My Photo
Name:
Location: United Kingdom

Perhaps you'll learn more about me as you read my blog. For anyone who translates my blog using the translator facility, don't forget if you wish to read the comments in your own language to click on the title of the post down the left hand side otherwise they will remain in english. Also I assume that the translation is accurate but I don't know, so please allow for errors.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Frankenstein

Its been years since I watched them. Seeing that Film4 in the UK are showing them again in an occasional series its prompted me to look at...

The Universal horror movies of the 30's and early 40's. In Particular Frankenstein.

For the time and even looking back across the years to when they were produced I can appreciate why they scared and excited the public who went to see them. I guess like many of the studio's that have a hit on their hands, its knowing when to stop so the script does not suffer and the public tire. I suppose once you had Abbott and Costello Meets...you really were coming to the end. Though to be fair Universal probably saw it as another way to make the format popular again and perhaps if the statistics were studied, they still did ok at the box office and made plenty of money, after Abbott and Costello were popular across the world especially in America thanks to their films but also their radio show.

As I write this, I am trying to think how old I must've been when I first saw them but my recollections would suggest that I was quite young. How have times changed? Well, when I would see them I suspect they were on BBC television and shown late at night. This screening goes out at 4.55pm on a Monday afternoon.

I don't remember saying that I was going to watch this series of pictures, I do not remember questions being raised or being told that I could not or being stopped. I don't remember having nightmares. But I was struck by the feel and mood, the style of the horror genre that Universal had tapped into.

I do remember a particular scene where the "Monster" kills a little girl and this has bothered people for years. It is one of the most important scenes in the film. I say kill because I do not believe the murder was intended.




Some say(and its the way I see it)that having thrown flowers into a river and seen them float because the little innocent girl is beautiful in the Monster's eyes, he throws the little girl into the river expecting her to float which she does not and he does not understand.

But it obviously makes some people feel uneasy and in such times as today such scenes are likely to be cut.

Then again, releases of the films with all scenes that have been censored over the years reinstated are available. An advantage of DVD's I suspect. I do wonder though if a dedicated film channel such as Film4 will be brave or allowed to show the film uncut.

I do have the feeling that the last time that I saw it on terrestrial television the censored version was still being aired. Or it really is potluck which version a television purchases the rights to, knowingly or otherwise. Then again as said previously when you start to read about all the cuts that were made by the various censors across America and even here in the UK, its a wonder it was shown at all.

Or that edits altered the original meaning or could have stopped it making any sense but as cartoons from the 20's through to the 60's are at times also heavily edited and some not shown in case they offend why should I be surprised.

One of these days I'll mention how cuts and political correctness have even affected Tom And Jerry cartoons(Warner Bros cartoons are very heavily censored)they are not seen on terrestrial tv over here and it may not necessarily only be because the rights are owned by a cable/satellite channel, why then should I be surprised that these old films have also been affected by scenes being left on the cutting room floor back then and still to this day.

Frankenstein

An interesting site worth a look(I am sure that there are others)

3 Comments:

Blogger Span Ows said...

!!!I see you posted on Monday and Tuesday ....again I'm sure I visited and they weren't here! I know I may miss some because you post late! I see this is 17/08 but imagine you posted last night when I was tucked up in bed (11pm so only 10pm in England!)

I love all the old B&W films, even the crap ones are enjoyable! Franky was always given a certain symapthy because of the cruel way he was treated.

Have answered re your question.

I have to catch up on your other posts later.

17 August 2006 at 07:41  
Blogger Lucy said...

Good morning Gildy, not sure if football is your thing ( its not really mine but when one has two sons...) but I was wondering if you would like to join in the Off Tropic Potsters league.
Details on my blog.

18 August 2006 at 08:15  
Blogger Mister Frost said...

Gildy! I can't believe you've cobvvered this! I was watching Creature From The Black Lagoon the other day and although not strictly (timewise) of the Mummy/Dracula/Wolf Man/Franky Universal set I was going to write about all those great movies. I bought them all on DVD about five years ago and love them to bits. Now I'm going to have to go to plan B - 50s sci fi classics!

1 September 2006 at 00:06  

Post a Comment

<< Home