I've not been keen on Time/Life in recent years (due to its skewed reporting, which rubs against my journalistic grain), but on occasion, the joint-company will publish a interesting retrospective (under the Life imprint) on an icon and/or pop-cultural craze.
Thanks to my friend, "Jocko", who surprised me with an early Christmas present, I now possess Time/Life's Frankenstein, the Man, the Monster, the Legacy: Still Crazy After All These Years: 200/1818 - 2018.
The periodical is composed (if one inspects the fine print) by renown author J.I. Baker, who does a lovely job outlining Mary Shelley's life, her "Modern Prometheus" and its impact on the media through the course of two centuries.
For Shelley's sake, we're granted historical insight as to when and how the young raconteur fashioned her frightening fable, accompanied by a synopsis of the book's tempestuous, Victor/Monster content, even if its haunting symbolism is at best grazed.
Baker thereafter shifts to cinematic focus, beginning with the Edison 1910 production, starring Charles Ogle and onward with Universal Studios' James Whale classic and the actor who blessed the Monster with such scary, childlike sensitivity, Boris Karloff. The movie's blockbuster sequel, "The Bride of Frankenstein", co-starring the captivating Elsa Lanchester, is also essayed.
The Hammer Studio era, ushered by Terence Fisher's "The Curse of Frankenstein", which initiated the popular teaming of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, follows (though the studio receives a jaundiced assessment), capped by spoofs: Visual salutes mark "The Munsters", "The Addams Family" (Charles Addams based Lurch's looks on Karloff's Monster) and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", with Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" occupying a profound portion of the text.
Alas, the Universal sequels subsequent to "Bride", including "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (no doubt as influential as Brooks' variant), in addition to Hammer's "Curse" follow-ups, are either downplayed or ignored. The same goes for such popular entries as "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein", "Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein" and "Frankenstein: the True Story". This leaves the Time/Life submission less comprehensive than it could be, even with comic-book and stage productions ascribed.
Though more knowledgeable and/or highbrow followers might feel gypped by the overview, Baker's effort should give fledglings a viable account of the phenomenon. Keep in mind: This is a magazine, not an extensive, hardbound reference source. (Besides, other publications have dedicated full issues to sole Frankenstein adaptations.) Also, to the volume's credit, it supplies high-stock, color and black-and-white graphics which should impress even the most jaded readers.
I'm grateful Jocko gifted me this one. I can't get enough of anything Frankenstein related, but with all the merchandise available on creator and creature, it's hard to cover the bases. Frankenstein: the Man, the Monster, the Legacy is an appreciated addition to my many editions on the undying sensation that mother Mary birthed.
One can purchase the Frankenstein tribute at one's favorite drugstore or kiosk.
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