:00:36
It's an old cliché that a sequel
is never as good as the original.
:00:39
But director James Whale set that
on its head with Bride of Frankenstein,
:00:43
the crowning achievement
of Universal's golden age of horror.
:00:47
Never had a studio lavished so much
production value and acting talent
:00:51
on a so-called monster movie.
:00:52
Bride of Frankenstein
transcended its genre
:00:55
and remains one of
Universal's best-loved films.
:00:58
For Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein,
:01:00
the attempted creation
of the monster's bride
:01:03
was always part of her original vision.
:01:05
How James Whale and Universal Pictures
played matchmaker
:01:08
for Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester
is quite a story.
:01:11
And, like a good cast,
well worth repeating.
:01:28
Oh. I thought I was alone.
:01:32
It's one of the great American films.
:01:34
It's right up there with
Citizen Kane and Sunset Boulevard.
:01:38
It's usually discussed as
"Oh, just a horror movie",
:01:42
but it's much more complex.
:01:44
Do you know who Henry Frankenstein is?
And who you are?
:01:48
Yes. I know.
:01:52
Made me from dead.
:01:55
The various story elements,
the intellectual elements,
:01:58
the artistic and acting elements
that came to bear in this film,