Frankenstein (1931)

FRANKENSTEIN is James Whale's first stylish, expressionist film (INVISIBLE MAN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) to grace the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s and 1940s (DRACULA, THE MUMMY). Scientist Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked assistant, Fritz (Dwight Frye), embark on an unholy mission by stealing a body from a graveyard and a human brain from a medical college. Unbeknownst to Frankenstein, however, Fritz takes a violent and murderous abnormal brain. Henry's strange letters about his experiments worry his fiancée, Elizabeth (Mae Clark), and friends Victor (John Boles) and Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan). They arrive at Frankenstein's laboratory to find the spectacular scene of creation under way--and Frankenstein intoxicated with his own godlike power.

FRANKENSTEIN is in many ways the original horror classic, virtually creating the genre itself, leading to numerous sequels and myriad imitators. Whale's ability to give humanity to the Monster is one of the film's most stunning successes.