Don't Make a Scene: Frankenstein (1931)

The Story: When Pauline Kael wrote of a review of Zeffirelli's version of Romeo and Juliet, she made a big deal of quoting a lyric from "The Bandwagon" to denote its style: "She came to me in stages." 

 

Well, Frankenstein—or I should say "Frankenstein's Monster"—comes to you in parts (some assembly required). 

Director James Whale, who wanted and took over the project from Robert Florey—whose concept of "The Monster" was as an unthinking killing brute and was using a John Dalderston adaptation of a play for the film's basis—as the second film in his five-year contract with Universal.

 

As a child, when I first saw this sequence, it thrilled me. Now, as an adult, it thrills me even more because I understand that it was—and is—filled with dexterous flourishes of direction to ramp up the suspense and pay it off for the audience. Despite what most people say about magic, sometimes, you can appreciate the talent more if you know how the trick is done.

Case in point: The monster's entrance. There has been a movie's worth of build-up, what with the concept, the digging up of dead bodies, the experiment itself, the hiding of the form under the sheet. And then, there are the foot-prints right before this scene, as Doctors Frankenstein and Waldmon talk about the resuscitation of dead tissue to create new life. They come closer, and then the paradox look to the door.

Whale cuts to the door, which slowly opens with the tried and true creak to set the spine on edge. 

Except the creature is facing away from us in shadow.

Cut closer. We can see the bolts coming out of its neck and it turns...very slowly...first revealing a scar under its jaw—and if we can tear our eyes away from that—that its head is alarmingly flat on top.

 

As we see more of its face, another layer is peeled off, as the creature comes into the light, and we can see the dead, unseeing eyes as they LOOK RIGHT AT US!!! 

 

And then, when we get a full view of its face, Whale moves in to a very tight close-up. 

 

And then, just a split second before we can get linger on even more detail, he moves to an even closer shot, putting us seemingly nose-to-nose with the creature. 

 

Most film-makers and cinematographers will tell you this is a bad move, and spoils a smooth transition between two separate images, and that to do so can be a jarring effect that will interfere with an audience's absorption into the scene.But, that's exactly the effect Whale wanted: he wanted to shock us with the transition, draw us closer to a repellent image and make us feel it with an edit that comes too soon and too close, adding to our discomfort.

It's a superb example of Whale's showmanship, theatricality, understanding of the mechanics of both film and fear, and a wicked sense of gleeful sadism on what could be achieved with an audience. Bravo.

 

The Set-Up: Most fiancee's spend their engagement staying out of the way of the wedding arrangements. Not Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive). At his Alpen laboratory, he has been obsessively working trying to re-animate dead tissue and has constructed an entire human body in an attempt to do so. With the rapt attention of his former teacher, Waldron (), Henry explains that his research has been a success. Would he like to see it.

 

Well, wait a few minutes. Someone's in the hall....

 

Action! 

E-3  MEDIUM SHOT

THE CAMERA, CHANGING ITS ANGLE, now takes in the door, keeping Waldman and Frankenstein in the foreground.

Both have now turned to the door, which slowly opens, revealing the Monster in the frame.

The Monster is a strangely hideous, grotesque, inhuman figure -- its figure supplying the only semblance of humanity.

It stands there in the doorway, staring out of unseeing eyes at the two men. He does not move....a slight, twitching about the mouth alone denotes life. 

Dressed in an old suit of Frankenstein, which is far too small for him, making the Monster look shrunken -- or in a shape-less, colorless sack-like garb, perhaps -- it looks like a dead thing.

Its flesh is gray, blotchy, the lips almost black.

The top of its head has a curious flat ridge like the lid of a box.

The hair is fairly short and quite obviously combed over the ridge to hide the defect of the joining where the brain was put in.

It is apparent that the Monster is becoming used to the dim light. 

Doctor Waldman is visibly alarmed but stands his ground.

Frankenstein goes toward the thing; after a few steps, however, he stops, fascinated by the creature, hardly knowing what to expect.

He motions to the Monster with his hand and says: 

FRANKENSTEIN: Come in! Come in! 

The Monster slightly sways, and we think it is going to fall but it starts MOVING toward Frankenstein.

All the joints are quite stiff, yet it has perfect balance.

It does not walk like a Robot, it glides forward with a slightly swaying, rythmic movement.

E-4  CLOSER SHOT

The CAMERA TRUCKS BEFORE Frankenstein as he, backing slowly, leads the Monster to a chair.

Still facing the creature, Frankenstein makes half-hypnotic, half-persuasive gestures with his hands.

FRANKENSTEIN: Sit down!

The monster fails to understand. Frankenstein though quivering with excitement painstakingly goes through the required movements; now he reports:

FRANKENSTEIN: Sit down! DOWN!

With slow, jerky tentative movements the Monster assumes a sitting posture.

 

Frankenstein

 

Words by Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh (Draft dated August 12, 1931)

 

Pictures by Arthur Edeson and James Whale

 

Frankenstein is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Home Video.