It's Alive! Whale, Karloff and Frankenstein

[@Chadjira09]

My very first horror film was Frankenstein. I was searching through my grandfather's vhs/dvd collection and came across the universal classics. I became a fan ever since.

[@bensneb360]

The first two Frankenstein are my favorite Universal horror movies, Whale knew how to bring a lot of depth and spooky fun to the movies

[@spews1973]

Somehow the long form Dark Corners videos never fail to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And I get that feeling whenever I think about "Bride of Frankenstein", which I first saw just before Christmas some 30 years ago with my great housemates at university. We still say, "Friend. Good. Smoke. Good." to each other.

[@TomFrichek]

Every other Frankenstein '31 doc I've seen picks a side on Lugosi's exit (Mark Gatiss, Cinemassacre, etc.). The integrity and humility of admitting that no definitive answer will ever be known contributes to my claim that DCR is giving us the definitive history of horror. Keep it up, fellas. 10/10 fricheks

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I have said this several times before but it deserves to be said. I joined your channel because of your snappily paced comedy reviews, but your gifts as a writer also come through with these respectful and educational pieces.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thank you

[@willmistretta]

Agreed. Those are the appetizers and desserts. These are the main courses.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

@@DarkCornersReviews Have you reviewed other movies about synthetic beings, such as " Creation of the Humanoids " or " Colossus of New York " ?

[@tomflorio3639]

Here here! Wanted to make a similar comment, but you have already done so (and more eloquently)!

[@DarkCornersReviews]

@@DanielAppleton-lr9eq Creation of the Humanoids yes kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5_Hq2Wnf7Gbi5I We actually liked this one more than the review suggests

[@nickdrage5774]

My earliest horror memory is my mom buying me the VHS of Dracula (31) when I was 4 yrs old.

[@jpenir]

Frankenstein 1931 is still legitimately scary. I decided to introduce it to my daughter and she was genuinely freaked out. Just speaks to how eternal and classic the film still is in 2024

[@Gondarth]

I would say it's more creepy than scary, but then again I've seen the movie a couple dozen times by now. It's the lack of music and the atmospheric set design that does it. If you want to add to the mood, watch during a rainstorm. The heavier the better...

[@dicksplash9818]

@@Gondarth Well said Sir!

[@varanid9]

@@Gondarth "...more creepy than scary...." Huh??

[@TheBohemianGents]

@@varanid9 Creepy suggests it makes you uncomfortable, scary suggests it instils fear. Similar but there’s a difference

[@FreihEitner]

Incredible and in-depth discussion of two amazing classic films.

[@matthewh.9544]

I loved the original documentary on here over this series of movies, but I'm really looking forward to this new review.

[@augustragone1159]

Another smashing and touching spotlight. Thank you.

[@District9Prawn]

My first horror memory is when Turner Classic movies would run old horror movies during October and I happened across a showing of Attack of the Crab Monsters. Wasn't what most people would call "horror" but it sure scared my 6 year-old self silly.

[@varanid9]

That's a great film. Well, great idea, anyway. It lost something in the execution.

[@AdamqK]

"Wait a minute....we don't HAVE a picket fence!" It's the line I remember from that one, and it always made me laugh.

[@finch45lear]

This is an outstanding presentation. Thank you.

[@tigerheart3824]

As always Robin you knock it out of the park with these deep dives. My earliest horror memory is either the melting Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark or seeing the first Hammer Dracula on BBC1 late on a Friday night…

[@paulbuerton8143]

Well done once again. As a young sick child in Detroit I remember watching this on our Saturday horror movie show called Sir Graves. The mill scene really scared me. To this day I still feel it. Thanks again❤

[@alienmindwarp3455]

Sir Graves Ghastly every Saturday at 1 pm on channel 2. Definitely appointment tv, and I give him credit for making me a lifelong horror fan! I live in Oakland County, btw.

[@dsolosan]

@@alienmindwarp3455 Grew up Downriver, and watched Sir Graves when he wasn't bumped by sports. Very important show in my film education.

[@paulbuerton8143]

@@alienmindwarp3455 when I was in the hospital he came to visit us. Thats how I knew of him. Im from Oakland county but live in far north Australia now.

[@neilcoligan8621]

My most cherished memories of watching Detroit television include Sir Graves Ghastly. Living downriver on the Canadian side there was only the CBC in Windsor for Canadian content, but it was a treasure trove of American channels if you had a good antenna which in our case was atop a tower beside the house that could be adjusted from inside the home. Many a Saturday well wasted watching those horror classics. Also, I agree with an earlier comment about your scripting, use of video and delivery being top notch. You've created a great channel for fans of your sick twisted world.

[@dsolosan]

@@paulbuerton8143 He once came to my neighborhood. They set up a kind of haunted house where he met with people, and a huge maze of sticks and ropes to keep all the kids in order. I stood in line for hours, and then they announced that he was leaving. I never even saw the guy! But from everything I've heard about him, he was a great guy.

[@hamburgareable]

16:39-16:58 Henrys speech (that Colin Clive says on-screen) gives us an overall info of his character and his frustatingly overachieving ambition to create life, hence the bars of the line "If i ever talk like that, people point their fingers at me and call me crazy but it doesnt matter if i AM crazy! So long as i can discover one of these things"

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

What I love most about Whale's horror films is the wicked, subversive and even eccentric sense of humor. I think it's Ernest Thesiger who catapults Bride of Frankenstein to the next level. Thank you for this awesome overview of these iconic films.

[@georgemetcalf8763]

I recently rewatched 1931's Frankenstein and couldn't help but notice how similar the Monster and my nonverbal and very autistic son are. It makes the Monster's mistreatment all the more heartbreaking.

[@Polyphemus47]

My very best to you and yours. Love wins.

[@Majestic759]

Karloff is always great

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Quite true.

[@DanielAppleton-lr9eq]

Karloff was a living Master Class in acting back then. There are very few actors of his magnitude today.

[@CashelOConnolly]

Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein is why I love movies.

[@shannondore]

I had no idea that Elsa's Bride was only on screen for 5 minutes. That was one of my favorite scenes in the Bride of Frankenstein. I love the 1st movie, but the second has always been one of my favorite Universal Monster movies.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

She makes an incredible impression in a short time

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

For such an iconic monster,her very brief screen time is striking.

[@TinaBiebe]

I have been having a great time today watching people discover for the first time or rediscover these old Universal monsters. If this is anything like your videos on Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney I canNOT wait. 😊

[@guillaumebabey4484]

I am thankful of your intellectually honest position when it comes to the different versions of events relating to the first movie's genesis. So many things have been said about why Lugosi was out of the project that it's nigh impossible to know the truth. And I am also grateful for the amount of detailed information you brought to attention, that I heard basically nowhere else.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks. I think at this point you'd have to have been there to know how it actually happened

[@ThreadBomb]

@@DarkCornersReviews I've read that part of the reason Lugosi rejected the role was the early creature design, which was more like the Golem of Wegener's films.

[@theawesome925]

Beautiful video, man. The Karloff Monster is really special to me. He was my protector. See, as a wild little kid, I wanted to BE the Wolfman, but the Monster was my imaginary friend for years and years. I'd pantomime putting him in my closet at night (since he was so stiff limbed, he obviously had to sleep standing up) so that there wouldn't be room for other monsters in there. The humanity in the Whale films meant that, like most kids, I trusted the Monster. He'd walk with me through the woods where I grew up, and no one could hurt me while I was with him. Thanks for sharing how special these movies are to you, sir. They're special to me too, and truly timeless.

[@irish66]

That's beautiful.

[@jpenir]

I remember for 20 years thinking the Monster killed little Maria. Was happy that i later found out it was an accident

[@alp-1960]

Hitchcock's Psycho is my first horror film memory, followed by Frankenstein.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

That's a strong start!

[@grahamgreene779]

love these deep dives on directors/films. They really highlight your depth of knowledge and your passion and love of cinema, and I can always use more of that. Thanks!

[@TJ_thesilly]

love these longer form videos!!! Theyre awesom to listen to while drawing or sleeping :) keep them coming. Im delighted that these kinds of videos exist c:

[@ThreadBomb]

We didn't have a TV when I was a child, so my first encounters with horror classics were via books. There was a book called Peter & the Monsters (AKA The Monster's Room), about a boy whose posters of the Universal monsters come to life. This first exposure to Frankenstein et al. immediately raised my interest. (I also read a lot about Hitchcock's Psycho before I ever saw the film. Same with the German silents.)

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

A bit of trivia: Boris Karloff, real surname Pratt, was a cousin of Quentin Crisp, nee Denis Pratt. There is a certain poetic symmetry to Crisp playing Dr. Frankenstein's assistant, Dr. Pretorus in the '80s movie "The Bride". Also, at 26:35, the screaming woman looks like Cloris Leachman in " Young Frankenstein".

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Karloff also related to the real-life Anna from the King and I!

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

@@DarkCornersReviews That I did not know; thank you!

[@WaterShowsProd]

Yes, I was just about to mention his relation to Anna Leonowens. When you mentioned him having an Indian ancestor I thought you might mention her, as she was also part Indian. She kept that a secret and, like Whale, created a fictional background for herself. She continued to do her whole life, but that's another story entirely.

[@TVAVStudios]

Whale's Frankenstein was my gateway to the Universal Horror films first year of high shool in 05, when the library still mostly had VHS tapes, including the 90s release of this masterpiece.

[@peteklein630]

I am in total agreement with you. The four Whale films are the bedrock of the talkie Universal legacy. For me, it has always been a toss-up between, 'The Invisible Man' and 'The Bride of Frankenstein' for pride of place. It's that quirky British sense of humor that nails it every time. At 70, I still never tire of them.

[@Armphid]

I love these documentaries. They're always fascinating and provide information that I didn't now. Thank you for this one. Whale's history is fascinating.

[@DaleBaker-e3u]

Absolutely brilliant. These films, are the G.O.A.T. these videos are damn outstanding.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thank you!

[@suedenim]

These longer videos really are outstanding, and deserve to reach large audiences. I've read and seen a LOT about these films and their creators, but I always learn new things here.

[@DaleBaker-e3u]

@@suedenim I agree with your comments 1 million percent. These videos are fantastic, and the host loves his films. His a legend 👏

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

These just get better & better!

[@general1362]

Another definitive analysis and retrospective from Dark Corner Reviews (along with the Murnau's retrospective and Caligari) with more insight and content than other documentaries with twice its lenght. Bravo.

[@l.a.gothro3999]

Oh, I so adore your deep-dive retrospectives, Mr. Robin!

[@orangejulius8366]

Speaking of great acting, when Colin Clive throws himself into "It's ALIVE... IT'S ALIVE!!!" I have to say Brando couldn't have done better

[@alienmindwarp3455]

But he could've been a contender.

[@CL-pd9cp]

Since I've discovered your channel is far and away become one of my favorite places to go on KZbin. I fell in love with these films as a very young boy when my parents introduced me to King Kong and Frankenstein. This was in the era before video tape so you had to catch these films on your local TVs shock theater or chiller theater. And this video was an outstanding example both of why these films are so influential and why your channel is so remarkable. I was lucky enough to see both of these films on a double feature a few years ago when they were shown Nationwide as part of a fathom movie event. The theater was entirely sold out and I was wonderful to see both younger and older people in the audience, but what really stuck with me was after Frankenstein was over a group of five teenage boys behind me turn to each other and one said"oh my God that was amazing"to which the other four all agreed. When I spoke to them I discovered that none of them had ever seen any of these universal films before and, being honest, they have sort of come to laugh at what they thought would be cheesy old films. Instead by the end of the two films they absolutely had fallen in love with these poetic chiaroscuro masterpieces. Most movies come and go and leave no more of an impression than a pebble thrown into the ocean. But these films continue to resonate with audiences and inspire new filmmakers with their humor, their lyrical fantasies, they're horror, and above all their humanity

[@ChrisConnolly-Mr.C-Dives-In]

Historically significant for all the elements in this film that make it such an important story. And also completely important that this channel highlight this film.

[@WaterShowsProd]

Wonderfully done. Dwight Frye had a tragic end as well. He'd become typecast for playing lunatics, but was finally offered a large straight role in an upcoming historical drama. He died of a sudden heart attack before production began.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

The film was Wilson (they didn't replace him, just cut the character). We mention that part of his story in the follow-up video to this looking at the rest of the Frankenstein series. Coming soon!

[@Polyphemus47]

@@DarkCornersReviews ! ! ! But not soon enough! I loved every minute of this review of this favorite film. (One of my walls is nearly covered with images of Karloff's 'monster'.)

[@chibodee1187]

This was beautiful, thank you so much for making it.

[@godzillatron9428]

These longer videos you do are truly brilliant. Thank you for your passion in these projects.

[@Gondarth]

I'm like you, Robin. My first black and white horror film and my introduction to the Golden Age was Frankenstein. It was in a media studies class in high school 15 years ago. We looked at the Universal Horrors documentary and learned stuff about silent epics like Nosferatu and Metropolis and then we moved onto Frankenstein (we just completely skipped Dracula!!). Honestly, I didn't really like the movie at first. We were watching on an old TV, it was in black and white, there was no music, the acting was severely dated, I just never got it. I came back to it after 8 or 9 years and I finally started to appreciate the first two movies. Son of Frankenstein is my favourite in the Universal series, but the two Whale movies are mandatory viewing every October, especially if there's a rainstorm. It sets the perfect mood...

[@tamlandipper29]

My favourite thing about this channel is that you've opened my eyes to early cinema. I always assumed it was half baked. A Stevenson's Rocket. But although these films struggled to find the tools they understood the human eye and heart. It is a bizarre paradox to find some modern producer directors with incredible tools but who don't understand story telling.

[@Polyphemus47]

I see Peter Jackson as an exception to that rule.

[@futuristica1710]

Bride of Frankenstein is a masterpiece! And what a great documentary! You are fabulous, Robin!

[@joeporter5972]

Wow. Thank you so much for such a brilliant production. Mr. Whale may have been the creative force that brought Frankenstein to life, but your insightful and entertaining production has brought Mr. Whale to life for me. Thanks again Graham and Robin for setting the bar so high for genre film commentaries.

[@amb163]

Yet another excellent documentary, Robin! To answer your question, since I was a late-70s baby and 80s kid, with a brother six years older, my first horror movie memory was of The Nightmare on Elm Street, followed closely by Halloween and Friday the 13th. I watched them all at far too young an age, lol!

[@DarkCornersReviews]

In at the deep end

[@gregevans6044]

Damn, Robin, that was fantastic! Your docs are really great. Thank you!

[@splankhoon]

Very well done! Thanks. Must 've been around 7 years old when I saw it for the first time. The fright it gave me together with the sadness and melancholy of Karloff's performance instilled a love of the horror genre that never went away. 'Bride' is still one of my fav horror films ever. It goes to show, what you need is a visionary director and make up artist, a good script and good actors because that is what the viewer invests in: the story and the emotions. It's still way more powerful than any CGI driven thing of today.

[@VegimorphtheMovieBoy]

My introduction to horror was ironically Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, but it had quite the impact on me and would inspire me to go check out the earlier Universal Monster movies. IIronically, I finally saw Frankenstein in full just only a year or two ago (although I did see Bride of Frankenstein in high school) but I'm so glad I did :-)

[@erictoddw]

HUGE Uni Monster fan for over 50 years and this is, by far, the best tribute to JW I've ever seen, heard or read. KUDOS!

[@onbearfeet]

Thanks to the Satanic Panic, I wasn't allowed any horror media as a very young child, so my earliest horror memory is probably trying to watch Tod Browning's Dracula on The SciFi Channel (back when it was called that) at around age 13, while everyone else was out of the house. By then I'd seen documentaries and read library books about the historical figure, and I expected the film to be astonishing to merit all that fuss. In fact, even though I had grown up watching old black-and-white movies and loved many of them, I was so bored that I don't think I finished that one. Then, about a week later, I watched The Wolf Man under similar circumstances, and just like that, I had my favorite Universal monster.

[@artbychristine]

Heartfelt, informative, and as always, beautifully written and presented. A moving tribute an extraordinary work of art. Thank you!

[@profnostalgia_UK]

Excellent video. Before he began in films, James Whale was an actor on BBC radio. In particular, he was "Marius (a robot)" in a 1927 live performance of Karel Capek's R.U.R., which was the BBC's first production of the play. After several radio productions of the play, R.U.R. would become the first ever piece of television science fiction, in 1938.

[@l.a.gothro3999]

My earliest horror memory was 1931's "Dracula", on TV, on Halloween night, umm, 1969. That and "Frankenstein"; I didn't want to go out to trick-or-treat else I'd miss the movies. And the Hulk scared me more than them and he wasn't even on film yet (except those dreadful cartoons of the time). Drac & Frankie were my friends, but I had bad dreams about the Hulk. But I was an eccentric child...still am, I'm just taller and weigh more, et al.

[@hamburgareable]

Thanks for the review and your brilliant take on James Whale and his cinematic ouevre of work, Robin! Nobody else could have done it better! He and Karloff hit off perfectly in their collaboration and their movies yielded wonderful and impactful results!

[@mickeymackenna1090]

I really enjoyed it; thank you for sharing the tribute to James Whale and Boris Karloff.

[@Poohze01]

New Book? Legacy of Frankenstein? Out at Christmas! This is the first time I've looked forward to Christmas in years!

[@chuckmesser2202]

My firs horror memory was watching the first episode of THE OUTER LIMITS, THE GALAXY BEING. I remember freaking out when the title character broke out of the 3D holographic cube.

[@Cyber_Smoke]

That would of been terrifying to watch as a child, the outer limits had some great monsters.

[@anthonystrocks247]

This is why I am a Patron.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

And we thank you.

[@Carito_LIDU]

This was brilliantly done. I love your genuine passion and love for Whales' monumental films.

[@eliotmccann2589]

Yet another splendid essay! Thank you, sir!

[@danyergert8122]

Absolutely dynamite work here! Great video

[@sarawelling5271]

You have written a benediction for these films, a considerable achievement given the volumes of words expended on the subject to date.

[@davidsigalow7349]

Great work. So many of my generation were imprinted forever by these two films.

[@CurtisAmusements]

First-Class; an absolutely exquisite review and analysis. Highly recommended.

[@IronSalamander8]

I love these so much! I have the Universal monster collection, which is a mixed bag at points, but these movies here are amazing.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

Another note: the bride is unique amongst all the universal monsters, not because she was a female, (draculas daughter was first*), but because she's the only one that never committed homicide. ❤❤❤ edit: yes, I used the word "amongst". Deal with it. Lol *edit/correction: first female universal monster was "the werewolf", 1913, Navajo witches daughter terrorizes settlers.

[@alienmindwarp3455]

Parts of her may have. We just don't know.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

@@alienmindwarp3455 I know which part of elsa I'd want to murder me, lol!!

[@NoDramatix]

Hate to be terribly pedantic and all that but I noted amongst your interesting points an error. - The Bride, in fact, predates Dracula’s Daughter by a year.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

@@NoDramatix my mistake.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

@JMxx6204 I corrected my original post, it's "the werewolf", a lost movie

[@Markus1894]

I don’t know why but I keep expecting Peter Cushing to turn up and shout ‘WHAT A PHENOMENAL SIGHT!’ Though it’s remarkable I watched Frankenstein after Dracula and the difference in the direction is absolutely striking.

[@RavenHouseMystery]

Excellent job on the video and thank you Robin for sharing your film knowledge on this horror classic. I cannot recall what was the first horror film I saw, but I do remember the death of Maria was the first time I saw a child's murder in a film. I was about seven years old.

[@Neo-Pulps]

You make the best Universal Horror videos

[@idahomike4254]

Such great detail and delivery with passion. Thank you for this. Cheers!

[@briansmith2163]

I love this essay. Thank you so very much.

[@jannewass4540]

Another amazing video. I concur with your thoughts on Whale: no other director came close to making as good horror films as he did at Universal. The only ones, really, that come close (or even surpass), are Paramount's Island of Lost Souls and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

[@invisibleray6987]

Bride of Frank is a masterpiece

[@AJewBag89]

I love your tributes to these directors and documentaries. I’m so glad you guys kept going year after year. Great video and script I’m so glad to be part of this community.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks, we're glad to have you

[@katem1472]

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar! I met Sarah Karloff once and she was absolutely lovely.

[@travisrygg3317]

I love Bride of Frankenstein more than the original movie, because you said it best: it gave him a soul.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

My guiding lodestar films on Universal Monsters...a worthy topic I can't wait to see you dig into!

[@leoniesableblanc]

I really enjoy these longer deep dives. I find them fascinating. Thank you

[@20th_century_Ghost]

P.S. Another triumphant review from Dark Corners Reviews. Bravo! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@theiggy1474]

And to think, the monster never got to try espresso.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Tragic

[@AAZEDLARC]

Well done, I've been studying this stuff since the 70s! Please keep on keeping on, your scholarship is remarkable :))

[@Contortiumthetheatreofho-qh4hv]

James Whale and Hamilton Deane (for those unfamiliar he wrote the Dracula stage play) were both actors in Joseph Levy's London Grand Guignol y'know.

[@AdamqK]

Thank you. That was, as always, full of love, affection and enlightenment. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[@50goingon15]

Your breakdown and examination of films is both insightful and entertaining.

[@jeffagain7516]

Thanks so much once again Robin and the whole DC team! Another brilliant presentation! :)

[@gedq]

You missed a fun one - according the "the london grand guignol" Hand and Wilson, Whale was an actor at the London Grand Guignol. One of his parts was playing a disembodied head, except the censor would only let him play it off stage. Possibly not his biggest acting challenge. It's tempting to think he made friends at the GG who would be remembered later.

[@carlozabbia1157]

Excellent review of an excellent subject. Keep up the good work.

[@franzferdinand2]

Frankenstein was also my first horror memory. The Universal Monster movies were just being released on VHS, and my dad was excited to show them to me and my siblings. Frankenstein was the first one he got, shortly followed by Bride of Frankenstein. Watching this was also the first time I learned that the scene of Maria being thrown in the water had been cut, because it had just always been in the version I saw. Anyway, does Elsa Lanchester as the Bride have the biggest pop culture impact for the least amount of screen time ever?

[@Clownboy15]

The scene in Bride that featured the miniature baby, the baby was in fact played by future little person star, Billy Barry. It was one of his first film roles.

[@rsacchi100]

Great detailed account of the making of these movies. You give an excellent account of what might have been.

[@BansheeEnt]

A wonderful video. Thank you.

[@garybryant5946]

The biggest horror at the heart of the film is loneliness and isolation

[@janetcraft]

Thank you so much for this deep and detailed review :) I enjoy learning how movies are made - the behind the scenes. The Frankenstein movie is a classic film and should be viewed by many young film makers today for its production values and many more.

[@indac-channel4995]

wonderful! thank you so much for this brilliant essay on filmhistory! more!

[@jjmboston9526]

Good vid. Thanks. I look forward to your Frankenstein book

[@OneColdMonkey]

Huh, I'd heard it was the board falling on Karloff's back in the windmill that gave him his back problems!

[@animateangus]

Great video. The 1931 film was my introduction to not just horror but film in general. My grandpa got me hooked on these films, and I was lucky that my local library stocked some of the VHS tapes. Bit of a controversial opinion, but I prefer SON over BRIDE. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the black comedy elements in BRIDE and giving the Monster speech. I loved the German Expressionist feel of the original and SON. Great retrospective on two horror classics!

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Thanks. We will be covering Son and the rest of the series in an upcoming video - the story of Son's making is remarkable! How they got such a good film out of that chaos is miraculous.

[@Poeme340]

Excellent doc!!!👌