The greatest of all monster movies and a
classic of its kind, this hoary old melodrama, a superior sequel to
"Frankenstein", has become something of a legend not least for the
performances of Karloff, (billed without the 'Boris'), magnificent as
the monster, Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of his 'bride' and in the
prologue as Mary Shelley and Ernest Thesiger going completely over the
top as the mad, bad and dangerous to know, Dr. Pretorius, offering the
monster a cigar, 'It's my only weakness'.Despite being often preposterous it completely transcends camp and is visually extraordinary. It also had a great script by William Hurlbut and John L Balderston that is far more complex than anything else in the genre. Mel Brooks may have lampooned it perfectly in "Young Frankenstein" but this James Whale movie is the real
McCoy. Gods and monsters, indeed.
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