THE BRIDE 1935: SPECIAL SHOWING

The Bride of Frankenstein has reached its 90th year of release, and to celebrate the historic occasion (as well as the advent of the Halloween season), author Michael F. Housel is hosting a special showing of the 1935 hit on 9/15, at the celebrated Nightmare Inn/Home Base Cinema, 1300 Franklin St, Trenton, NJ.

This wonderful, James Whale contribution is considered one of the greatest movies (and sequels) ever made. It's also graced by one of the best scores ever composed, thanks to the masterful Franz Waxman, and holds the powerful headliners, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger, Dwight Frye, Una O'Connor and Valerie Hobson (among other distinguished thespians). The creative group steers Mary Shelley's perennial novel in a unique (but faithful at heart) direction, which is simultaneously chilling, comedic and poignant. 

The movie will be beamed from a beautiful, Blu-ray transfer upon a stunning, 7' screen. Housel will offer tidbits on the production and sign his books free of charge, for those who bring them along. (Copies of many titles will also be available for purchase.)

The show will commence at 6 p.m. sharp (with Housel's intro, followed by the movie). Please contact Donna Housel at bizarrechats@gmail.com, by 9/13, noon, if you plan to attend, so that she may accommodate your seating arrangements. Thank you. 

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN: REVISED EDITION (A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE)

In sync with their revised, Classic Monsters of the Movies editions of Tod Browning's Dracula and James Whale's Frankenstein, Nige Burton and Jamie Jones deliver a loving upgrade to their acclaimed, Bride of Frankenstein tribute.

Whale's extravaganza is considered one of the greatest sequels made, and all for good reason, as Burton and Jones detail through their informative, 36 pages. Whale's direction is brisk and invigorating, as he grants a lighter tone to Henry Frankenstein's peril. Franz Waxman's score is hands down one of the most sweeping imaginable (so grand, in fact, that it was used in the Flash Gordon serials). And then there's that amazing cast: Boris Karloff (who this time bestows the Monster a voice), Elsa Lancaster (as Mary Shelley and the Bride), Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Una O'Connor, Dwight Frye, Gavin Gordon, Douglas Walton, E. E Clive and O.P. Heggie. 

Burton and Jones not only document the movie's fascinating production, but present biographical rundowns and a generous serving of their "Quotable Quotes" and trivia snippets.

I love Universal horror and rank Bride in the studio's top five. This special, Classic Monsters of the Movies, deluxe re-issue is one that every film library should include. After all, Bride is an immortal classic that only grows more endearing with each passing year. 

Order at 

https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/bride-of-frankenstein-1935-ultimate-guide-new-edition-magazine/

HAPPY NATIONAL FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY 2023

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: GROOM & BRIDE

SCARY MONSTERS #120 PRESENTS CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN

Scary Monsters #120 acts as a Castle of Frankenstein tribute, with many nods to the 1962-'75, horror publication, adorned no less by Scott Jackson's Karloffian, Tower of London '39 cover, fringed in its own ghastly right by a frightful, Frankenstein Monster banner. Jackson's sinister, back-cover collage is colorfully creepy, too. 

In addition to this issue's Castle of Frankenstein graphic mimicking, one will find an article on the latter's founder, Calvin Beck (and his reputed influence on Norman Bates); a comparison of Nosferatu '22 and '79; focus on Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi's Dracula 90th anniversary (per a lovely interview with Lynn Lugosi Sparks); a Kim Novak/Elsa Lanchester witchy homage; Universal's Frankenstein sequels; Frankenstein's faithful henchmen; Hammer's Hollywood mergers; plus plumb retrospectives on Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks, War-Gods of the Deep; Vampyre; Crypt of the Vampire; and Blood Splattered Bride. And in keeping with the cover scheme, there's a hefty spread on Tower of London, which not only emphasizes Karloff the Uncanny, but his forbidding friends, Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price. 

Issue #120 is a wondrous, must-have volume, crammed with grand, macabre nostalgia from front to back. 

Purchase a copy at 

https://www.mymoviemonsters.com/store.php/mymoviemonsters/pd10007629/scary_monsters_120__castle_of_frankenstein_tribute_issue__preorder

Collectible Time: TIME/LIFE FRANKENSTEIN 200 Year Commemorative Edition

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. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2016!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S 2016...FROM THE MONSTER, HIS BRIDE, DONNA AND ME!!!