Frankenstein (1931)

For a film released in 1931, "Frankenstein" is advanced in terms of it's use of technology, and especially special effects. "Frankenstein" is a Universal Pictures production and pioneers many techniques which would influences not only the horror genre but cinema in years to come.

The film follows the story of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive, and his assistant, Fritz, played by Dwight Frye, creating a life using parts of different dead bodies he's taken from a grave yard. After coming to life, the creation is named the 'Monster'. The story is told through a narrative that would influence cinema to come, and uses special effects, sound and mise-en-scene that would also influence future cinema.

"Frankenstein" makes an extensive use of sounds to create a mood and feel at certain sections of the film. For example, in the opening scene of the film (after the introduction by a 'narrator'), a haunting and dramatic use of orchestral music creates a feeling of unease and tenseness. The effect of music and soundtrack is repeated in a number of occasions throughout the film, for example, in the death scene of Frankenstein's Monster, where a mix of dramatic strings with the chilling screams as the Monster burns in the fire create an uncomfortable viewing for an audience. Sound had only come into films in 1927, so previous to this, majority of films were either silent or had a piano accompaniment. Within four years, "Frankenstein" had the developed technology to include speech and soundtracks, so in that sense the sound of the film could be considered highly advanced for an early 20th Century movie.

Special FX in "Frankenstein" are considered to be technologically advanced for the age of the film. One scene that also makes use of setting, sound and Mise-en-scene to create an astonishing effect for the time, was when the Monster was brought to life by lightening after he was raised up on a medical table to the roof of the building on a chain mechanism, with a whole in the roof for the table to go through. This was almost groundbreaking for cinema in general, as films at the time commonly shared sets, so by having such a custom built set for the special effect added to the spectacle of the film. In conjunction with the sound FX and soundtrack, the effect is almost over the top, but reflects the feelings of Frankenstein at this particular moment - driven to the brink of insanity after he feels he is at the same level as god. Special FX throughout the film are used in a way to 'overpower' the audience or viewer, for example, in The Monster's death scene, when the windmill he is in is set alight, the roar from the crowd who hunted him, and the overwhelming, white flames.

Lighting is used effectively in "Frankenstein", which allowed the director, James Whale, to play with emotions throughout the film. Lighting played a predominant role in the composition of the film. To reflect a dark and mysterious mood, shadows were introduced to make an audience wonder what's in the dark. It creates an air of uncertainty. Something that goes against the typical lighting of the film however, is the scene where Frankenstein's Monster throws a farmer's young daughter into the river. The light is bright and it's a sunny day time, and the girl and the Monster are throwing flowers into the river as they float. The lighting and action in the scene made the girl seem highly innocent, therefore intensifying the murder of the girl as it's something an audience, especially of the time, would not have expected.

"Frankenstein" follows a simple narrative, although at the beginning of the movie, it's similar to play, where there's a scene with a narrator appearing on a stage, appearing to warn the audience of what's to come, before introducing the story. The way it's structured suggests that the film has occurred in the past, and that this scene cuts to something prior to those recorded events. The narrative is already half way through at the beginning of the film, as we miss the story building up to why Frankenstein wanted to create life, why he decided to do what he wanted to do. The story of the movie starts at the beginning, however, the narrative is already towards the end of Frankenstein's tale.

There is a strong sense of humanity being almost animalistic throughout the film, and this meaning is created in a number of different ways. One particular scene that I felt represented humanity in such manner was when the crowd of men were gathered before chasing after the Monster, trying to rescue Frankenstein. The long shot at the beginning of the scene looked busy and overpowering, and to an audience at the time of release, it would have come across as intimidating. Subsequent to this, the shots that followed (a variety of mid and long shots), continued to look busy and intimidating. The scene, aided by the loud noises of men's cheering and chanting seems to back up this point. The mise-en-scene of the woods and outdoors in which they were gathered looked muddy and torn apart which gave the connotation of man being destroyers, the hard workers, where as the women stay at home. This scene also represents gender stereotypes of the time. Boris Karloff was chosen to play the Monster over the Bela Lugosi, and in the scene where he is running through the crowd, it could be suggested that he is something to be sympathised with, that it was in fact humanity that had made him this way.

Another meaning I feel was created in the film was the denotation of 'insanity'. For example, in the scene where the Monster is brought to life, Frankenstein appears to suffer a breakdown as he successfully creates life. In conjunction with low angle shots to make Frankenstein look powerful, and mechanical sound effects, and an industrial and medical setting, costumes that are torn and ripped, and low level lighting, apart from the sparks really help to convey that meaning. It could be said that Colin Clive, who plays Frankenstein, shouldn't be looked up to as a role model as he states that he 'can play God' in the film, and at the time would have been extremely blasphemous to an audience, and could indeed offend.

Representation of stereotypes, as said before, are true to the time of the films release. Released just after the feminist revolution, there's still the idea that females have a lesser role in society, for example, at the section of the film where they have to stay behind to 'take care' of Elizabeth, suggesting that they are weak and inferior compared to men, who have the strength to take on the Monster. Locations and how they're represented play a big part in the mood of the film, for example, the castle in which Frankenstein is masterminding his creation is dark and creepy, creating an air of mystery in the film. This is reflected upon in the scene where Frankenstein brings the monster to life, the dark, creepy surroundings suggest that something sinister is going on. There's a feeling that the film represents humans as a murderous race, and that an audience at this time should feel the same as the characters in the film towards the Monster. Furthermore, as a modern cinema audience, we now see the Monster as something to be empathised with. There is obviously some negative effects on the audience with offensive behaviour, grave-robbing, and blasphemous speech from Frankenstein.

"Frankenstein" was produced and published by Universal studios, who are renowned for critically acclaimed thriller and horror movies. At the time the movie was released, the studio system was at it's beginning, where actors were signed up to studios under contracts as appose to being under contract to film. As the studio system wasn't at it's peak, actors still had some say in what films they wanted to take part in, hence Bela Lugosi's rejection. This influenced the whole dynamic of "Frankenstein" and other horror films produced under the studios. The studio system not only involved actors, but also production crew, publicists and also allowed their equipment and staff to be hired out should the studio not be using it themselves. "Frankenstein" was produced by one of the biggest production studios at the time, therefore, the film was financially stable and big budget due to the way in which the studio production worked. It allowed the sets to be advanced for their time. Through the studio system, actors would be associated with certain genres as the production companies would use them in similar roles, for example Barbara Steele was considered the 'Queen of Horror' after making a number of gruesome appearances. Boris Karloff was selected to play the Monster through his 'haunting' eyes, and subsequently played the role of the Monster for the two sequels that followed the original. By reusing sets through their films, it allowed the studios to spend more money on make-up and costume to make the film visibly more scarier, something that "Frankenstein" could be considered renowned for. Another example of money-saving by the studio is the use of low lighting. Whilst it was used for stylistic reasons to create a certain mood, it also allowed studios to save money by not spending ridiculous amounts of money on lighting sets. Similarly at this time, production company, Warner Brothers, used low lighting for stylistic reasons in their gangster films. Universal studios was, and still is an independent company, so therefore took care of the production, promotion and distribution of the films.

Universal studios also took care of the distribution, advertising and promotion of their films, and "Frankenstein" was no exception. Trailers were a 'unique' concept introduced in 1913 by Nils Granlund who was a marketing manager for the US Marcus Loew cinema chain. They often captured an important scene and then played it to an audience with a narration to invite people to watch the screenings.