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On this date in 1931, one of the most iconic movie monsters of all-time made his debut. James Whale’s production of “Frankenstein” was not the first film version of Mary Shelley’s story, however it is remembered above all others for introducing the now-classic Boris Karloff portrayal of The Monster (seen above).
For those unfamiliar with the story (and we hope that there are few of you), it concerns a brilliant physician by the name of Dr. Henry Frankenstein (in the novel, the character’s name is Victor). Frankenstein is obsessed with the idea of using science and technology to triumph over death, itself. He creates an enormous patchwork man, pieced together from body parts stolen from graves in a nearby cemetery, and successfully brings his creation to life. The colossus soon escapes from Frankenstein’s lab and begins to wreak havoc in the local village.
The film began production immediately following the tremendous success of Bela Lugosi’s also-iconic “Dracula” (1931). In fact, “Frankenstein” was initially envisioned with Lugosi in the role of Dr. Frankenstein, and then later as The Monster, himself. Lugosi ultimately decided not to star in the film, a decision he would come to greatly regret (source). “Frankenstein” went on to earn over $12 million at the box office, which, when adjusted for inflation, would be over $178 million dollars in 2012.
As one of the major “Universal Monsters,” Frankenstein’s Monster, or simply The Monster, has been an oft-utilized character from the very beginning. The character starred in 8 subsequent Universal feature films and achieved such extraordinary success that he entered the public consciousness and has never left. In fact, the Wikipedia page for “Frankenstein in Pop Culture” is a whopping 24 pages long!
The Monster is still a fixture in Universal Studios theme parks today, from ‘meet-and-greets’ to starring in the “Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue” show, to, of course, Halloween Horror Nights. A small sampling of these HHN appearances may be seen below. From left to right: featured prominently on advertising for Universal Orlando’s very first HHN, 1991’s “Fright Nights;” reaching through the bars in HHN 6’s “Universal’s New House of Horrors;” staggering through the streets of HHN 19’s “Horrorwood Drive-In” scarezone, and roaming the fog of HHN XX’s “20 Years of Fear” scarezone.
Photos by (left to right) by Universal Orlando, © 2013 Universal Orlando Resort. All rights reserved, Universal Orlando, HHN Yearbook, and Wes Cross. Photo of Boris Karloff as The Monster, courtesy of Doctor Macro.