Geek Syndicate Issue 8 | Page 83

Geek Syndicate
Image © Universal Pictures, 1935

Wolfman. Still hilariously
funny today, watch it all
the way to the end to see
(or not) Vincent Price’s Invisible Man!
• Peter Cushing
played
the Baron (or Professor) Frankenstein several
times. Hammer’s 1973 effort, Frankenstein and the
Monster from Hell was one
of the better efforts. It also
starred a pre-Vader David
Prowse as the Monster.
• Another Hammer film,
1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein, saw Peter Cushing
return as Frankenstein, opposite Christopher Lee as
the Monster. Clearly Lee
was filling a gap between
playing the Fanged Wonder in multiple films!
• Probably the best television movie interpretation,
House of Frankenstein (1997),
saw the Monster, Wolfman
and Dracula come together
in modern day California.
An unknown Peter Crombie played the Monster, but
star turns from Adrian Pasdar (Near Dark, Heroes) and
CCH Pounder (Warehouse
13) make this a compelling
tale with a great ending
that left you wanting more.
• The Bride of Frankenstein
(1935) was Karloff’s second
turn as the Monster. In it,
he is completely outshone
by Elsa Lanchester who
actually plays a character called Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who becomes
the Mate for the Monster.

The definitive Frankenstein’s Monster meets his definitive Bride in 1935

Like Karloff, Lanchester’s
look for the role became
instantly iconic. Her Black
hair with streaks of white
was much copied over
the decades. The Bride of
Frankenstein was more of
an attempt to stay closer to
the book than the original
Frankenstein. In Shelley’s
story the Baron builds the
Bride and then destroys her
in fear of the two creating
a superhuman race, which
only makes the Monster
angrier. That said, having
the Bride fall in love with
the Baron instead of the
Monster made for an interesting love triangle.
• The Bride (1985): Forget
those brooding shots of
Sting and the completely
ridiculous situation of producing a ravishing Bride
in the form of Flashdance’s
Jennifer Beales. What made

this film for me was Clancy
Brown’s (Highlander) portrayal of the Monster (actually called Viktor) and his
growing friendship with
the dwarf Rinaldo (amiably
played by the Time Bandits’
David Rappaport). A pair of
society’s rejects thrown together out of desperation,
it’s wonderful to watch Viktor’s realization that he can
have a friend too - someone to teach and prepare
him for the real world. Also
Rinaldo’s delight that he
too is no longer just a lone
victim - he has this loyal giant to protect him. In truth,
the scenes with Beales and
Sting in only get in the way
of enjoying the journey
that Viktor and Rinaldo undertake in discovering their
friendship and mutual reliance on one another. This
film is not generally regarded well, but it is worth
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