The perfect time to kick off my Halloween movie season. I traditionally devote weekends in the month of October to Halloween-themed or otherwise spooky movie viewing, but life often intervenes and I don't get to watch nearly as many as I would like.
So this year, I'm starting earlier.
Last fall, my goal was to work my way through my new and growing collection of the classic Universal monster movies. Particularly those I had not seen before. Or had not seen in a long time. And since I didn't watch nearly as many as planned, the classic monsters have been held over for another season, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein.
This is a movie that I have never seen in its entirety. But thanks to the ubiquitous image of The Bride in popular culture, I feel like I have.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the film was how little we actually see of the bride. Somehow, given the title and her popularity, I had expected her to be a far more prominent character. Instead, it's really a continuation of the monster's story. And he becomes more and more lovable with each scene.
It was truly heart-warming to get to know the monster a little better. His dedication to a vegetarian diet when he chose to eat leaves and berries rather than the succulent sheep grazing nearby. His fondness for good wine. Even his weakness for tobacco and fiddle music.
As for the bride herself, her bird-like movements and squawking did nothing to endear her to me. Possibly because I'm not fond of birds. So the less seen of her, the better.
I may now have to make a short detour in my classic monster viewing, however. The occurrence of the famous line ". . . gods and monsters . . . " has reminded me of the James Whale bio-pic of the same name. Another film I've never seen despite the best of intentions. Until now.
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