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This month is the 200th anniversary of the publication of "Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley so that's a good reason to discuss all things Frankenstein-related. Have you ever read the novel? Which is the best Frankenstein film? Which actors have best portrayed the creature and his creator? Did you ever read Marvel's version of Frankenstein and who was the best Frankenstein artist? Today it's anything and everything that comes to mind about Frankenstein!
To answer my own questions:
Yes, I have read the novel but only quite recently. It was one of the first books I downloaded when I started buying e-books in 2013. In the novel the creature is intelligent and articulate, not a simpleton as portrayed in the Universal and Hammer films. It's really just a story about the evils of prejudice - the creature wants only to be accepted but is constantly rejected due to his appearance. Victor Frankenstein comes across as a selfish jerk who brings the creature to life then wants nothing more to do with him, a complete abdication of responsibility. At the end of the novel both Frankenstein and the monster end up in the Arctic where Victor dies (and good riddance to him) and the noble creature commits suicide by building a funeral pyre onto which he throws himself. I usually quickly forget the plot of the novels I've read but not this one. Amazingly, Mary Shelley was only in her late teens when she wrote the book - an astonishing work of art from one so young!
My favourite Frankenstein film is "Frankenstein, The True Story" from 1973 starring Michael Sarrazin as the creature. For many years I assumed it was called "The True Story" because it was faithful to the original novel but, in fact, it bears little resemblance - never mind, it's still a great film in its' own right. In the film, the creature is created perfect but becomes more and more ugly as time passes. And the monster and Victor do end up in the Arctic like the book. I haven't seen the film for well over 30 years but the entire film is now on YouTube...YouTube here I come!
Best Victor Frankenstein - it's got to be the brilliant Peter Cushing. His Victor is so thoroughly evil.
Best monster - as mentioned earlier, I love the Michael Sarrazin version, but everybody loves Boris Karloff and so do I.
I read Marvel's Frankenstein in the pages of Marvel UK's "Dracula Lives" weekly and Mike Ploog was undoubtedly the best artist on the series. Ploog's art was like a gothic novel come to life :)
I re-read the book about 5 years ago and I'd say it "holds up." Karloff is the best in my book, even if the films stray far from Mary Shelly's book.
I haven't read many Frankenstein comic books, unless you count the silly X-Men story where they battle a robot that's built to look like the monster:
http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/uncanny_x-men_40.shtml
I did read the book, but it was a long time ago. The only movie I've seen is the original (well, Young Frankenstein, but hilarious as it is that's basically a different genre), so I guess I always think of Karloff as the monster. (Though, now that I think of it, I did see Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which was actually a really cool movie, with Dracula and the Wolfman along for the ride.)
The comic version I best remember is the MTU where Spidey accidentally insults the monster and feels bad about it, but the monster has already left so he doesn't get a chance to apologize.
Thanks for the comments, J.A. and Mike - I thought this topic would have attracted a bit more interest, oh well...
I didn't realize that "Frankenstein:The True Story" was originally a mini-series in 3 parts - on British TV it was broadcast as a single movie.
And another great Frankenstein's monster was Fred Gwynne on The Munsters :D
Hi Colin,
I would not want to leave you hangin... You offer a lot of insight.
But, I do not know zip about Frankie other than through osmosis over the years.
I've only seen the film Mike W mentions with Abbott and Costello. It's a great film except (for me and my kids) where Frankie gets burned alive on the boat dock. It is really a violent scene compared to the overall humor of the movie.
O/wise my only thought is that when I was reading your intro, that the book sounds more like a veiled description of how bastard children were treated back in the day... "disowned" from their blood and probably generally hated.
Colin- I'm kind of short on input here- I've never read the book, or any of the comics. I'd like to- Mike Ploog is a huge plus factor. As for film, I've only seen the original, so it's Karloff. But Mike W mentioned "Young Frankenstein "; yes, a different genre. Nonetheless, I love that film, and Peter Doyle's version of the Monster...
Yes to the following:
Abbott and Costello - hard to recall but this may have been my intro to Frankie.
Boris Karlov-I just picture the monster that way (obviously through repetition).
I read the book but so long ago I had forgotten the ending and everything you mentioned.
I like Frankenberry cereal.
I liked Frankie in the Groovie Ghoulies.
The bolts in the movie monster’s neck always creeped me out as a kid. And I never understood why his head was flat - that bothered me.
Young Frankenstein was great. Gene Wilder was so good in that.
The Bride of Frankenstein mystified me on so many levels; people love that movie and it just makes no sense to me. Why isn’t her head flat? Or is it flat under all that hair? So many questions.
I think Lou Ferigno played the Hulk entirely as the Frankenstein monster.
Mike Ploog was great on the comic art; I know he gets recognition for his “horror” work but he is just great all around. So much detail in his work.
I wonder if when the novel came out the elite and educated considered the book to be garbage hack work - like I considered Jason and Freddy etc when those horror movies came out. Or was it considered groundbreaking at the time. I don’t know the historical perspective.
Karloff - pardon my spelling. I should not post from my phone.
Martinex, when the novel first came out it got bad reviews and sold poorly (actually, that was one fact I did learn from the documentary I mentioned earlier).
Yes, Mike Ploog was a great artist. My first ever Marvel comic was Marvel UK's Planet Of The Apes weekly No.5 - the first 11 issues featured the adaptation of the original 1968 movie, drawn by George Tuska, but the next apes story was "Terror On The Planet Of The Apes" drawn by Mike Ploog so he was one of the earliest Marvel artists I ever encountered.
Thanks for starting the discussion today Colin.
Follow up question - when did the book become popular? Was it popular retroactively after the earliest films or did it spike for some other reason?
Also, now I am starting to wonder if I saw Herman Munster before I actually saw a Frankenstein film. Comedies and cartoons and cereal characters really probably softened any fear or dread I might’ve felt about the monster. As a kid I never really was afraid of that character, while many other things could scare bejeebees out of me. I wonder what it would have been like reading it back when it was written, before the saturation and imitators and parody.
There were also comic books beyond the Marvel Bronze Age work. There was a “Monster of Frankenstein” Golden Age book from 1954 published by Prize Group that I know absolutely nothing about but the art looks interesting. One of our Twitter friends mentioned it so I thought I’d throw it out for commentary if anybody knows it.
There was also a Frankenstein book by Dell (during the 12 cent era) in which the monster was retooled as a superhero. Really strange stuff. Dell at the time did the same for Dracula. They kind of skirted the censor rules by having the monster characters as heroes. I read one a long time ago - maybe folks can comment on that run.
Dell of course had some comic Classics retelling the original story in graphic novel form.
I really have to wonder how many of us have read "Frankenstein" or any other such books on Dracula, etc. I am tending to think our relationship with them is primarily through TV, movies, word of mouth. The only reason Ian curious is because there may be strong parallels with kids and comic books??? I mean kids see the movies far more than reading a comic now.
Martinex, apparently Frankenstein became well-known due to stage-plays. There was no copyright in those days and stage versions of the book started appearing soon after it was published. But it was the 1931 Universal film that really caused Frankenstein's popularity to go stratospheric - and of course, the 1931 film introduced the classic look of the monster which is so famous.
Charlie, it was only when I started buying e-books that I finally got to read books like Frankenstein, Dracula and Planet Of The Apes - books I'd been aware of for decades but which I'd never actually read.
The Mary Shelley original is one of my favourite books though I can see why none of the movie and TV versions are ever faithful to it. Its structure of a story within a story within a story is an unwieldy beast when it comes to trying to do a dramatisation of it.
I read a few of the Marvel and DC stories but neither version ever floated my boat, apart from that one occasion when DC's Monster teamed up with the Phantom Stranger to fight some demons.
As for films, any film that has Peter Cushing in it is going to appeal to me, so I like all of the Hammer Frankensteins, even the ones that everyone says are no good, like The Evil of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.
My main memory of Frankenstein: the True Story is of Tom Baker playing the ship's captain. I do take the view that Tom Baker's presence can elevate anything.
Steve, somehow I've never seen 'Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell' - it's the only one of the Hammer Frankenstein films I've never seen. I've never seen 'Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter' either.
Frankenstein was one of the first books I read when I intentionally was trying to move from reading 'fun books' to more serious stuff. I figured it was like what I was reading anyway. I bought it in a combined volume with Dracula and Jekyll Hyde. Dracula really thrilled me, but not so much Frankenstein. So different from what I expected - a literate and quite unsympathetic murderous soul-less monster. The usual interpretation of him being mentally deranged, and thus excusing his rampages, is lost. No.
Now, the 1931 movie is awesome! Of course, it wanders from the source material, but so much the better. Who doesn't remember Colin Clive in that amazing lab shouting "Its Alive!"
I also grew up in the age of Creature Features on TV. One unfortunate side effect was a cartoon called the Groovy Ghoulies. It was so full of repetitive animation, and just awful. Okay, Wolfman being Wolfman Jack is kind of fun, but the rest of it.
My favorite "Frankenstein" is Lurch, from the 1960s Addams Family, played by Ted Cassidy. The one who moans out "Yes, Mrs Adams" and plays the harpsichord. Just amazing.
Unfortunately, much of the punch of Frankenstein was consumed since the 1940s by making robots and AIs.
I downloaded several of the 40's Frankenstein comics from the 40's when that Wowio site first cranked up. They offered lots of the 40's comics and that was my first exposure to the Golden Age Daredevil and the Black Terror and Fighting Yank. The Frankenstein series was interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first read it.
Anybody remember the Invaders Vs Frankenstein story? Sorry if someone above mentioned it....I might have missed it. I had that issue but I don't remember much about it.
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