13 Nights of Shocktober: The Bride of Frankenstein

by A.J.

Night 1: Classic Horror Night

The Monster: You…make man…like me?

Doctor Pretorius: No. Woman. Friend for you.

The Monster: Woman?

The Bride of Frankenstein

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the release of one of the greatest and most influential movie sequels of all time: The Bride of Frankenstein. Naturally, after the success of Frankenstein in 1931, directed by James Whale, Universal Studios executive Carl Laemmle Jr. was eager to follow up with a sequel, but Whale was reluctant. Laemmle was wisely reluctant to do a sequel without Whale. When the sequel finally arrived in 1935, it proved to be worth the wait. Not only was The Bride of Frankenstein a hit and influential on later horror movies and filmmakers, its scenes and images have become iconic and part of the landscape of Halloween. 

There is a lot going on in The Bride of Frankenstein, which is impressive because it is only 75 minutes and never feels rushed. In a delightfully amusing prologue Mary and Percy Shelley and Lord Byron are gathered together again to celebrate the success of Mary’s novel, Frankenstein. Bryon summarizes the book, which serves as a recap of the first movie (though that movie bears little resemblance to Shelley’s novel). Then Mary Shelley reveals the details of a second volume deemed too shocking to publish. This is The Bride of Frankenstein. The story of The Monster and Frankenstein picks up right where the first movie left off and we learn that they both survived the fire at the windmill. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is at first unrepentant and wants to get back to experimenting, that is until he is approached by the truly mad Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) who wants them to combine discoveries in a new creation. Meanwhile, The Monster (Boris Karloff reprising his iconic role) wanders around and is abused and harassed by everyone he encounters, even after he saves a girl from drowning (perhaps a callback or attempt to make up for the infamous lake scene in the first movie). Then he encounters a kindly blind man who shows him friendship and teaches him to speak. Eventually though, he ends up with Frankenstein and Pretorius.

As far as mad scientists go, Dr. Pretorius, with his wild hair and nonchalance toward the macabre, puts Dr. Frankenstein to shame. Frankenstein comes across as a man who became lost in obsession. Pretorius, on the other hand, delights in being so mad that he was booted out of his university for “knowing too much.” When he shows Frankenstein his own creations, living miniatures of a king, queen, bishop, and more, he does so with all the flair and scripted delight of a magician putting on a show. When Pretorius finally meets The Monster his reaction is so understated that it makes him seem even more insane. 

One of the movie’s most famous scenes, perhaps one of the most famous of classic cinema, is The Monster meeting the blind hermit. This is where The Monster learns to speak and develops his iconic speech pattern: “Fire…No good!” Many horror fans and movie monster fans find The Monster to be exceedingly sympathetic and that is in large part because of this movie and this scene. The other iconic scene is the creation of The Bride, with the elaborate laboratory, lightning storm, and, of course, the Monster’s Mate herself. At first she looks like a mummy wrapped in bandages; then a dissolve shows her in her iconic look: a flowing white gown, high-top black hair with a silver jagged streak on each side. She shrieks and hisses and does little else, yet her striking visage has had such a profound impact that she has become a figure, a totem, of classic horror movies and Halloween in general. Her look has been reproduced and parodied in countless TV Shows, movies, commercials, cartoons. This all the more impressive considering how little screen time she has, only a few minutes, and appears in no other Frankenstein movies. I am always surprised by this; I think that I was mistaken about the last time I watched and she appears more; nope. 

The Bride is played by Elsa Lanchester, who also plays Mary Shelley, and while there is no significance in this, I have always enjoyed the coincidence. She only receives credit as Mary Shelly. The “Monster’s Mate” is credited with a question mark. This is fun marketing but is a disservice to her; at least she is known as the Bride now. She underwent 3 hours of make up and the iconic hairdo which wrapped her hair into the wig and was uncomfortable to say the least. 

The argument over whether “Frankenstein" refers to the monster or the doctor is not new (it refers to Doctor Victor Frankenstein, changed to Henry Frankenstein in these movies for no reason) and is at least as old as this movie. The title itself is the perfect example. Dr. Frankenstein has a fiancé and later wife, Elizabeth, but the title clearly does not refer to her. The credits refer to the creations as the Monster and the Monster’s Mate. Most confusing of all, when the Monster's Mate comes to life, Pretorius calls her “the Bride of Frankenstein” perhaps sparking off this whole what do you call the monster debate. 

There’s some camp value to The Bride of Frankenstein in the frantic energy of Colin Clive as Frankenstein and the over-the-top reactions of Una O’Connor to seeing The Monster. This only adds to the movie’s overall entertainment value, which is still strong 90 years later. It’s hard to convey the influence, both direct and indirect, of The Bride of Frankenstein. Clips of it turn up in everything from Weird Science to About a Boy. Mel Brooks’s brilliant Young Frankenstein parodies and pays homage to The Bride of Frankenstein, it even used some of the same props. “To a new world of gods and monsters!” Pretorius declares as he lifts his glass to toast Frankenstein after their devilish bargain is struck. The Bride of Frankenstein did indeed usher in a new world of horror cinema. 

Bride of Frankenstein is available to stream on Prime Video and will air on TCM on Halloween at 5:30 CT.

Best Pictures #105: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Oppenheimer

by A.J.

Best Pictures #105: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Oppenheimer

“Who would want to justify their whole life?”

A drama about the life of a scientist that is one of the biggest box office hits of the year. One of the greatest accomplishments in science that is also one of its worst. A story that is full of wonder and excitement and also dread and doom. A story about the past that feels like it is about today. A work of commerce that is also art. These things seem paradoxical, but as J. Robert Oppenheimer explains to his lone student about the new science of quantum physics, “It’s paradoxical, and yet, it works.” This is also true of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s 3 hour epic biopic of the “father of the atomic bomb,” which is indeed a heavy drama but also very entertaining. From start to finish it is a completely engrossing film that leaves a lasting impression on its audience. Nolan has made excellent films before (Memento (2000), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014) Dunkirk (2017)), but Oppenheimer feels like a crowning achievement; it is easily the best movie of 2023.

This epic historical film features one of the most impressive ensemble casts in recent memory, and yet, at the center is a brilliant performance by Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer. Murphy, a longtime favorite of Nolan, finally gets a starring role in one of the director’s films, and not only that but one upon which the entire film depends. He captures the unlikely charisma of Oppenheimer–or “Oppy” as he affectionately called–and complexities and conflict that he tried to keep hidden. Oppenheimer was an unlikely choice to head up the Manhattan Project, especially given his left wing tendencies (an intellectual interest in communist ideas but not politics, and associations, including romances, with known or former communists), but the man in charge of the secret government nuclear bomb project, General Groves (Matt Damon), knows that “Oppy” is the right man for the job. 

Damon seems like he should be the antagonist; he is a pragmatist concerned with getting the project done and Oppenheimer is the creative idealist, but this actually makes them allies. Damon, who looks quite natural in a general’s uniform, also serves as the film’s sort of comic relief, or at least as a tension breaker. He is like the principal to Oppenheimer’s cool teacher, actually giving him a lot of leeway while keeping the higher ups off his back. Likewise, Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, is also a pragmatist which also makes her a good partner for him, though they clash just like Groves and Oppenheimer clash. She too is a scientist, a biologist and botanist, but is relegated to the role of wife and mother. “Oppy” is most alive when doing theory work, managing Los Alamos, or talking about science and theory. This is fine for friends and fellow scientists but perhaps it explains why his relationships with his wife and on-again-off-again girlfriend turned mistress, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh), feel very important but not very intimate and is the cause of the discord in each relationship. Both Blunt and Pugh give great performances as strong minded women who find happiness and strife with Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer’s true antagonist is admiral turned bureaucrat Lewis Strauss—pronounced “straws”—who Oppenheimer thinks so little of that he doesn’t even register as a rival. Robert Downey Jr., an immensely talented actor, gives his best and most complex performance in years. Strauss brings Oppenheimer to Princeton, where Einstein already works, seemingly to add to his collection of famous scientists. In interviews, Downey Jr compared his character to Salieri, the composer desperate for acknowledgment and so jealous of Mozart that plotted to kill him in Amadeus. He does a wonderful job playing a modern Salieri, a petty and frail ego, and his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor is most deserved. 

Strauss’s scenes, set in the 1950’s and shot in black and white, deal with his senate confirmation hearings for Commerce secretary in Eisenhower’s cabinet, but his questionable past treatment of Oppenheimer becomes the focus of the hearings. These scenes are intercut with a different timeline, shot in color, of Oppenheimer technically not on trial but in a hostile hearing to restore his government security clearance, though it is clear to all that the verdict is a foregone conclusion. He reads his life into the record and we see story of his early life and work at Los Alamos in flashbacks. Jumping from timeline to timeline sustains a steady momentum for each story and gives us a fuller understanding of events and the state of mind of the characters. It is also one of the things that keeps Oppenheimer from being a just straightforward biopic.

The supporting cast is a treasure trove of familiar names and faces including: Josh Harnett, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Clarke, David Krumholtz, Rami Malek, Alden Ehrenreich, and the list goes on and on. No matter how big or small the role, each cast member gives a great performance. Nolan and casting director John Papsidera wisely chose performers with distinctive and memorable faces, so even if you don’t remember every minor character’s name you still don’t lose track of them. 

The score by Ludwig Göransson is ever present but not intrusive. It is dramatic and abstract as needed and enhances the emotions and situations on film instead of cuing the audience on how to feel. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is impressive not just because it utilizes the IMAX format to capture the vistas of New Mexico and the stunning splendor and horror of the clouds of fire of the first nuclear test, but also because of how it captures the actors. IMAX cameras lose focus easily, but Nolan and Van Hoytema turned this into an advantage by making great use of close ups–and performers like Murphy, Downey Jr, and Blunt know how make the most of a close up without overacting.  

At times Oppenheimer feels like a heist movie: a couple of characters have an impossible task to achieve in little time and must assemble a team and work out a practical plan. This is where the excitement comes in as Oppenheimer recruits scientists, many of whom are famous in their own right and have theories, equations, and labs named after them. They are in a race to beat the Nazis, who have a two year head start. They are also driven by the thrill of discovery and doing something that’s never been done before. Yet, over every moment looms the weight of the very real and terrible death and destruction of the atomic bomb. There are no scenes of carnage, no real life documentary footage or photos of the effects of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but Oppenheimer, and the audience, fully understand the horror of what has happened. “I have blood on my hands,” he says to an unmoved President Truman and his concerns about the consequences of the atomic age fall of deaf ears.

Nolan focuses the last hour of the movie on what is behind Oppenheimer’s haunted face. His masterful use of filmmaking leaves the audience haunted too. Nolan’s screenplay is based on the biography by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin titled American Prometheus and that is a perfect title for the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh), the Danish physicist who proved Einstein wrong about quantum theory tells Oppenheimer, “You are an American Prometheus. A man who gave them the power to destroy themselves.”

Best Pictures #99: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Maestro

by A.J.

Best Pictures #99: 2023 (96th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Maestro

“The other night I drifted nice 

continental drift divide

Mountains sit in a line, 

Leonard Bernstein,”

–It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), REM 

From working in the classical department of Tower Records across from Lincoln Center in Manhattan I learned that Leonard Bernstein was a famous, loved, and revered conductor and composer. The DVD box-set of his Young People’s Concerts, so expensive it had to be kept behind the counter, sat on a shelf over my shoulder during every shift. I already knew that he was the only lyric anyone could anticipate in REM’s song “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” Even if I hadn’t worked in the classical department I would have learned about Leonard Bernstein from his music for movies like On the Town and, most famously, West Side Story. But what exactly was it about Bernstein that separated him from other prestigious conductors and composers? I did not learn that from the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, which is technical and even artistic achievement but unfortunately lacking as an engaging biography.

Bradley Cooper’s directorial follow up to his excellent remake of A Star is Born begins in black and white in Academy ratio (a square frame) like a movie made in the 1940’s and 50’s would have been, but the style of this portion of the film is its most unconventional. It's also the liveliest portion. These scenes mix Bernstein’s music with moments of his life in exciting ways. One scene begins at an outdoor lunch where Bernstein (Cooper) is advised to change his name to Burns if he ever wants to lead an orchestra. Bernstein and his wife, Felicia (Carey Mulligan), decide to do things their way and walk from the outdoor lunch table right into the balcony of a theater where On the Town is being performed and end up on stage. When the movie switches over to color it drops its heightened style and becomes a fairly bland biopic. 

Cooper long ago proved himself to be a great actor, capable of comedy or drama or a little bit of both simultaneously depending on the script, and here he turns in a solid performance. The prosthetics and old age make-up are actually very well done and are not distracting (or potentially offensive) as early publicity photos led many to fear. He captures Bernstein’s accent and manner of speaking without feeling like he is showing off. Carey Mulligan also gives a solid performance, likewise capturing a very mannered accent and personality without drawing attention to herself. Mulligan and Cooper are great together in their fun romantic scenes and later dramatic scenes. 

In the black and white portion of Bernstein’s early career we see his relationship with a clarinet player, David (Matt Bomer), but without much detail. It’s the performances of both actors that let us know how meaningful the relationship was. Their farewell is the movie’s emotional apex. In a later scene we see Bernstein caught with a younger male admirer in a hallway of the family apartment at a party. Bernstein is embarrassed because he should know better. Felicia scolds him, “You’re getting sloppy.” We learn little else of whatever understanding or agreement they may have had regarding Bernstein’s sexuality.  

Cooper the director once again works with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who earned an Oscar nomination for A Star is Born and now has earned an Oscar nomination for his work here. They make a great pair. In the black and white scenes the camera glides and even seems to fly in a way that captures Bernstein's excitement about music. That lively movement is lost when the film moves to the color era and the cinematography becomes much more conventional though still well shot. 

Most of Maestro consists of domestic scenes that should feel intimate: a day in the park, preparing a guest list, a doctor’s appointment, a dance. However, instead of feeling like a fly on the wall, it felt like I was at a museum trying to understand an exhibit I’d been assured was meaningful art. Instead of building relatability and fleshing out the characters these scenes feel flat, and therefore, unfortunately, so does the rest of the movie. It's clear that Bradley Cooper, who in addition to acting and directing also produced and co-wrote the screenplay, loves and reveres Leonard Bernstein. The problem is that Cooper's film assumes we already feel the same and are here to revel in Bernstein’s greatness instead of seeing who the man was as a person, the impact he had on his field and the wider culture, and why we should feel what the filmmakers feel for the subject.

13 Nights of Shocktober: House on Haunted Hill (1959)

by A.J.

Night 13: Happy Happy Halloween

“I’ve rented the house on Haunted Hill tonight so my wife can give a party. A haunted house party… You’re all invited.”

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Fright Favorites written by David J. Skal and published by TCM describes House on Haunted Hill (1959) as “one of the most preposterous movies ever made—and one of the most enjoyable.” “Preposterous” and “enjoyable” are the key words to House on Haunted Hill, one of the classic “so bad it’s good” movies. It is also genuinely entertaining and even has a good scare or two. It was produced and directed by William Castle, who was as much a showman as a filmmaker. He would incorporate carnivalesque gimmicks into the theatrical experience and since his movies were typically low budget and cheesy, this only made them more fun. His most famous gimmick was rigging certain theater seats with a buzzer and hiring actors to jump in their seats during a scene when the monster escapes in The Tingler. For House on Haunted Hill the gimmick was presenting the film in “Emergo'' which meant that for a certain scene a model skeleton, seeming to emerge from the screen, would fly over the audience. The effect didn’t always work. Castle was well aware of his audience, mostly younger people and children, and knew how to give them a good time. House on Haunted Hill is still a good time 

The plot is a take on the ‘old dark house’ story, a type of whodunnit where people gathered in a creepy house had to solve a mystery or murder. The possibility of the supernatural loomed but the solution was rational. Horror legend Vincent Price stars as Fredrick Loren, the host of the party; he also feels like a master of ceremonies. He has invited 5 strangers to a supposedly haunted house he rented to have a party for his wife and is offering $10,000 to the guests if they make it through the night, or he’ll give it to their nearest relative if they don’t survive. So, the bottom line is he’s giving away money no matter what. He may also be using the party as an elaborate way to kill his wife, Annabelle (Carol Ohmart). They cannot stand each other and she only speaks to him with contempt. In one scene he looms over her, pulls her by her hair, asks, “Would you adore me as much if I were poor?” and gives a sinister chuckle. The haunted house party was her idea but he is the host and their continued bickering over whose party it is makes for an unusual, likely unintentional, running gag. 

The protagonists should be Nora, a secretary, and Lance, a test pilot, but she does little more than wander into one spooky situation after the other and scream at everything and Lance proves to be an uncharismatic dolt. Elisha Cook Jr plays the Elisha Cook Jr role, meaning he is the weak pushed around nerd and/or geek. He is the owner of the house and also the most afraid of it. He plays his character well but has little more to do than show up and rattle on about ghosts. Price and his charisma really hold the movie together. You know he is up to no good but want to see where he is going. 

Just how ridiculous is this movie? It opens with a montage of screams over a black screen followed by not one, but two floating heads that appear and explain the premise of the movie. The house has a pre-existing pool of acid in the basement, you might call it Chekhov’s pool of acid. One jump scare that legitimately works, even after repeat viewings, has Nora being surprised by the creepy witch-like face of one of the caretakers. This is immediately followed by one of the most hilarious moments on film as the caretaker-witch simply glides away as though she is a mannequin being pulled on a skateboard. The most preposterous moment of the movie has all of the characters agreeing to a good idea: they will stay in their rooms for the rest of the night. Then they all leave their rooms and start wandering again and no one ever brings up that they were supposed to stay in their rooms. In a great reveal, Price emerges from the shadows wearing an elaborate marionette pulley system and he sells it completely. 

This movie is not scary but it is so much spooky good fun. I think William Castle would be satisfied to hear that his House on Haunted Hill is still entertaining people in the 21st century, even without an inflatable skeleton flying over them. He also wouldn’t be surprised. House on Haunted Hill is in the public domain so you can easily find it streaming and on DVD in both colorized and original black and white (naturally I recommend the black and white). For some extra fun, you can watch the RiffTrax Live version, currently streaming on Tubi, featuring the former stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, providing a hilarious commentary to the movie as well as some shorts.

13 Nights of Shocktober: The Black Cat (1934)

by A.J.

Night 11: Universal Horror Night

“Superstitious, perhaps. Bologna, perhaps not.”

 The Black Cat (1934)

Released in 1934, The Black Cat is unusual for a Universal Studios horror picture because it features none of their signature monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, or any monsters, at least no supernatural ones. However, The Black Cat does feature the biggest horror stars of the era, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff giving some of the best performances of their careers. The title card says the movie is “suggested by the immortal Edgar Allan Poe classic” but that claim is more than a stretch as the only thing the plot has in common with the Poe short story is the inclusion of a black cat in one scene. Fortunately, the story invented by screenwriter Peter Ruric and co-writer and director Edgar G. Ulmer makes for a superbly dark and creepy old-school horror picture.

While traveling on the Orient Express through Hungary on their honeymoon, newlyweds Peter (David Manners) and Joan (Julie Bishop) end up sharing a train compartment with Dr. Vitas Werdegast (Bela Lugosi), who is very polite but mysterious. They also share a carriage but after an accident Dr. Vitas takes them to the closest shelter, which happens to be his destination: the home of an “old friend,” Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). We learn that Vitas and Poelzig are actually deadly enemies. During the Great War Poelzig betrayed their army, leading to a massacre and Vitas being sent to a prison camp where he says, “the soul is killed slowly.” Poelzig built an elaborate estate on the site of the massacre, kidnapped Vitas’s wife, whose body he keeps preserved in a glass case, and is now married to Vitas’s daughter. Poelzig is also a Satan worshiper and wants to use Joan in a ritual. In short, he is a very bad guy. It is no wonder why Vitas is so set on revenge. Vitas has also been driven mad from his time in the prison camp and is so set on getting vengeance that even learning that his daughter is still alive doesn’t alter his revenge mission.

The highlight of The Black Cat is watching Lugosi and Karloff duel, first with their words and later with their fists. Vitas and Poelzig have a strange respect for each other even though their hatred for each other permeates every scene. Karloff is excellent as the sinister and evil Poelzig. We first see him in silhouette and his tall, gaunt, and slender figure is used to great effect. Karloff’s lilting voice also adds an extra creepy layer to his dialogue. Lugosi gets to be the hero, sort of—anti-hero might be a better description. He has been so overwhelmingly wronged by Poelzig that he has your sympathies even though his plan is to horribly torture Poelzig. His main redeeming quality is that he wants no harm to come to Peter or Joan and goes out of his way to protect Joan (Peter proves to be superfluous, even misunderstanding Vitas’s rescuing Joan). As Vitas, Lugosi brilliantly delivers many wonderful and eerie speeches that do as much to create a chilling atmosphere as the setting and score.

Poelzig’s home is not a creepy gothic castle but a surprisingly modern looking estate. Peter describes it as a “nice, cozy, unpretentious insane asylum.” The lair where Vitas’s wife’s preserved body is kept and the satanic ritual is performed is a mix of dungeon and mad scientist’s lab. Vitas’s torture of Poelzig happens offscreen but still makes you squirm. The Black Cat was made before the puritanical Production Code heavily restricted the content and subject matter of all movies. With its plot dealing with violent revenge, torture, satanism, implied rape, and necrophilia, there’s little chance it could have been made after the code became strictly enforced. Because of this, The Black Cat still retains some surprising shock value even after nearly 90 years. This movie is not nearly as well known or widely seen Dracula (1931) or Frankenstein (1931), but it is as deserving of classic status, and in many ways it is the scarier classic horror movie.

The Black Cat airs on TCM on Halloween at 1:30 PM CT and is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.