Frankenstein (1931)

British actors Colin Clive as "Henry Frankenstein" and Boris Karloff as 'The Monster' in the classic Pre-Code science fiction horror film by legendary British director James Whale, 'Frankenstein' (1931), which was produced in Hollywood by Carl Laemmle Jr. It was adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on British writer Mary Shelley's 1818 novel 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'.

The film also features Mae Clarke as "Elizabeth Lavenza", Henry's fiancée, John Boles as "Victor Moritz", Henry's friend, Edward Van Sloan as "Dr. Waldman", Frederick Kerr as "Baron Frankenstein", Dwight Frye as "Fritz", Henry's hunchbacked assistant, Lionel Belmore as "Herr Vogel", Marilyn Harris as "Little Maria", a little girl, and Michael Mark as "Ludwig", Maria's father.

Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was a commercial success upon release, and was generally well received by both critics and audiences. It spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs, and has had a significant impact on popular culture: the imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a subservient hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster have since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Remembering James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) on his birthday. He was also a theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: in addition to this one, 'Frankenstein' (1931), he also directed 'The Old Dark House'' (1932) with Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Massey, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, and Lilian Bond, 'The Invisible Man' (1933), with Gloria Stuart, Claude Rains, Henry Travers, Una O'Connor, and Dudley Digges, and 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935), with Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, and Una O'Connor, all also now considered classics. Whale also directed films in other genres, including the 1936 film version of the musical 'Show Boat', with Irene Dunne and Paul Robeson.