slaytonf Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I know there are many people who admire Bride of Frankenstein (1935). But I always thought it a silly movie with wonderful direction. I've never watched it all the way through, and when I do come across it, I can't help thinking of Young Frankenstein (1974). Especially the scene with Gene Hackman playing the hermit. One of the most hilarious scenes ever ('course, the original is almost as funny). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I think that James Whale would enjoy viewers finding Bride funny, since so much of the film is distinguished by the director's quirky sense of humour. He didn't have Una O'Connor overplaying it like that with her screams and eccentric performance to not bring levity to the production. Of course, Mel Brooks's marvelous sendup of the blind hermit scene will make it difficult to not think of Young Frankenstein when you watch Karloff and O. P. Heggie as the hermit in the original. And it is a very funny scene in many ways. At the same time, however, the same scene is also genuinely touching in its depiction of two outcasts of society who find solace in each other's company. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 So, in essence Tom, what you're sayin' to slayton here is that he isn't necessarily..ahem.."abby normal" for thinkin' the way he does about the '35 flick then, RIGHT?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Speaking of "Young Frankenstein," you're not going to believe this interview with actress Cloris Leachman that aired on "CBS Sunday Morning" last November. By the way, Leachman holds the record for most Primetime Emmy wins for acting with eight (she also has a Daytime Emmy). Her record could be tied next month by actress Allison Janney, who has six Primetime Emmys and is nominated for two more this year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 So, in essence Tom, what you're sayin' to slayton here is that he isn't necessarily..ahem.."abby normal" for thinkin' the way he does about the '35 flick then, RIGHT?! "Soitenly. Also, you take the blonde. I'll take the one in the turban." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyCronin Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I appreciate Cloris in her film and TV work, but whenever I've seen her as herself she puts me at unease. There's something slightly unstable in her delivery perhaps that I find distracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I think that James Whale would enjoy viewers finding Bride funny, since so much of the film is distinguished by the director's quirky sense of humour. He didn't have Una O'Connor overplaying it like that with her screams and eccentric performance to not bring levity to the production. Of course, Mel Brooks's marvelous sendup of the blind hermit scene will make it difficult to not think of Young Frankenstein when you watch Karloff and O. P. Heggie as the hermit in the original. And it is a very funny scene in many ways. At the same time, however, the same scene is also genuinely touching in its depiction of two outcasts of society who find solace in each other's company. I believe the point Slaytonf is making is that many of the scenes in the film that were not intended to be comic, are comic. That the film is a camp classis like Johnny Guitar. Anyhow, I find most horror films to be camp with Bride of Frankenstein being one of the most famous. While I enjoy campy films when they are well made (like the two I mention here), there is a fine line between solid entertainment and, well, Plan 9 from Outer Space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 While I enjoy campy films when they are well made (like the two I mention here), there is a fine line between solid entertainment and, well, Plan 9 from Outer Space! I wouldn't call it a fine line ... I'd call it the Grand Canyon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 What immediately came to my mind while reading stayton's OP last night was the ZERO HOUR/AIRPLANE connection. (...but of course, I couldn't resist first posting that whole "abby normal" thing down there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Speaking of "Young Frankenstein," you're not going to believe this interview with actress Cloris Leachman that aired on "CBS Sunday Morning" last November. By the way, Leachman holds the record for most Primetime Emmy wins for acting with eight (she also has a Daytime Emmy). Her record could be tied next month by actress Allison Janney, who has six Primetime Emmys and is nominated for two more this year. Wonderful!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. I love the tidbit about why the horses go mad when they hear her name. Blucher = glue!!! Wicked! When Young Frankenstein came out, I went with some school chums. I came home rattling my father, telling him he just had to see this movie. Did he love it? Oh, yeah, baby. He loved it! Dad's favorite line was, "What ****!" It's such a great film and so much fun. And, yes, I have it on DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 "Soitenly. Also, you take the blonde. I'll take the one in the turban." Hopefully, you've seen the out takes where Gene Wilder cracks up every time in this scene. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet0312 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I know there are many people who admire Bride of Frankenstein (1935). But I always thought it a silly movie with wonderful direction. I've never watched it all the way through, and when I do come across it, I can't help thinking of Young Frankenstein (1974). Especially the scene with Gene Hackman playing the hermit. One of the most hilarious scenes ever ('course, the original is almost as funny). Bride is a great movie. I used to hate it. But once I got around to appreciating the musical score, the art direction, and Una's screaming... It's just a grand movie. You know, my sister popped over today and we were talking about Boris Karloff Day. While Frankenstein still scares me, it makes Patty sad. Which I can understand.One of the movies in yesterday's line up featured Karloff as a corpse brought back to life who couldn't remember jack sh*t until he heard the nurse girl playing the piano. It reminded me of Frankenstein where the monster is brought back to life and has a hard time comprehending why on Earth everybody hates his guts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I believe the point Slaytonf is making is that many of the scenes in the film that were not intended to be comic, are comic. That the film is a camp classis like Johnny Guitar. Anyhow, I find most horror films to be camp with Bride of Frankenstein being one of the most famous. While I enjoy campy films when they are well made (like the two I mention here), there is a fine line between solid entertainment and, well, Plan 9 from Outer Space! My point to slaytonf is that I believe James Whale intended that his audience would, in some scenes, laugh with The Bride of Frankenstein, rather than at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 My point to slaytonf is that I believe James Whale intended that his audience would, in some scenes, laugh with The Bride of Frankenstein, rather than at it. Of course we understood that but that wasn't the point; Yes, in SOME scenes; those scenes were Whale intended there to be a laugh (such as any scene with O'Connor with her over-the-top comic questers). I have no idea how Whale felt about people laughing at scenes he viewed as series or at the entire laughable concept of the movie; BRIDE of a monster; that is as camp as camp can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 It was interesting watching the 1998 film Gods and Monsters, which featured Ian McKellen as James Whale. There's a scene set in a diner in which Brendan Fraser, whose character knows Whale, asks that they turn on Bride of Frankenstein, then playing on television, on their small TV in the corner. At first others in the diner, a "cold, hip" crowd of 20 somethings not into black and white films, are laughing at the movie. Possibly they don't realize that parts of the film are intended to be darkly humorous. But when the blind hermit scene comes on Fraser, identifying with the Monster's loneliness, says there's nothing funny about the Monster wanting a friend. The laughter from the others in the diner dies away at that moment because, odd and quirky as the scene is (deliberately funny in spots), they, too, can, perhaps, identify with that need of the Monster's. And that is a large part of the power of the blind hermit scene, the inclusion in it of a universal truth for most people, the need for companionship. Even a clunky looking Monster with an electrode sticking out of his neck has it. The sensitivity of Karloff's performance as, in essence, an innocent child in a hideous form is the clincher for the scene's success. There are undoubtedly some viewers who will still laugh at the scene but I suspect there are many others who will, perhaps, shed a tear while watching it, along with the Monster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipMurdock Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Bride of frankenstien is not funny Y would U think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 Just because something isn't funny doesn't mean it can't be lauhghable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Just because something isn't funny doesn't mean it can't be lauhgable. So you are saying Whale's films are laughable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Me no fishy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 As far as plots go, Son of Frankenstein is closer to Young Frankenstein. Gene Wilder takes Rathbone's over the top neurosis several pitches higher, and Kenneth Mars is great as the one-armed constable. So sorry to learn of Gene's passing today. Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles were two of my favorites. He's also great in the Frisco Kid with Harrison Ford. With Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, and Gene gone, I feel we have lost a few great comic lights -- hope they are having a blast in the other world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffite Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 "Soitenly. Also, you take the blonde. I'll take the one in the turban." "... toiban." ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Toiban. Definitely toiban. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 (edited) Whales was definitely having fun in this film, and so was composer Franz Waxman. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but the ending is nonsensical. The monster has been drugged, yet he somehow appears on the roof to kill Karl (who looks like a miniature Ed Asner with those crazy eyebrows). Elizabeth is shown tied up (well, her hand was free, but that was a mistake), yet she suddenly appears at the door of the lab. The monster, who has been irritated with Henry since the first film, suddenly decides to let him live and is now **** off at Pretorius. And who puts a lever (which is part of a Louisville slugger) in their lab so that the whole place will blow up? Watching the film again today, this is the first time I noticed the monster shed a tear just before he pulls the lever. I'd already noticed the several shots where Colin Clive is in the middle of the destruction, even though he survives. Yes, I know he was supposed to croak in the original version. Still, the film is great fun, and Elsa Lanchester is a real hoot. Edited August 31, 2016 by TCMModerator1 Edited for Language 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 Whales was definitely having fun in this film, and so was composer Franz Waxman. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but the ending is nonsensical. The monster has been drugged, yet he somehow appears on the roof to kill Karl (who looks like a miniature Ed Asner with those crazy eyebrows). Elizabeth is shown tied up (well, her hand was free, but that was a mistake), yet she suddenly appears at the door of the lab. The monster, who has been irritated with Henry since the first film, suddenly decides to let him live and is now p***ed off at Pretorius. And who puts a lever (which is part of a Louisville slugger) in their lab so that the whole place will blow up? Watching the film again today, this is the first time I noticed the monster shed a tear just before he pulls the lever. I'd already noticed the several shots where Colin Clive is in the middle of the destruction, even though he survives. Yes, I know he was supposed to croak in the original version. Still, the film is great fun, and Elsa Lanchester is a real hoot. Well, if it's a comedy, then that's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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