May 3- Get Your Frank Here! Final Call!
The other day, one of the nice ladies who cuts my hair said, “oh, I missed ‘Bride of Frankenstein’…”-to which I replied
“Sorry to hear that- because that was the last time we could show it!” “WHAT?!” she cried “oh, no! You mean, forever?”
Hmm… I’m not sure about ‘forever’ but that is it for now- that was the last time Universal allowed us to show it, by terms of our agreement with them. For those who are counting, we showed it three times all together…after it hadn’t been on free television in well over a decade- and may not be, ever again, quite honestly.
Why am I telling you all this? Mainly, to give you fair warning that tonight will also be the final showing we are allowed of the classic that launched a career and a franchise- the chilling “Frankenstein!” Yes, this is the 1931 horror film that truly launched the career of William Henry Pratt-best known as Boris Karloff- from small-part character actor in almost 80 films (most of them silent!) to major horror star! It also launched the “Frankenstein” horror film franchise, as well as helping establish Universal as the prime factor in film horror, along with “Dracula” and “the Mummy.”
You most likely know the story- a crazed doctor (Colin Clive) is obsessed with discovering the secret of creating life, and building his own being out of parts from dead bodies. When he sends his hunchbacked (or “dwarf” as stated by Lord Byron in the prologue to “Bride of Frankenstein” last week) assistant to
Steal a brain from the university, he fumbles the first brain, dropping and ruining it- but, fortunately, finds a second brain, and snatches that. Unfortunately, that brain is an abnormal brain- which foreshadows what is to come!
An interesting note is- in the original “Frankenstein” book, the method by which Dr. Frankenstein brought the monster to life was never revealed! In this film, electricity is used- and that has been the standard method used to revive monsters ever since! We’ll have plenty of other bits of trivia for you, including
a special reason for one aspect of Karloff’s costume.
Here’s a bit of trivia that I just recently discovered- Karloff used to always mark his lines in his script-underline them, or whatever. When a young Jack Nicholson saw that, he decided it was a great idea- and started doing it himself!
Okay- YOU should underline “9 pm tonight on Svengoolie” (or
“1 am on Me-TV” or “check local listings for WMLW, Me-TV Milwaukee, or WMYS South Bend”)-so YOU won’t miss our final run of “Frankenstein!” The same goes for the other Frankenstein flicks coming up in the next few weeks. Don’t miss your last chance to catch these classics on free TV!
“Sorry to hear that- because that was the last time we could show it!” “WHAT?!” she cried “oh, no! You mean, forever?”
Hmm… I’m not sure about ‘forever’ but that is it for now- that was the last time Universal allowed us to show it, by terms of our agreement with them. For those who are counting, we showed it three times all together…after it hadn’t been on free television in well over a decade- and may not be, ever again, quite honestly.
Why am I telling you all this? Mainly, to give you fair warning that tonight will also be the final showing we are allowed of the classic that launched a career and a franchise- the chilling “Frankenstein!” Yes, this is the 1931 horror film that truly launched the career of William Henry Pratt-best known as Boris Karloff- from small-part character actor in almost 80 films (most of them silent!) to major horror star! It also launched the “Frankenstein” horror film franchise, as well as helping establish Universal as the prime factor in film horror, along with “Dracula” and “the Mummy.”
You most likely know the story- a crazed doctor (Colin Clive) is obsessed with discovering the secret of creating life, and building his own being out of parts from dead bodies. When he sends his hunchbacked (or “dwarf” as stated by Lord Byron in the prologue to “Bride of Frankenstein” last week) assistant to
Steal a brain from the university, he fumbles the first brain, dropping and ruining it- but, fortunately, finds a second brain, and snatches that. Unfortunately, that brain is an abnormal brain- which foreshadows what is to come!
An interesting note is- in the original “Frankenstein” book, the method by which Dr. Frankenstein brought the monster to life was never revealed! In this film, electricity is used- and that has been the standard method used to revive monsters ever since! We’ll have plenty of other bits of trivia for you, including
a special reason for one aspect of Karloff’s costume.
Here’s a bit of trivia that I just recently discovered- Karloff used to always mark his lines in his script-underline them, or whatever. When a young Jack Nicholson saw that, he decided it was a great idea- and started doing it himself!
Okay- YOU should underline “9 pm tonight on Svengoolie” (or
“1 am on Me-TV” or “check local listings for WMLW, Me-TV Milwaukee, or WMYS South Bend”)-so YOU won’t miss our final run of “Frankenstein!” The same goes for the other Frankenstein flicks coming up in the next few weeks. Don’t miss your last chance to catch these classics on free TV!
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cool show ,i havent seen that guy since i was 7 years old.frank is just as creepy as ever