That's Frahn-ken-steen

I've been rewatching the series of movies from the 1930s and early 1940s that Universal Pictures released regarding Baron Frankenstein and his big-guy monster. They've been an essential part of American culture since they were created, and rightly so. Boris Karloff really nailed the idea of the vicious half-human creature sewn together from corpses and animated by electricity from the heavens.

What emerges for me is that only the first movie – 1931's Frankenstein – is quality cinema while the rest wallow in various depths of dreck. And I include the sequel The Bride of Frankenstein in that assessment.

The original 1931 Frankenstein is a low-budget flick but awfully well made given its implausible plot. I find the camera work particularly involving, such as the use of jump cuts for our first look at the monster's face, and the hand-held quality of the tracking shot of the father carrying his dead daughter Maria through the village. The fact that they didn't use background music in 1931 is a big improvement over the cheap trash that accompanies the rest of the series.

All of the post-1931 movies are plagued by casting and tonal problems. Consider Ernest Thesinger as Dr. Praetorius in Bride of Frankenstein; he adds a level of high camp that just doesn't really hold together under the circumstances. The movie is funnier than it ought to be thanks to his posturing, mugging, and sidelong longing glances at Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein. I suppose it was nervy to play the role as a raging queen in those days, but tonally it's all wrong.

The other casting problems in Bride include Una O'Connor, who shrieks her way through her role as Minnie the housemaid, and Valerie Hobson as Frankenstein's intended. She's stupid as a brick, unfortunately, and Valerie Hobson is a rather elegant young woman who really doesn't need to be playing a brain-dead bimbo.

People rave about Franz Waxman's score for the movie, but heard in retrospect it's horrid, almost cartoon music. It's far too ham-handed to accompany the superb neo-Expressionist cinematography, lots of cool angles and shadows. But every time the music starts playing the film turns into unintentional satire.

Then comes Son of Frankenstein, which dwells on the border between dull and excruciating. Two major casting problems render the flick close to unwatchable, first and foremost Basil Rathbone's twitchy performance as the young Baron Frankenstein, son of the Colin Clive character. He's wound up so tightly from the get-go that you almost can't watch him. His wife is a brain-dead socialite, apparently. The actress playing the part handles it well enough, I suppose, but there really isn't anything much there to handle. Just act like you're at the monseigneur's for high tea and all is well.

Then there's Donny Dunagan as their son. I know it's not really his fault since he was just a little kid at the time, but dammit, somebody coached him on that headache-inducing Well, helloooooo that he emits from time to time. It's enough to make you want him to get thrown into that bubbling sulfur pit below Frankenstein's laboratory. He almost does, in fact. Pity somebody intervenes. (And no, there wasn't a bubbling sulfur pit in the original movie, nor was Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory right behind the house. Continuity was never these movies' strong suits.)

On the other hand, Bela Lugosi makes a pretty interesting Ygor, although this is the movie that provided a lot of the inspiration for Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. You can't quite watch Bela without seeing Marty Feldman. Walk this way. And I don't think there's any question but that Gene Wilder had studied Rathbone pretty carefully to create his nebbishy, neurotic take as the young Doctor Frahnkensteen.

Lionel Atwill is surprisingly good as the inspector who lost his arm and uses a wooden one. Again, you have to try not to see Larry Storch's schtick with his wooden arm/hand.

I'll keep on plugging. After I finish Son there's Ghost of Frankenstein and the various monster mash flicks. Of course the series went downhill steadily from the original, but just how low did it go? I'll find out and report back.