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The movie legends
who created the
first, classic filming
of Frankenstein
reunited with equal
genius for the even
greater sequel,
The Bride of Frankenstein.
Elsa Lanchester
starred in dual
roles, playing the
female creation
of Doctor Frankenstein
and also portraying
Mary Shelley, in
a prologue to the
story in which Lord
Byron, Percy Shelley
and she talk about
her horrific tale.
Elsa was an experienced
actress and dancer
at the time of 'Bride's
filming. She had
even studied dance
with Isadora Duncan
at an early age.
In 1929 she had
married the actor
Charles Laughton
who would become
legendary in horror
film history for
his part as Quasimodo
in The Hunchback
of Notre Dame.
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The Bride of Frankenstein
is memorable for
its daring tightrope
walk between moments
of classic horror,
emotional pathos
and comical self-parody.
The film blends
the extremes of
German Expressionism
with a beautiful
gothic Romanticism,
and becomes hypnotic
in the performances
of Lanchester and
Boris Karloff.
Karloff, as the
Monster, speaks
in this role, delivering
his final pronouncement
with chilling finality
as he has been spurned
even by the one
who shares his nightmarish
origins.
The Bride of Frankenstein
is still seen as
a work of masterful
and influential
art direction and
make-up design a
full eighty years
after its creation.
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