In 1930, Universal Studios lost $2.2 million in revenue. The studio, reeling and on the verge of potential bankruptcy, had thrown the dice and produced Dracula, starring a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi, in 1931. Dracula proved to be the studio’s salvation, earning a $700,000 profit (Universal’s biggest money-maker in ’31).
Buoyed by the studio’s Dracula success, Carl Laemmle Jr., the head of of production, immediately ordered more horror films. This was to be a turning point in Hollywood history.During Hollywood’s Golden Age, MGM was to be “the” studio for musicals, Paramount “the” studio for comedies, Warner Brothers “the” studio for dramas, and now, Universal would take its rightful place as “the” studio for horror films. Although no one at Universal knew it at the time, they were about to produce what would reputedly go down in history as the most iconic and beloved horror film in the history of motion pictures.
The original (and logical) choice to play the title role was, of course, the now red hot Bela Lugosi. But while Bela did want to be in Frankenstein, he had his eye set not on the monster role, but instead on the role of his creator, the doctor, Henry Frankenstein. Colin Clive, however, was already a given to be cast as the doctor, which left the monster for Bela to portray.
The popular Hollywood legend is that Bela was, indeed, offered the Frankenstein monster role, but he turned it down because the role carried with it no dialogue. And this did play a part in Bela’s decision, but there is more to the story.
The monster in the original script for Frankenstein was nothing like the one we are familiar with today. In Robert Florey’s original adaptation, the monster was a heartless brute, basically nothing much more than a killing machine, lacking any human interest or pathos. Bela read the original script and angrily stated: “I was a star in my country and I won’t be a scarecrow over here!”
After Bela was scratched from Frankenstein involvement, both he and Robert Florey (who was to direct) were placated with the film Murders of the Rue Morgue (1932) instead.
As a sidebar, Bela Lugosi was to eventually play the Frankenstein monster. Over a decade later, in 1943, he took the role in the film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, played by Lon Chaney Jr. In this film, Frankenstein did indeed speak, handling Bela’s original objection, but sadly, at early screenings Bela’s Hungarian accent played more funny than terrifying and caused audiences to titter, not quiver in fear. Bela’s dialogue was cut out of the finished film, and Bela himself (who had played the monster as being blind) only appeared in a small portion of the finished movie.
British director James Whale, who had been imported to America by the Laemmle Brothers at Universal, took over the helm of Frankenstein. It was Whale who basically threw out the original Frankenstein script and concept and rewrote and amended it. (the original Frankenstein script had worried the suits at Universal from day one.)
A 44-year-old unknown, journeyman actor from England was soon signed to take over the lead as the monster. His name was Boris Karloff.
Although many factors contributed to the huge success of Frankenstein (writing, direction, other cast members, cinematography, special effects, et al), it was clearly the amazing sympathy, vulnerability, pathos and gentleness of Karloff that most heavily factored in the film’s immortal appeal (particularly with female viewers, who are generally not as “into” horror films as their male counterparts).
Makeup man Jack Pierce, a Greek immigrant, also figures heavily in the Frankenstein film’s legend. It was Pierce’s idea to give the monster his now legendary flat head, drooping eyelids, loose and unkempt costume and bolts in his neck (often mistakenly referred to as bolts,…
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