Blog Post 2: Comedy in Bride of Frankenstein

Comedy in Bride of Frankenstein

By Kathleen Hendrich

While films are usually thought to be confined to a specific genre for ‘instant recognisability’ for the audience’s benefit, as pointed out by Altman, horror films, in fact all films, never belong to just one genre. You would be hard pressed to find a single horror film that does not include aspects of several other different genres. Horror films draw from several different genres, from romance to western, but perhaps none more so than comedy. At first glance, comedy may seem like the least likely element to be found in a horror movie, but in reality the comedy compliments the horrific nature of the film like no other (genre) can. This technique has been used in a variety of films with varying amounts of success, but one film in which this tactic has proven effective is James Whale’s 1935 interpretation of Bride of Frankenstein.

Bride of Frankenstein uses comedy in two different ways; to alleviate the effects of the horrific content, and to add to the effects. An example of the kind of comedy that subtracts from the horrifying nature is the presence of poor Minnie, the loud mouthed maid of Dr. Frankenstein whose main purpose seems to be to provide comic relief. Minnie is present in the beginning of the film while a building burns with The Monster inside, and very quickly starts trying to convince the burgomaster that the monster is still alive, to no avail. Minnie is appealing because she is a natural source of comedy, completely human and not in the least monstrous, so it is easy for an audience to laugh along with her. She is familiar; in her you can recognise your aging grandma or your crazy aunt. It is easy to discredit Minnie at this point, especially given the original 1935 audience, as she is a short, female maid ranting at a tall, male burgomaster.

The more effective use of comedy comes later, for example in the homunculus scene in which Dr. Praetorius proudly presents his miniatures to Dr. Frankenstein. The scene itself is quite eerie from the start, with the introductory music and the use of shadow sending chills down the spine, hinting at something sinister to come. The comedy in this scene comes from the antics of the homunculi; from the king’s overindulgent consumption of turkey leg when the audience first meets him, to his later escape attempt, and the disapproving bishop overseeing all. This comedy comes with a sense of unease, as the audience is laughing at something that is, essentially, inhuman. To find humour in this situation adds to the horror, as the audience is acutely aware that what they are laughing at is completely unnatural, thus making the situation feel even more sinister. During the scene there are many close ups on the homunculi, allowing the viewer to almost forget their unnatural size until reality is thrust upon them in the form of a wider shot or, at one point, by the king being picked up by Dr. Praetorius and put back into his jar, allowing for a direct comparison between the natural and the unnatural.

Works Cited:

Altman, Rick. “What is generally understood by the notion of film genre?” Film/Genre. London: British Film Institute, 1999. 13-29