Frankenstein is a 1931 horror film based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The film tells the story of a scientist named Dr. Henry Frankenstein, whose work takes him into the dark side of life after death. It stars Colin Clive as Henry, Mae Clarke , John Boles , and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster. Karloff is billed only with a question mark in the opening credits, though he was mentioned in the closing credits, which basically repeated the cast that was credited in the opening, under the principle that "A Good Cast Is Worth Repeating".

The movie was adapted by John L. Balderston , Francis Edward Faragoh , Garrett Fort , Robert Florey (uncredited) and John Russell (uncredited) from the Shelley novel and the play by Peggy Webling . It was directed by James Whale and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

The film is noteworthy for the complete absence of musical underscoring.

Differences between the film and its source

The doctor in this film is named Henry Frankenstein, and his friend is named Victor; in the original novel, the doctor was named Victor Frankenstein and his best friend's name was Henry Clerval.

Whereas in Mary Shelley's novel, the creature's savage behavior is seen as the result or maltreatment and neglect, the film adaptation explains it is a consequence of Henry's installing a defective brain in the carcass. This of course evacuates from the story much of its powerful social criticism and depiction of developing consciousness.

Sequels and parodies

Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein (1935), which is generally considered the best film of the series. The next sequel, 1939's Son of Frankenstein --made, like all those that followed, without Whale or Clive, and featuring Karloff's last perfomance as the Monster--was inferior, and began the series' long slide that ended in 1948 with the deliberately-farcical Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Mel Brooks' comedy Young Frankenstein parodied elements of the first three Universal Frankenstein movies.