Frankenstein ( 1931 film ) - wikipedia Frankenstein ( 1931 film ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2018 ) Frankenstein 1931 American poster Directed by James Whale Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. Screenplay by Francis Edward Faragoh Garrett Fort Uncredited : Robert Florey John Russell Story by John L. Balderston ( Adaptation ) Richard Schayer ( Scenario Editor ) Based on Frankenstein ( Novel ) by Mrs. Percy B. Shelley Frankenstein ( Play ) by Peggy Webling Starring Colin Clive Mae Clarke John Boles Boris Karloff Music by Bernhard Kaun Cinematography Arthur Edeson Edited by Clarence Kolster Maurice Pivar Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date November 21, 1931 ( 1931 - 11 - 21 ) Running time 71 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $262,007 Box office $12 million Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code horror monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling ( which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley ), about a scientist and his assistant who dig up corpses to build a man animated by electricity, but his assistant accidentally gives the creature an abnormal, murderer 's brain. The resultant monster is portrayed by Boris Karloff in the film. The movie stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Karloff, and features Dwight Frye and Edward van Sloan. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. The make - up artist was Jack Pierce. A hit with both audiences and critics, the film was followed by multiple sequels and has become arguably the most iconic horror film in history. In 1991, the Library of Congress selected Frankenstein for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being `` culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. '' Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Background 4 Production 5 Pre-Code era scenes and censorship history 6 Reception 6.1 Box office 7 Sequels 8 Other adaptations 8.1 Frankenstein 's assistant 9 Cancelled remake 10 Reboot 11 See also 12 Notes 13 Sources 14 See also 15 External links Plot Play media 1931 Frankenstein film trailer In a European village, a young scientist, named Henry Frankenstein, and his assistant Fritz, a hunchback, piece together a human body, the parts of which have been collected from various sources, including stealing freshly buried bodies in a cemetery, and recently hanged criminals. Frankenstein desires to create human life through electrical devices which he has perfected. He sends Fritz to a school where Dr. Waldman, Henry 's old medical professor, teaches, to steal a brain ; Fritz drops the normal brain and has to take the brain of a criminal. Elizabeth, his fiancée, is worried over his peculiar actions. She can not understand why he secludes himself in an abandoned watch tower, which he has equipped as a laboratory, refusing to see anyone. She and a friend, Victor Moritz, go to Dr. Waldman, and ask Waldman 's help in reclaiming the young scientist from his experiments. Waldman tells them that Frankenstein has been working on creating life. Elizabeth, intent on rescuing Frankenstein, arrives just as Henry is making his final tests. He tells them to watch, claiming to have discovered the ray that brought life into the world. They watch Frankenstein and the hunchback as they raise the dead creature on an operating table, high into the room, toward an opening at the top of the laboratory. Then a terrific crash of thunder, the crackling of Frankenstein 's electric machines, and the hand of Frankenstein 's creature begins to move, prompting Frankenstein to shout ' It 's alive ! '. The manufactured creature, despite its grotesque form, initially appears to be a simple, innocent creation. Frankenstein welcomes it into his laboratory and asks his creation to sit, which it does. He then opens up the roof, causing the creature to reach out towards the sunlight. Fritz enters with a flaming torch, which frightens the creature. Its fright is mistaken by Frankenstein and Waldman as an attempt to attack them, and it is chained in the dungeon. Thinking that it is not fit for society and will wreak havoc at any chance, they leave the creature locked up, where Fritz antagonizes it with a torch. As Henry and Waldman consider the creature 's fate, they hear a shriek from the dungeon. Frankenstein and Waldman find the creature has strangled Fritz. The creature lunges at the two but they escape, locking the creature inside. Realizing that the creature must be destroyed, Henry prepares an injection of a powerful drug and the two conspire to release the creature and inject it as it attacks. When the door is unlocked the creature lunges at Frankenstein as Waldman injects the drug into the creature 's back. The creature falls to the floor unconscious. Henry collapses from exhaustion, and Elizabeth and Henry 's father arrive and take him home. Henry is worried about the creature but Waldman reassures him that he will destroy it. Later, Henry is at home, recovered and preparing for his wedding while Waldman examines the creature. As he is preparing to vivisect it, the creature awakens and strangles him. It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape. It has a short encounter with a farmer 's young daughter, Maria. She is not afraid of him and asks him to play a game with her in which they toss flowers into a lake and watch them float. The creature enjoys the game, but when they run out of flowers he thinks Maria will float as well, so he throws her into the lake where, to his puzzlement, she drowns. Upset by this outcome, the creature runs away. With preparations for the wedding completed, Henry is serenely happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Waldman arrives. Victor rushes in, saying that the Doctor has been found strangled. Henry suspects the creature, who enters Elizabeth 's room, causing her to scream. When the searchers arrive, they find Elizabeth unconscious on the bed. The creature has escaped. Maria 's father arrives, carrying his daughter 's body. He says she was murdered, and the villagers form a search party to capture the creature, and bring it to justice ( dead or alive ). In order to search the whole country for the creature, they split into three groups : Ludwig leads the first group into the woods, Henry leads the second group into the mountains, and the Burgomaster leads the third group by the lake. During the search, Henry becomes separated from the group and is discovered by the creature, who attacks him. The creature knocks Henry unconscious and carries him off to an old mill. The peasants hear his cries and they regroup to follow. They find the creature has climbed to the top, dragging Henry with him. The creature hurls the scientist to the ground. His fall is broken by the vanes of the windmill, saving his life. Some of the villagers hurry him to his home while the rest of the mob set the windmill ablaze, killing the entrapped creature inside. At Castle Frankenstein, Frankenstein 's father, Baron Frankenstein, celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild. Cast Frankenstein movie theater lobby card Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein Mae Clarke as Elizabeth Lavenza John Boles as Victor Moritz Boris Karloff as Frankenstein 's monster Edward Van Sloan as Dr. Waldman Frederick Kerr as Baron Frankenstein Dwight Frye as Fritz Lionel Belmore as Herr Vogel, the Burgomaster Marilyn Harris as Little Maria Michael Mark as Ludwig, Maria 's father Background In 1930, Universal Studios had lost $2.2 million in revenues. Within 48 hours of its opening at New York 's Roxy Theatre on February 12, 1931, Dracula starring Bela Lugosi had sold 50,000 tickets, building a momentum that culminated in a $700,000 profit, the largest of Universal 's 1931 releases. As a result, head of production Carl Laemmle Jr. announced immediate plans for more horror films. Production Frankenstein begins with Edward Van Sloan stepping from behind a curtain and delivering a brief caution before the opening credits : How do you do ? Mr. Carl Laemmle feels it would be a little unkind to present this picture without just a word of friendly warning : We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation ; life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even horrify you. So, if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now 's your chance to uh, well, -- -- we warned you ! ! Immediately, following his success in Dracula, Bela Lugosi had hoped to play Dr. Frankenstein in Universal 's original film concept, but the actor was expected by Carl Laemmle Jr. to be the Monster ( a common move for a contract player in a film studio at the time ) to keep his famous name on the bill. After several disastrous make - up tests ( said to resemble that of Paul Wegener in The Golem ), the Dracula star left the project. Although this is often regarded as one of the worst decisions of Lugosi 's career, in actuality, the part that Lugosi was offered was not the same character that Karloff eventually played. The character in the Florey script was simply a killing machine without a touch of human interest or pathos, reportedly causing Lugosi to complain, `` I was a star in my country and I will not be a scarecrow over here ! '' Florey later wrote that `` the Hungarian actor did n't show himself very enthusiastic for the role and did n't want to play it. '' However, the decision may not have been Lugosi 's in any case, since recent evidence suggests that he was kicked off the project, along with director Robert Florey when the newly arrived James Whale asked for the property. Whale had been imported from England by the Laemmles and given a free hand as to his choice of projects at Universal. He was immediately attracted to Frankenstein and greatly revised the script and conceptualization of the project, which had troubled the management. Florey and Lugosi were given the Murders in the Rue Morgue film, as a consolation. Lugosi would later go on to play the monster in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man a decade later, when his career was in decline ( in the original shooting script the Monster spoke, cancelling Lugosi 's initial objection to the part, but his filmed dialogue sequences were cut prior to release, along with the premise that the Monster was blind, which was the way Lugosi had played it ). The 1931 `` Lugosi as Frankenstein 's Monster '' promo poster, without the now famous flat head makeup Actors who worked on the project were, or became familiar to, fans of the Universal horror films. These included Frederick Kerr as the old Baron Frankenstein, Henry 's father ; Lionel Belmore as Herr Vogel, the Bürgermeister ; Marilyn Harris as Little Maria, the girl the monster accidentally kills ; Dwight Frye as Frankenstein 's hunchbacked assistant, Fritz ; and Michael Mark as Ludwig, Maria 's father. Kerr died a year and a half later. Kenneth Strickfaden designed the electrical effects used in the `` creation scene ''. So successful were they that such effects came to be considered an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving the Frankenstein Monster. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as `` Strickfadens ''. It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil built by the inventor Nikola Tesla himself. According to this same source, Strickfaden also doubled for Karloff during the creation scene, as Karloff was afraid of being burned by sparks being thrown off the arcing electrical equipment simulating lightning. Although he was partially covered by a surgical drape, Karloff 's abdomen was otherwise exposed during the scene and the high - voltage arc `` scissors '' threw white - hot bits of metal when they were used to create flashes. The film opened in New York City at the Mayfair Theatre on December 4, 1931, and grossed $53,000 in one week. Pre-Code era scenes and censorship history The scene in which the monster throws the little girl into the lake and accidentally drowns her has long been controversial. Upon its original 1931 release, the second part of this scene was cut by state censorship boards in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York. Those states also objected to a line they considered blasphemous, one that occurred during Frankenstein 's exuberance when he first learns that his creature is alive. The original line was : `` It 's alive ! It 's alive ! In the name of God ! Now I know what it feels like to be God ! '' Kansas requested the cutting of 32 scenes, which, if removed, would have halved the length of the film. Jason Joy of the Studio Relations Committee sent censor representative Joseph Breen to urge them to reconsider. Eventually, an edited version was released in Kansas. The shot of Maria being thrown into the lake was rediscovered during the 1980s in the collection of the British National Film Archive. Modern copies incorporate it. As with many Pre-Code films that were reissued after strict enforcement of the Production Code in 1934, Universal made cuts from the original camera negative. Reception Mordaunt Hall gave Frankenstein a very positive review and said that the film `` aroused so much excitement at the Mayfair yesterday that many in the audience laughed to cover their true feelings. '' `` ( T ) here is no denying that it is far and away the most effective thing of its kind. Beside it Dracula is tame and, incidentally, Dracula was produced by the same firm. '' Film Daily also lauded the picture, calling it a `` gruesome, chill - producing and exciting drama '' that was `` produced intelligently and lavishly and with a grade of photography that is superb. '' Variety reported that it `` Looks like a Dracula plus, touching a new peak in horror plays, '' and described Karloff 's performance as `` a fascinating acting bit of mesmerism. '' Its review also singled out the look of the film as uniquely praiseworthy, calling the photography `` splendid '' and the lighting `` the last word in ingenuity, since much of the footage calls for dim or night effect and the manipulation of shadows to intensify the ghostly atmosphere. '' John Mosher of The New Yorker was less enthused, calling the film only a `` moderate success '' and writing that `` The makeup department has a triumph to its credit in the monster and there lie the thrills of the picture, but the general fantasy lacks the vitality which that little Mrs. P.B. Shelley was able to give her book. '' Frankenstein has continued to receive acclaim from critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1931, as well as one of the greatest movies of all time. It holds a 100 % `` Fresh '' rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed `` culturally, historically or aesthetically significant ''. In 2004, The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list. Frankenstein also received recognition from the American Film Institute. It was named the 87th greatest movie of all time on 100 Years... 100 Movies. The line `` It 's alive ! It 's alive ! '' was ranked as the 49th greatest movie quote in American cinema. The film was on the ballot for several of AFI 's 100 series lists, including AFI 's 10 Top 10 for the sci - fi category, 100 Years... 100 Movies ( 10th Anniversary Edition ), and twice on 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains for both Dr. Henry Frankenstein and the Monster in the villains category. The film was ranked number 56 on AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Thrills, a list of America 's most heart - pounding movies. It was also ranked number 27 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. Additionally, the Chicago Film Critics Association named it the 14th scariest film ever made. Box Office The film was a big hit. In June 1932, the film had earned reported rentals of $1.4 million. In 1943, Universal reported it had earned a profit of $708,871. By 1953, all the Frankenstein films earned an estimated profit of $13 million. Sequels Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ), in which Elsa Lanchester plays the Monster 's bride. The next sequel, Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 ), was made, like all those that followed, without Whale or Clive ( who had died in 1937 ). This film featured Karloff 's last full film performance as the Monster. Son of Frankenstein featured Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi as bearded hunchback Ygor, and Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh. The Ghost of Frankenstein was released in 1942. The movie features Lon Chaney Jr. as the Monster, taking over from Boris Karloff, who played the role in the first three films of the series, and Bela Lugosi in his second appearance as the demented Ygor. The fifth installment, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was released in 1943, directed by Roy William Neill, and starring Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein 's monster. This is also the sequel to The Wolf Man, with Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man. Karloff returned to the series, but not the role, in the follow - up, House of Frankenstein ( 1944 ), which also featured Chaney, and adds Dracula, played by John Carradine, and a hunchback for good measure. House of Dracula ( 1945 ) continued the theme of combining Universal 's three most popular monsters. Many of the subsequent films which featured Frankenstein 's monster demote the creature to a robotic henchman in someone else 's plots, such as in its final Universal film appearance in the deliberately farcical Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ( 1948 ). Frankenstein 1970 updated the story by having Victor Frankenstein ( played by Karloff ) animate the Monster using a nuclear reactor. Other adaptations Karloff would return to the wearing of the makeup and to the role of the monster one last time in a 1962 episode of the television sitcom Route 66. The popular 1960s television sitcom, The Munsters, depicts the family 's father Herman as Frankenstein 's monster, who married Count Dracula 's daughter. The make - up for Herman is based on the make - up of Boris Karloff. Frankenstein appears in Mad Monster Party ? ( 1967 ), a Rankin / Bass Productions Halloween special, where Dr. Boris von Frankenstein ( voiced by Karloff ) invites various classic monsters to a reunion at his castle with intentions to announce his retirement and to name his successor. Mel Brooks 's comedy Young Frankenstein ( 1974 ) parodied elements of the first three Universal Frankenstein movies. Brooks also recreated the movie into a musical of the same name. A live - action parody film, Frankenweenie ( 1984 ), depicting Victor Frankenstein as a modern American boy and his deceased pet dog as the monster, was made by Tim Burton in 1984. Burton remade it as a full - length animated film in 2012. Frankenstein 's assistant Although Frankenstein 's hunchbacked assistant is often referred to as `` Igor '' in descriptions of the films, he is not so called in the earliest films. In both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein has an assistant who is played both times by Dwight Frye who is crippled. In the original 1931 film the character is named `` Fritz '' who is hunchbacked and walks with the aid of a small cane. In Bride of Frankenstein, Frye plays `` Karl '' a murderer who stands upright but has a lumbering metal brace on both legs that can be heard clicking loudly with every step. Both characters would be killed by Karloff 's monster in their respective films. It was not until Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 ) that a character called `` Ygor '' first appears ( here played by Bela Lugosi and revived by Lugosi in The Ghost of Frankenstein ( 1942 ) after his apparent murder in the earlier film ). This character -- a deranged blacksmith whose neck was broken and twisted due to a botched hanging -- befriends the monster and later helps Dr. Wolf Frankenstein, leading to the `` hunchbacked assistant '' called `` Igor '' commonly associated with Frankenstein in popular culture. Frye also appears in later films in the series, such as in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ( 1943 ). Cancelled remake Guillermo del Toro had expressed interest in directing the reboot film for Universal. Del Toro said his Frankenstein would be a faithful `` Miltonian tragedy '', citing Frank Darabont 's `` near perfect '' script, which evolved into Kenneth Branagh 's Frankenstein. Del Toro said of his vision, `` What I 'm trying to do is take the myth and do something with it, but combining elements of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein without making it just a classical myth of the monster. The best moments in my mind of Frankenstein, of the novel, are yet to be filmed (... ) The only guy that has ever nailed for me the emptiness, not the tragic, not the Miltonian dimension of the monster, but the emptiness is Christopher Lee in the Hammer films, where he really looks like something obscenely alive. Boris Karloff has the tragedy element nailed down but there are so many versions, including that great screenplay by Frank Darabont that was ultimately not really filmed. '' He has also cited Bernie Wrightson 's illustrations as inspiration, and said the film will not focus on the monster 's creation, but be an adventure film featuring the character. Del Toro said he would like Wrightson to design his version of the creature. The film will also focus on the religious aspects of Shelley 's tale. In June 2009, del Toro stated that production on Frankenstein was not likely to begin for at least four years. Despite this, he has already cast frequent collaborator Doug Jones in the role of Frankenstein 's monster. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, Jones stated that he learned of the news the same day as everybody else ; that `` Guillermo did say to the press that he 's already cast me as his monster, but we 've yet to talk about it. But in his mind, if that 's what he 's decided, then it 's done... It would be a dream come true. '' The film will be a period piece. Reboot Main article : Universal Monsters § Dark Universe Universal Pictures is developing a shared universe of rebooted modern - day versions of their classic Universal Monsters, with various films in different stages of development. In June 2017, producer / director Alex Kurtzman revealed that Frankenstein is one of the films that will have an installment in the Dark Universe. Javier Bardem is cast to portray the titular character. But on November 8, 2017, Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan moved on to other projects, leaving the future of the Dark Universe in doubt. See also List of films with a 100 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website Boris Karloff filmography List of films featuring Frankenstein 's monster Frankenstein in popular culture Gothic film -- Notable films Pre-Code Hollywood Universal Monsters Notes Jump up ^ Michael Brunas, John Brunas & Tom Weaver, Universal Horrors : The Studios Classic Films, 1931 - 46, McFarland, 1990 p24 Jump up ^ Box Office Information for Frankenstein. The Numbers. Retrieved April 13, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles ''. The Library of Congress. Retrieved April 19, 2016. Jump up ^ Vieira, Mark A. ( 2003 ). Hollywood Horror : From Gothic to Cosmic. New York : Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 35. ISBN 0 - 8109 - 4535 - 5. Jump up ^ It 's Alive ! The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein - A.S. Barnes, San Diego, California, 1981 Jump up ^ `` '' Frankenstein '' Cast Chosen ``. New York Times. August 30, 1931. The Universal production of Mary Shelley 's `` Frankenstein '' is taking shape under the knowing guidance of James Whale. Boris Karloff and not Bela Lugosi is the final choice to play the monster. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Bela Lugosi was born outside the western border of Transylvania in Austria -- Hungary ( now Lugoj, Romania ) ^ Jump up to : Vieira. pgs. 42 -- 3 Jump up ^ MagicImage Filmbooks Series, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Jump up ^ Golman, Harry ( November 11, 2005 ). Kenneth Strickfaden, Dr. Frankenstein 's Electrician. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0 - 7864 - 2064 - 2. Jump up ^ Doherty. pg. 297 Jump up ^ Robert Horton Frankenstein, New York & Chichester : Wallflower Press & Columbia University Press, 2014, p. 24 Jump up ^ Vieira. pg. 48 Jump up ^ Review by Mordaunt Hall, The New York Times Jump up ^ `` Frankenstein ''. Film Daily. New York : Wid 's Films and Film Folk, Inc. : 10 December 6, 1931. Jump up ^ Greason, Alfred Rushford ( December 8, 1931 ). `` Frankenstein ''. Variety. New York : Variety, Inc. p. 14. Jump up ^ Mosher, John ( December 12, 1931 ). `` The Current Cinema ''. The New Yorker. New York : P-B Publishing Corporation. p. 81. Jump up ^ `` The Greatest Films of 1931 ''. AMC Filmsite.org. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Best Movies of 1931 by Rank ''. Films101.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Best Films of 1931 ''. listal.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1931 ''. IMDb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` 5 - Star Movies by Rank ''. Films101.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Frankenstein Movie Reviews, Pictures ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Films Selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress 1989 to 2009 ''. LOC.gov. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Frankenstein : Award Wins and Nominations ''. IMDb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made ''. The New York Times. April 29, 2003. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 10 Top 10 Official Ballot '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Movies ( 10th Anniversary Edition ) Official Ballot '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains : The 400 Nominated Characters '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Thrills '' ( PDF ). AFI.com. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Bravo 's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments ''. web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Chicago Critics ' Scariest Films ''. AltFilmGuide.com. Retrieved July 2, 2010. Jump up ^ Stephen Jacobs, Boris Karloff : More Than a Monster, Tomohawk Press 2011 p 107 Jump up ^ Brendon Connelly ( 2009 - 06 - 11 ). `` Guillermo Del Toro Confirms Hugo Weaving For The Hobbit... And Much More ''. / Film. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 12. Jump up ^ Mike Sampson ( 2007 - 10 - 26 ). `` Guillermo talks ! ''. JoBlo.com. Retrieved 2007 - 10 - 27. Jump up ^ Chris Hewitt ( February 8, 2008 ). `` Guillermo Del Toro Talks The Hobbit ''. Empire. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2008. Jump up ^ Max Evry ( 2008 - 10 - 05 ). `` Guillermo del Toro on The Hobbit and Frankenstein ''. ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 05. Jump up ^ Josh Horowitz ( 2008 - 10 - 14 ). `` Guillermo Del Toro Talks ' Hobbit ' Casting, Creatures ''. MTV. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Guillermo Del Toro Casts Doug Jones in Frankenstein ''. June 14, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009. Jump up ^ Frappier, Rob ( June 24, 2009 ). `` Doug Jones Talks Frankenstein, The Hobbit, & Hellboy 3 ''. Screen Rant. Retrieved June 24, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Hobbits, monsters and CSI vampires ''. BBC News Online. 2009 - 06 - 05. Retrieved 2009 - 06 - 08. Jump up ^ http://screenrant.com/dark-universe-hunchback-of-notre-dame-phantom-of-the-opera/ Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ; Couch, Aaron ( November 8, 2017 ). `` Universal 's `` Monsterverse '' in Peril as Top Producers Exit ( Exclusive ) ``. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 8, 2017. Sources Doherty, Thomas Patrick. Pre-Code Hollywood : Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema 1930 - 1934. New York : Columbia University Press 1999. ISBN 0 - 231 - 11094 - 4 Vieira, Mark A., Sin in Soft Focus. New York : Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2003. ISBN 0 - 8109 - 8228 - 5 See also 1931 in science fiction External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Frankenstein ( 1931 film ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frankenstein ( 1931 film ). Frankenstein ( 1931 ) archived from DBCult Film Institute Frankenstein at AMC 's Filmsite Frankenstein on IMDb Frankenstein at the TCM Movie Database Frankenstein at AllMovie Frankenstein at the American Film Institute Catalog Frankenstein at Rotten Tomatoes More Than the Sum of Its Parts : The Making of Frankenstein by Stephen Jacobs, archived from Creativescreenwriting.com Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein Characters Frankenstein 's monster Victor Frankenstein Bride of Frankenstein Doctor Waldman Elizabeth Lavenza Films ( expands on the right ) Film characters Igor Doctor Septimus Pretorius Wolf Frankenstein Universal series Frankenstein ( 1931 ) Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ) Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 ) The Ghost of Frankenstein ( 1942 ) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ( 1943 ) House of Frankenstein ( 1944 ) House of Dracula ( 1945 ) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ( 1948 ) Hammer series The Curse of Frankenstein ( 1957 ) The Revenge of Frankenstein ( 1958 ) The Evil of Frankenstein ( 1964 ) Frankenstein Created Woman ( 1967 ) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed ( 1969 ) The Horror of Frankenstein ( 1970 ) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell ( 1974 ) Toho series Frankenstein Conquers the World ( 1965 ) The War of the Gargantuas ( 1966 ) Parodies Mad Monster Party ? ( 1967 ) Mad Mad Mad Monsters ( 1972 ) Young Frankenstein ( 1974 ) Frankenstein - Italian Style ( 1975 ) Frankenweenie ( 1984 ) Transylvania 6 - 5000 ( 1985 ) The Monster Squad ( 1987 ) Frankenhooker ( 1990 ) Monster Mash ( 1995 ) Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein ( 1999 ) Monster Mash ( 2000 ) Frankenthumb ( 2002 ) Hotel Transylvania ( 2012 ) Frankenweenie ( 2012 ) Hotel Transylvania 2 ( 2015 ) Monster Family ( 2017 ) Others Frankenstein ( 1910 ) Life Without Soul ( 1915 ) The Monster of Frankenstein ( 1920 ) I Was a Teenage Frankenstein ( 1957 ) Frankenstein 1970 ( 1958 ) Frankenstein 's Daughter ( 1958 ) Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster ( 1965 ) Jesse James Meets Frankenstein 's Daughter ( 1966 ) Los Monstruos del Terror ( 1970 ) Lady Frankenstein ( 1971 ) Dracula vs. Frankenstein ( 1971 ) Frankenstein ' 80 ( 1972 ) Flesh for Frankenstein ( 1973 ) Blackenstein ( 1973 ) Frankenstein 's Castle of Freaks ( 1974 ) Frankenstein Legend of Terror ( 1981 ) Frankenstein Island ( 1981 ) The Bride ( 1985 ) Frankenstein Unbound ( 1990 ) Frankenstein ( 1992 ) Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ( 1994 ) Van Helsing ( 2004 ) Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove ( 2005 ) Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl ( 2009 ) House of the Wolf Man ( 2009 ) Frankenstein : Day of the Beast ( 2011 ) Frankenstein 's Army ( 2013 ) The Frankenstein Theory ( 2013 ) I, Frankenstein ( 2014 ) Army of Frankensteins ( 2014 ) Frankenstein ( 2015 ) Victor Frankenstein ( 2015 ) Television Tales of Frankenstein ( 1958 ) Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles ( 1966 -- 1968 ) Groovie Goolies ( 1970 - 1971 ) Frankenstein : The True Story ( 1973 ) Monster Squad ( 1976 ) Struck by Lightning ( 1979 ) House of Frankenstein ( 1997 ) Frankenstein ( 2004, TV film ) Frankenstein ( 2004, miniseries ) Frankenstein ( 2007 ) Mary Shelley 's Frankenhole ( 2010 ) Once Upon a Time `` The Doctor '' ( 2012 ) `` In the Name of the Brother '' ( 2013 ) Penny Dreadful ( 2014 -- 2016 ) The Frankenstein Chronicles ( 2015 ) Second Chance ( 2016 ) Stage Presumption ; or, the Fate of Frankenstein ( 1823 ) Frankenstein, or The Vampire 's Victim ( 1887 ) Joined At The Heart ( 2007 ) Frankenstein -- A New Musical ( 2007 ) Young Frankenstein ( 2007 ) Frankenstein ( 2011 play ) Frankenstein 's Wedding ( 2011 play ) Novels Frankenstein 's Aunt ( 1978 ) Frankenstein 's Aunt Returns ( 1989 ) Frankenstein 's Cat ( 2001 ) Dean Koontz 's Frankenstein Prodigal Son ( 2005 ) City of Night ( 2005 ) Dead and Alive ( 2009 ) Lost Souls ( 2010 ) Frankenstein in Baghdad ( 2013 ) Comics Bernie Wrightson 's Frankenstein Frankenstein ( DC Comics ) Frankenstein ( Dell Comics ) Doc Frankenstein Embalming Frankenstein 's Monster ( Marvel Comics ) Frankenstein ( Prize Comics ) Young Frankenstein Video games Frankenstein Frankenstein : The Monster Returns Dr. Franken Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein Frankenstein : Through the Eyes of the Monster Van Helsing Related Frankenstein in popular culture Frankenstein Castle Johann Conrad Dippel Frankenstrat ( guitar ) `` Frankenstein '' ( 1973 single ) Frankenstein ( Death Race ) Frankenstein, MD ( 2014 ) Universal Monsters Films Dracula Dracula ( English ) / ( Spanish ) ( 1931 ) Dracula 's Daughter ( 1936 ) Son of Dracula ( 1943 ) Remakes Dracula ( 1979 ) Dracula Untold ( 2014 ) Frankenstein Frankenstein ( 1931 ) Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ; character ) Son of Frankenstein ( 1939 ) The Ghost of Frankenstein ( 1942 ) Edgar Allan Poe Murders in the Rue Morgue ( 1932 ) The Black Cat ( 1934 ) The Raven ( 1935 ) The Black Cat ( 1941 ) The Mystery of Marie Roget ( 1942 ) Mummy ( Imhotep Kharis ) The Mummy ( 1932 ) The Mummy 's Hand ( 1940 ) The Mummy 's Tomb ( 1942 ) The Mummy 's Ghost The Mummy 's Curse ( 1944 ) Dark Universe The Mummy ( 2017 ) The Mummy The Mummy ( 1999 ) Returns ( 2001 ) Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ( 2008 ) Invisible Man The Invisible Man ( 1933 ) Returns The Invisible Woman ( 1940 ) Invisible Agent ( 1942 ) The Invisible Man 's Revenge ( 1944 ) Werewolves ( The Wolf Man ) Werewolf of London ( 1935 ) The Wolf Man ( 1941 ) She - Wolf of London ( 1946 ) The Wolfman ( 2010 ) Crossovers Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ( 1943 ) House of Frankenstein ( 1944 ) House of Dracula ( 1945 ) Van Helsing ( 2004 ) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ( 1948 ) Killer, Boris Karloff ( 1949 ) Invisible Man ( 1951 ) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( 1953 ) Mummy ( 1955 ) Ape Woman Captive Wild Woman ( 1943 ) Jungle Woman ( 1944 ) The Jungle Captive ( 1945 ) Inner Sanctum Mysteries Calling Dr. Death ( 1943 ) Weird Woman Dead Man 's Eyes ( 1944 ) The Frozen Ghost Strange Confession Pillow of Death ( 1945 ) Gill - man Creature from the Black Lagoon ( 1954 ) Revenge of the Creature ( 1955 ) The Creature Walks Among Us ( 1956 ) Other films The Hunchback of Notre Dame ( 1923 ) The Cat and the Canary ( 1927 ) The Man Who Laughs ( 1928 ) The Last Warning The Last Performance ( 1929 ) The Cat Creeps La Voluntad del muerto ( 1930 ) The Old Dark House ( 1932 ) Secret of the Blue Room ( 1933 ) The Mystery of Edwin Drood ( 1935 ) The Invisible Ray ( 1936 ) Night Key ( 1937 ) The Phantom Creeps ( 1939 ) Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera ( 1925 ) Phantom of the Opera ( 1943 ) Tower of London ( 1939 ) Black Friday ( 1940 ) Man Made Monster Horror Island ( 1941 ) The Mad Doctor of Market Street The Strange Case of Doctor Rx Night Monster ( 1942 ) The Mad Ghoul ( 1943 ) The Climax ( 1944 ) The Spider Woman Strikes Back The Cat Creeps ( 1946 ) The Creeper House of Horrors ( 1946 ) The Brute Man ( 1946 ) The Strange Door ( 1951 ) The Black Castle ( 1952 ) It Came from Outer Space ( 1953 ) Tarantula Cult of the Cobra This Island Earth ( 1955 ) Curucu, Beast of the Amazon The Mole People ( 1956 ) The Incredible Shrinking Man The Deadly Mantis The Land Unknown The Monolith Monsters ( 1957 ) The Thing That Could n't Die Monster on the Campus ( 1958 ) Curse of the Undead ( 1959 ) The Leech Woman ( 1960 ) Films directed by James Whale Journey 's End ( 1930 ) Hell 's Angels ( 1930 ) Waterloo Bridge ( 1931 ) Frankenstein ( 1931 ) The Impatient Maiden ( 1932 ) The Old Dark House ( 1932 ) The Kiss Before the Mirror ( 1933 ) The Invisible Man ( 1933 ) By Candlelight ( 1933 ) One More River ( 1934 ) Bride of Frankenstein ( 1935 ) Remember Last Night ? ( 1935 ) Show Boat ( 1936 ) The Road Back ( 1937 ) The Great Garrick ( 1937 ) Sinners in Paradise ( 1938 ) Wives Under Suspicion ( 1938 ) Port of Seven Seas ( 1938 ) The Man in the Iron Mask ( 1939 ) Green Hell ( 1940 ) They Dare Not Love ( 1941 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankenstein_(1931_film)&oldid=838926874 '' Categories : 1931 films English - language films 1930s horror films 1930s science fiction films Pre-1940s science fiction horror films American films American black - and - white films American science fiction horror films American monster movies Films based on adaptations Films based on horror novels Films directed by James Whale Films made before the MPAA Production Code Films set in Switzerland Frankenstein films Gothic horror films United States National Film Registry films Universal Monsters film series Universal Pictures films Obscenity controversies in film Organ transplantation in fiction Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use mdy dates from July 2015 Articles needing additional references from March 2018 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Български Bosanski Català Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 24 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 April 2018, at 04 : 57. 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Question: who created frankenstein the monster in the movie
Answer: a young scientist, named Henry Frankenstein