Chrono's Horror Marathon Week 1: Frankenstein's Monster

[horcrux2007]

"Put.... the candle... back! "

[neverending]

Originally Posted by neverending

Ygor is one of my favorite Lugosi portrayals. He's so sly and conniving. And hammerfan is right- Rathbone is great as Wolf von Frankenstein. The iconic battle of wits/game of darts scene between he and Inspector Krogh is masterfully parodied by Brooks in Young Frankenstein.

Let me add that Inspector Krogh, played by Lionell Atwill, a B-level horror icon, is a fascinating character. His backstory leads to a pivotal moment in the film that I won't spoil....

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

...

I never really 'got' the humor to the Inspector, but metternich1815 explained that that's more of a nod to Son of Frankenstein, which I've never seen. I don't find him very funny, to be honest, but would probably appreciate it more if I had seen the original mold.

Also, you need to put the Inspector in perspective of Kenneth Mars' performances in all Mel Brooks' films. In every single one he has some weird accent and in this one he's pretty much unintelligible.


Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother is a funny film, but brilliant is not a word I would use to describe it.

[Straker]

Absolutely love Young Frankenstein, really disappointed to have missed this viewing with you guys.... Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder et al. are a bit of an acquired taste over here, with plenty of my friends over the years really not fans of Brooks' work.

As for Kenneth Mars that's what he does and I guess you either like it or can do without it. I think he's great though, in a film filled with great performances he still manages to do his thing. And his performance in The Producers is unforgettable. He went on to have a pretty solid career in voice work and I thought he was great in Malcolm in the Middle playing the German Hotel owner, stealing every scene he's in with his ridiculous style.

The Puttin' on the Ritz scene might be one of my favourites in any comedy, ever. Perfection.

[neverending]

Originally Posted by Straker

Absolutely love Young Frankenstein, really disappointed to have missed this viewing with you guys.... Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder et al. are a bit of an acquired taste over here, with plenty of my friends over the years really not fans of Brooks' work.
.

He's hit or miss for me. He had a period where he made 4 or 5 of the funniest films ever made, and then, after that, a sharp decline.

[metternich1815]

I am a big Mel Brooks fan myself. I am sure some people will disagree, but I absolutely loved Dracula: Dead and Loving it. I thought it was downright hilarious. As for my favorite scene, that is a hard one. I loved the scene when Elizabeth comes to the castle, the one with the hand after the cemetery is another one, the darts scene with the inspector, the putting on the Ritz scene. Honestly, almost the entire film.

[newb]

High Anxiety

a very funny tribute to Alfred Hitchcock

[ChronoGrl]

Mel Brooks definitely runs hot and cold for me too... Spaceballs, for example, I think the parts are greater than its whole (the Alien scene being amazing)... History of the World I really don't think is that great with the exception of The Inquisition musical (mwahahaha) and the fake trailers (HITLER ON ICE!!) - I remember loving Silent Movie when I was little and I REALLY need to see High Anxiety.

Back to the topic of Frankenstein movies... Question for you folks... Do you consider The Golem tale and movies to be analogous to the Frankenstein mythos? What makes me think about it is mainly the Monster being the downfall of the Creator, so maybe that's too simplistic...

[The Villain]

Finally finished Bride of Frankenstein. I loved it. Not as much as the original as i prefer a good old fashioned monster story but there was so much more story in this one. There was a lot of depth to the monster's character and even though i didn't like the fact that he talked, the humanization of his character was a smart move to make. The bride was fantastic and i liked that she wasn't a major character and instead was the focal point of the film and they built up the suspense over her being made and the monster having a mate only to have it ultimately end up the way it did. Fantastic ending and a well done movie all throughout.

9/10

[neverending]

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

Mel Brooks definitely runs hot and cold for me too... Spaceballs, for example, I think the parts are greater than its whole (the Alien scene being amazing)... History of the World I really don't think is that great with the exception of The Inquisition musical (mwahahaha) and the fake trailers (HITLER ON ICE!!) - I remember loving Silent Movie when I was little and I REALLY need to see High Anxiety.

Back to the topic of Frankenstein movies... Question for you folks... Do you consider The Golem tale and movies to be analogous to the Frankenstein mythos? What makes me think about it is mainly the Monster being the downfall of the Creator, so maybe that's too simplistic...

Yah, The Golem is pretty similar to Frankenstein.

[neverending]

Originally Posted by neverending

Yah, The Golem is pretty similar to Frankenstein.

Wow- that was insightful wasn't it?


It's Sunday night. I'm tired.