FAQ for
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Bride of Frankenstein, like Frankenstein (1931) before it, is based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by 19-year old British author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley [1797-1851]. The success of the first Frankenstein film prompted the idea of making a sequel. Several ideas (as well as screenwriters) later, director James Whale hired playwright John L. Balderston to come up with yet another version. Balderston decided to return to an incident from the novel in which the creature demands a mate, but it was playwrights William J. Hurlbut and Edmund Pearson who came up with the final script that eventually became Bride of Frankenstein.

They follow on but, assuming you're vaguely familiar with the story of Frankenstein, you won't be missing anything. There aren't too many references to the first film, and you'll pick up everything you need to know as it goes on.

See: this FAQ entry

Mary Shelley named the Dr Frankenstein "Victor." In his book It's Alive! The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein (1982), Gregory Mank claims that it dates back to a 1920's stage adaptation in London by Peggy Webling. Victor Frankenstein's name was exchanged with that of his best friend Henry.

Drs. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) bring the monster's bride (Elsa Lanchester) to life. When she sees the monster (Boris Karloff), she screams. The monster tries to be friendly to her, even gently holding her hand. She screams again. "She hates me," he says. After allowing Frankenstein and Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) to leave the laboratory, the monster pulls the self-destruct lever (don't all castles have one?) and blows up the lab, killing himself, his bride, and Dr Pretorius.

Universal Studios made eight Frankenstein movies, starting with Frankenstein (1931), which starred Boris Karloff as the monster. In Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the monster gets a mate. In Son of Frankenstein (1939), Dr Frankenstein's son Wolf (Basil Rathbone) revives his father's monster. The monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) is revived again in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and treated by Dr Frankenstein's son Ludwig (Cedric Hardwicke). The Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr) recovers the monster (Bela Lugosi)'s body from a block of ice and he is revived again by Dr Mannering (Patric Knowles) in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). In House of Frankenstein (1944), mad Doctor Neiman (Boris Karloff) revives the monster (Glenn Strange) in order to exact revenge on his enemies. In House of Dracula (1945), the monster (Glenn Strange) is again found by the Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr) and revived by renowned Doctor Edelman (Onslow Stevens). Many purists insist that the classic Universal Frankenstein saga ends here, but some also count Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) in which Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Doctor Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) attempt to transplant Wilbur (Lou Costello)'s brain into the monster (Glenn Strange).