Top 5 Frankenstein Movies: Dr. Gangrene
For like 100 years, the legend of Frankenstein has appeared in countless movies from multiple film genres.
Doctor Frankenstein and his Monster are two of the longest-running characters in the history of horror films. Created by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the characters first appeared onscreen in 1910 in the 16-minute short film Frankenstein, directed by J. Searle Dawley.
In the decades since, there have been so many films starring one Frankenstein or another. Watch the video above as horror host Dr. Gangrene offers his picks for the best Frankenstein movies.
Part of a series celebrating the many versions of Frankenstein’s Monster
In 1815, Lord Byron proposed a challenge to a few literary guests he had gathered in his house on Lake Geneva: Who could write the most chilling ghost story? This question sparked an idea in eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley who, over the next few months, crafted the story of “Frankenstein.” In this video, Iseult Gillespie shares everything you need to know to read Mary Shelley’s classic novel.
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ABOUT UNIVERSAL MONSTERS’ FRANKENSTEIN
The original Frankenstein from Universal series featured several horror films loosely inspired by the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley, revolving around the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. He was portrayed at various times by Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, and Glenn Strange.
An interesting side note: The monster’s famous shuffling and inarticulate manner is actually the result of a production decision. In the original version of Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, the creature was blind and talked with Bela Lugosi’s thick accent. But since the test audience didn’t like that, all the recorded dialogue was cut—including the parts that explained he was blind following the events of The Ghost of Frankenstein.
ABOUT MARY SHELLEY’S ORIGINAL FRANKENSTEIN NOVEL
It’s crazy to think that one of the most influential and important books in all of western literature was written when the author was still a teenager.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, published in 1818, is a novel full of grief and longing and the struggle with isolation, as well as the hubris of climbing the ladder of science without regard for morality or the ramifications (and responsibility) of unexpected success, Shelley’s “Frankenstein” has survived 200 years of creative adaptations and intellectual discussions. The version of the monster in the original novel is quite different from what we often see in adaptations—he is articulate, conflicted, and actually looks quite different than we’ve been trained to assume.
The novel Frankenstein has endured because it represents so much to so many. A classic of western literature, a rousing story of terror, a Gothic romance, a tragedy—it is also considered one of the first (if not the first) works of science fiction.
In the more than 200 years since its first publication, the legend of Frankenstein has been recounted, remixed, retread, and rebooted into so many formats. The monster of Frankenstein has been adapted in books, films, television, cartoons, comics, audio dramas, stage productions, theme park attractions, and more.
As the themes of the novel continue to resonate into the future, it will no doubt appear in newer and still-to-be invented formats.
