Carol’s Comments March
2014
By
Carol Rusinek
Hello Everyone! Welcome
to another issue of Carol’s Comments. I am a volunteer at the River Park Branch.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved classic horror movies, especially
those from the 1930’s and 1940’s. During my childhood, I couldn’t wait to watch
Creature
Feature on WSJV with my mother (who also adored spooky movies) every
Saturday night. Being a very impressionable and sensitive child, I still
insisted that I wouldn’t have nightmares, but Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein
and The Mummy still always haunted my dreams.
So when I learned that
the St. Joseph County Public Library had chosen Frankenstein by Mary
Shelley for this year’s One Book, One Michiana campaign scheduled from March 28
through May 3, I realized I had never read the original story and was
determined to tackle it.
Written by the urging
of Lord Byron on a stormy Swiss night in 1816 and later published in 1818, Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein became the forerunner for Gothic horror fiction.
Set primarily in late
18th century Switzerland, and told mostly in flashback, Dr. Victor
Frankenstein serves as the novel’s principal narrator. He recounts in agonizing
detail how his obsessive fascination
with using chemistry, electricity and other scientific methods to
re-animate dead tissue compelled him to
create a hideous monster of gigantic size and superhuman strength. Surprisingly,
the author doesn’t provide any graphic description about how Frankenstein makes
his gruesome creation. Those details are left to the reader’s imagination.
After adjusting to the verbose
and rather melodramatic early 19th century writing style, I found the
novel’s plot quite exhilarating. My favorite parts of the book were the
chapters focusing on the Monster’s own perspective about his creation and
extremely tormented existence.
In the original story, the
Creature is very articulate, learns many languages and loves reading classics
like Milton’s Paradise Lost. At first, he is very virtuous and longs for
acceptance and interaction with humans. Unfortunately, after experiencing
repeated rejection, abuse and repulsion mainly due to his grotesque appearance,
he transforms into a vicious killer consumed by rage, hatred and revenge
especially toward his creator. After Dr. Frankenstein adamantly refuses to
create a female companion for him, the Monster vows to destroy him and everyone
he loves.
At times, the reader
feels sympathy for both the Monster and Frankenstein because they are both
misunderstood and tragic figures. Madness and revenge eventually destroy them
both. After nearly 200 years, Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein still remains the definitive horror story.
For anyone interested
in reading more about Mary Shelley’s remarkable life, I recommend Mary
Shelley the insightful 1987 biography written by Muriel Spark, author
of The
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
After finishing the
book, I couldn’t wait to re-watch all of my Frankenstein film favorites. I
first started with the 1931 classic Frankenstein and its splendid 1935
sequel The Bride of Frankenstein both starring Colin Clive as Dr.
Frankenstein and the incomparable Boris Karloff as the Monster. Both expertly
directed by James Whale, these movies are loosely based on Mary Shelley’s
original story.
Unlike the book, the
first film vividly and dramatically shows how Dr. Frankenstein (with help from
his hunchback assistant Fritz) creates his monster by using stolen dead body
parts and unknowingly revitalizing a criminal brain instead of a normal one.
This pivotal mistake leads to horrific consequences.
Undoubtedly, the film’s
stunning and surreal visual effects especially in the laboratory scenes
brilliantly capture Frankenstein’s relentless obsession with creating man-made
life.
In
Whale’s Frankenstein films, the Monster can’t speak at first. He can
only communicate through animal-like grunts and groans. He finally learns a few
basic words like friend, food, good and
bad while staying with the
compassionate blind hermit in The Bride of Frankenstein. This very
poignant scene is the only one that actually appears in the original novel.
Unlike
most sequels, The Bride of Frankenstein greatly surpasses the original film
mainly due to a more superior, fanciful and witty plot. After recapping the
story with highlights from the 1931 film, the sequel features a follow-up
segment where Mary Shelley (played by Elsa Lanchester ) continues her tale
after the Monster supposedly perishes.
Soon
after Dr. Frankenstein recovers from this terrifying ordeal, the even more
fanatical mad scientist Dr. Pretorius (exquisitely portrayed by Ernest Thesiger) finally persuades him to continue
his ghastly experiments and create a female companion (also played by Elsa
Lanchester ) for the Monster with disastrous results. I thought the Monster’s
interaction with his Bride during their “first date” scene was absolutely
priceless! Both films as well as Clive’s and Karloff’s outstanding performances
are simply unforgettable.
After
viewing all these creepy movies, I quickly switched to the more lighthearted Young
Frankenstein. Directed by Mel Brooks, this hilarious 1974 parody stars
Gene Wilder (who co-wrote the zany screenplay with Brooks) as Frederick
Frankenstein, the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s grandson. When he inherits
the family castle, at first, he vehemently refuses to acknowledge his heritage
or continue his grandfather’s gruesome experiments. However, when he accidently
discovers his grandfather’s detailed lab notes entitled How I Did It, he decides
to create his own monster played by the horribly adorable Peter Boyle.
Filmed
in black and white, Brooks even uses the original laboratory equipment designed
by Ken Strickfaden for James Whale’s 1931 film to evoke an authentically scary
atmosphere.
Filled
with loads of bawdy humor and memorable double entendres, Young Frankenstein is a
wonderful comic tribute to this beloved horror film classic. It’s so funny, I
never stopped laughing!
For
more information about programs and activities sponsored by the library and
other local community organization during this annual event, visit the SJCPL’s
web site at www.libraryforlife.org/onebook
.
One
last note to all my loyal readers: This is the last blog posting of Carol’s
Comments that will appear on the SJCPL website. Thanks for reading and
supporting my blog postings for the past 3 years. In the 16 blog posts I’ve
written, I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts about my most favorite things –
books and movies - with all of you. Thanks for reading! See you all next time.
Previously posted at SJCPL blog March 2014
