Frankenstein

1931 was a good year, with the release of two classic tales of terror, Frankenstein and Dracula.  That same Frankenstein, along with its sequel Bride of Frankenstein, still played to packed movie houses in 2012, and rightly so. With no film score to set the mood, director James Whale used Mary Shelley's tale, remarkable black & white cinematography, Colin Clive's (Dr. Frankenstein) and Dwight Frye's (Fritz) overacting, and Boris Karloff's sympathetic portrayal of the monster to produce one of the great films of all time.  The scene where the monster throws the little girl into the water, thinking she will float like the flowers is still a classic and always moves me to tears.  There is always something new to see and learn from the old films.  This time around, I realized that I was seeing John Boles (Victor) in a pre-Shirley Temple role and that Dwight Frye also played Renfield that year in Dracula.  Frankenstein is definitely a repeater anytime it shows up on TV or the silver screen.