FRANKENSTEIN Starring Boris Karloff Screening at Schlafly Bottleworks February 6th

“The brain you stole, Fritz. Think of it. The brain of a dead man waiting to live again in a body I made with my own hands!”

The classic and definitive monster/horror film of all time, director James Whale’s FRANKENSTEIN (1931) is the screen version of Mary Shelley’s Gothic 1818 nightmarish novel of the same name (Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus). The film was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. for Universal Pictures, the same year that DRACULA, another classic horror film, was produced within the same studio – both films helped to save the beleaguered Universal. The film’s name was derived from the mad, obsessed scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who experimentally creates an artificial life – an Unnamed Monster (Boris Karloff), that ultimately terrorizes the Bavarian countryside after being mistreated by his maker’s assistant Fritz and society as a whole.

Seventy-two  years after its release, FRANKENSTEIN still leaves an impact. Ahead of its time both cinematically and thematically, the horror it’s not only relevant, but remains topical. Considered shocking and daring when it was first released, the film went through some major revisions before reaching American’s theaters. References to Dr. Frankenstein comparing himself to God and a scene where the monster drowns a little girl never saw the light of day, and when the film finally made its way to television, those scenes were gone forever. Fortunately, they didn’t disappear in a black hole. They were locked away, and lucky for us, those scenes have been reinstated on the “restored version” that’s been available on DVD now for a while and of course they’re on the Blu-ray that Universal issued in October of 2012.

Filled with memorable characters and performances, not to mention director James Whale’s rather unique European look he brought to the film, FRANKENSTEIN remains a classic. Boris Karloff is simply brilliant as the mute monster who goes in search of himself, only to upset the local villagers. Mae Clark is radiant as Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s fiancée, a woman remains faithful to the mad doctor. Colin Clive delivers the crazed goods as Dr. Frankenstein, whose slow descent into madness provides the actor with several powerful scenes.

Now lucky St. Louisans will have the chance to see FRANKENSTEIN on the big screen when it plays Thursday February 6th, at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue Maplewood, MO 63143). The show begins at 7pm, and yes, we will be showing the stunning Blu-ray transfer.

But Karloff was not the first actor to play the role! After FRANKENSTEIN, we’re going to screen the rare (and for decades, thought lost) 1910 version of FRANKENSTEIN produced by Thomas Edison and starring Charles Ogle as the monster. Since its original release, the Thomas Edison FRANKENSTEIN, which only runs 15 minutes, had been listed as missing; no copies of the film existed. An original nitrate print finally turned up in Wisconsin in the mid-1970s and you’ll have the chance to see it February 6^th.

FRANKENSTEIN is the second screening in a new subseries from A Film Series to promote the practice of Universal Design in the built environment (we showed DRACULA last month).

Other horror classic in this series coming soon are:
THE MUMMY – March
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN – April
THE WOLFMAN – May
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN – October

Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks for updates on those screenings.

Brought to you by A Film Series, Schlafly Bottleworks, AUDP and Real Living Gateway Real Estate.

Doors open at 6:30pm.

$6 suggested for the screening. A yummy variety of food from Schlafly’s kitchen is available as are plenty of pints of their famous home-brewed suds. Dan the bartender will be on hand to take care of you.

The Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/121231038069000/