Frankenstein Movie And Book Comparison

If one were to hear the quote, “It’s alive! It’s alive!”, they would instantly know where it comes from. This is entirely due to James Whale’s Frankenstein released in 1931 by Universal Films and based off the book written by Mary Shelly, that was published anonymously in 1818. Universal Films THESIS STATEMENT. The Frankenstein movie is still influential today because it helps set the stage for horror films in today’s society. TRANSITION. At the time Frankenstein was released, James Whale was 42 years old. Although this marked the start of his career in the United States, it is not where his profession began. It started in a World War One Prison Camp, “Captured by the Germans, he became active in the camp’s theater, which led him to the London stage after the war, achieving fame with his production of Journey’s End, the celebrated drama about life in the trenches. He came to Hollywood on the coattails of this achievement, ending up at Universal Pictures, where he stayed for

Even though the movie is based off of the book written by Mary Shelly, there are more than a few differences between the two. One of the more distinct of them, is the naming of the characters, “Dr. Frankenstein 's first name is Henry, while his best friend 's name is Victor Moritz. In the novel, the doctor 's name is Victor Frankenstein, while his best friend is Henry Clerval” (Trivia). This can be confusing to those who watched the movie first, before reading the book. In addition, the doctor’s father’s name is Alphonse and not Baron. When comparing the movie and book, there are only few similarities: Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster with electricity that kills and torments village people. Furthermore, the entire back story of Walton in the arctic is never mentioned, along with the death of Victor’s brother William, or the monster learning how to talk while watching a poor family, to name a few (Shelly). Although these parts are left out, the theme of wrongly playing God is not glossed