Anyone expecting to see a hideous creature as that played by Boris Karloff in the 1931 cult classic horror film, "Frankenstein," may be in for a letdown. The monster here is a gentle soul, played superbly by Michael Sarrazin. But who hasn't seen the scary, 1931 horror version of Mary Shelley's 1818 sci-fi novel, "Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus?" That will probably remain better know as the great monster movie.
But this film, "Frankenstein: The True Story," is based much more on the real story of Shelley's novel. Thus, the gentle monster, the good-hearted creature that saves and helps people rather than killing them. But, as the story has it, deaths are attributed to him. The true story varies a great deal from what Hollywood turned it into, for the sake of a horror movie. The novel clearly was science fiction, about men making a new human being out of parts of different bodies.
The film does a good job portraying much of the story, but still it veers off from the novel, especially the ending. Indeed, anyone who hasn't read Shelley's book would find it interesting, because the story and fate of Dr. Frankenstein and his creature do not have an ending. While this film doesn't have an Igor character of some of the early Hollywood films, it does have another character that's not in the book - Polidori. And that character adds another twist to the original story, in the lust of a man to create a new, super race. Ah, well. Give me the good old stories as the authors wrote them, and kudos to moviemakers when they try to portray the real stories without revising them beyond their authors' plots.
For their acting, James Mason is very good as Dr. John Polidori. Leonard Whiting is very good as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and Michael Sarrazin is superb as The Creature. It should be noted that his character is a creature, not called a monster. I think David McCallum's part as Henry Clerval is played rather strangely. The film has a luscious sampling of prominent actors of the day in small parts - a little more than cameos. It was a nice touch, probably as a nod to the author and to boost audience attraction to this much more accurate rendering of Shelley's classic story.
Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, John Gielgud, Agnes Moorehead, and Michael Wilding add a little class to the upper class in the film. And, of course, Jane Seymour is wonderful as the lovely Agatha who first loses her life because of the creature, and then loses her head over him. That scene, which spares the audience of actual blood and gore is outstanding. It just shows the horrified faces of the people attending the ball. Agatha is in the novel, but she didn't get remade into a second creature as in this film.
Here are a couple favorite lines from the film.
John Polidori, "Violence may be unavoidable, but clumsiness is inexcusable."
Polidori, "Our dear girl must get married as soon as is decently possible. An unmarried woman has no freedom of action."
But this film, "Frankenstein: The True Story," is based much more on the real story of Shelley's novel. Thus, the gentle monster, the good-hearted creature that saves and helps people rather than killing them. But, as the story has it, deaths are attributed to him. The true story varies a great deal from what Hollywood turned it into, for the sake of a horror movie. The novel clearly was science fiction, about men making a new human being out of parts of different bodies.
The film does a good job portraying much of the story, but still it veers off from the novel, especially the ending. Indeed, anyone who hasn't read Shelley's book would find it interesting, because the story and fate of Dr. Frankenstein and his creature do not have an ending. While this film doesn't have an Igor character of some of the early Hollywood films, it does have another character that's not in the book - Polidori. And that character adds another twist to the original story, in the lust of a man to create a new, super race. Ah, well. Give me the good old stories as the authors wrote them, and kudos to moviemakers when they try to portray the real stories without revising them beyond their authors' plots.
For their acting, James Mason is very good as Dr. John Polidori. Leonard Whiting is very good as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and Michael Sarrazin is superb as The Creature. It should be noted that his character is a creature, not called a monster. I think David McCallum's part as Henry Clerval is played rather strangely. The film has a luscious sampling of prominent actors of the day in small parts - a little more than cameos. It was a nice touch, probably as a nod to the author and to boost audience attraction to this much more accurate rendering of Shelley's classic story.
Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, John Gielgud, Agnes Moorehead, and Michael Wilding add a little class to the upper class in the film. And, of course, Jane Seymour is wonderful as the lovely Agatha who first loses her life because of the creature, and then loses her head over him. That scene, which spares the audience of actual blood and gore is outstanding. It just shows the horrified faces of the people attending the ball. Agatha is in the novel, but she didn't get remade into a second creature as in this film.
Here are a couple favorite lines from the film.
John Polidori, "Violence may be unavoidable, but clumsiness is inexcusable."
Polidori, "Our dear girl must get married as soon as is decently possible. An unmarried woman has no freedom of action."