1.4 million by June 1932 |
| Franchise | Universal Monsters; Frankenstein (novel and franchise) |
Plot summary
In a village in the Bavarian Alps, the young scientist Henry Frankenstein and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) build a human body from stolen corpses. When Fritz is sent to steal a brain from the lecture hall of Henry’s old teacher, Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), he drops the healthy one and takes the brain of a criminal instead. Henry’s fiancée Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) and their friend Victor (John Boles) are worried by his isolation. They arrive at his watchtower laboratory on a stormy night, just in time to see lightning bring the creature to life.
At first the Monster seems childlike, reaching up toward sunlight. But Fritz torments it with a torch, and its creators chain it in the dungeon. Fear and cruelty turn it violent, and it escapes into the countryside as Henry prepares for his wedding.
Spoiler section: the ending
The Monster kills Fritz and later Waldman. At a lake, it plays a game of tossing flowers onto the water with a little girl named Maria. When it runs out of flowers, it throws her in, not understanding, and she drowns. Her grieving father brings the villagers together as a mob. The Monster carries Henry to an old windmill and throws him from the top, but the windmill’s blades break his fall. The mob sets the mill on fire with the Monster trapped inside, and Henry recovers in time for his wedding.
Production and behind the scenes
Universal lost $2.2 million in 1930. After Dracula turned a $700,000 profit, head of production Carl Laemmle Jr. announced more horror films and bought the rights to John L. Balderston’s adaptation of Webling’s play. Robert Florey was the first director and planned the film with Bela Lugosi. In Florey’s version, the Monster was a mindless killer, and Lugosi is reported to have balked at playing what he called a “scarecrow.” More recent evidence suggests both men were taken off the project when the newly arrived James Whale asked for it. Whale then cast Karloff. Florey and Lugosi were given Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) as a consolation.
Jack Pierce designed the Monster’s makeup, and Universal quickly copyrighted it. That is why other studios’ Monsters, including Hammer’s, look different. Kenneth Strickfaden built the sparking electrical machines for the creation scene, which became a fixture of later Universal Frankenstein films and are known among fans as “Strickfadens.” Arthur Edeson was the cinematographer. The film also took inspiration from the Golem legend and its German silent-film adaptation.
Release and reception
Frankenstein took $53,000 in its first week at New York’s Mayfair Theatre and was a major hit. Universal reported a profit of $708,871 by 1943. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times called it “far and away the most effective thing of its kind,” adding that beside it, Dracula was tame. Variety called it “a Dracula plus,” praising Karloff’s “mesmerism” and the lighting. Several state boards cut the scene of Maria’s death, along with Henry’s line “Now I know what it feels like to be God!” Kansas initially demanded 32 cuts. More footage was removed when the film was reissued under the Production Code. The full drowning scene was found in the 1980s at Britain’s National Film Archive, and Universal’s 1999 home video release restored all of the censored material. The film holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and in 1991 it was among the films added to the National Film Registry.
Legacy and influence
Frankenstein confirmed that horror could carry a studio, and Universal followed it with a long line of monster films. Whale and Karloff returned for Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Karloff gave his last full performance as the Monster in Son of Frankenstein (1939), and the role later went to Lon Chaney Jr. and to Lugosi himself in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). Herman Munster’s makeup in The Munsters was based on Karloff’s look. Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein (1974) parodied the first three Universal films, using original laboratory props that Strickfaden built for the 1935 sequel. AFI ranked “It’s alive! It’s alive!” No. 49 among the greatest American movie quotes.
Trivia
- The opening credits list the Monster as played by “?” Karloff’s name appears only in the closing credits.
- The film swaps the novel’s names. The scientist is Henry Frankenstein, and “Victor” is his friend.
- The hunchbacked assistant is called Fritz, not Igor. The character comes from an early stage adaptation, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, not from Shelley’s novel.
- Strickfaden appears to have used at least one Tesla coil built by Nikola Tesla himself.
- Edward Van Sloan, who plays Waldman, also played Van Helsing in Dracula the same year. Dwight Frye appears in both films as well.
- Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) avoided Universal’s copyrighted makeup and made the Baron the real monster.
Related links
- Frankenstein’s Monster (character)
- Universal Monsters and Frankenstein (novel and franchise)
- Dracula (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Frankenstein (2025)
- James Whale (director)
- Boris Karloff and Colin Clive (cast)
- Mary Shelley (author)
