National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Dr. Frankenstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjJxpuPsrYs&t=6259s
National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller as the creature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ_s7h9PF2w
National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Dr. Frankenstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjJxpuPsrYs&t=6259s
National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller as the creature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ_s7h9PF2w
It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
His cadaverous skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath, his hair lustrous, black, and flowing—his teeth of pearly whiteness—but these luxuriances only form more horrible contrasts with the deformities of the monster. . . . The dreadful spectre of a human form—no mortal could withstand the horror of that countenance—a mummy embued with animation could not be so hideous as the wretch I have endowed with life!
National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Dr. Frankenstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjJxpuPsrYs&t=6259s
National Theatre Frankenstein - Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller as the creature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ_s7h9PF2w
00:00 THUNDER (Beginning of Podcast)
It lives! It lives! I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open, it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs
These lines are from Presumption - the first stage adaptation of Frankenstein
0:30 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Celebrate Poe, Episode Fifty Four - True to the Original. Just to let you know - this podcast is now on a regular schedule (baring emergencies.) Plans are to release this podcast every Monday night at 12:00 Midnight. The opening melody that you just heard is Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite song - Come Rest in This Bosom. Now the current series of episodes deals with some of the English writers who heavily influenced Poe - especially the English Romantics. And more specifically - this episode zeros in on the very first stage adaptation of Frankenstein, as well as two recent versions of Frankenstein - arguably the most important literary contribution of the Romantic writers. One is a stage version, and the second is a motion picture - and, while both extremely show a great deal of creativity, are among the versions of Frankenstein that are closest to the original. But before getting into those recent versions, I’d like to say something about the very first adaptation of Frankenstein
01:46 Presumption: The Natural Order of Things
When I was doing this episode, I ran across the title of a play by the name of Presumption: The Fate of Frankenstein and decided to look into it, but I had to leave and go do something. Then when I came back, I could not remember the name of the play - At first, I wanted to call it Persuasion - the word persuasion was on my mind. I had been watching a DVD of Jane Austen’s Persuasion that took place roughly during the same period as Frankenstein - and starred Jonny Lee Miller - the actor who played the lead in the BBC version of Byron. I had bookmarked the play, but I have so many disorganized bookmarks in my browser that they are almost useless. I need to organize them better. Anyway, last night, it hit me - Presumption! But what in the heck does the word presumption have to do with Frankenstein. The only time the word Presumption is mentioned in the entire play is in the title.
I thought about it, and especially how Frankenstein was written during a time in English history when religious belief was especially important. And the creation of a living being could be viewed as the ultimate presumption - of believing that a human being could be as a God and create life. Edgar Allan Poe also wrote a story that dealt with another form of presumption - but in Poe’s case, the short story “The Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar,’ he wrote about a man who is put into a suspended hypnotic state at the moment of death - so the man is not fully alive and not dead. In other words, Poe is writing that in the Case of M. Valdemar, he is also making a presumption - interfering with the natural order of things - and conquering death, not birth or creation. Of course, the story is a bit more complicated than that, and this podcast will really delve into this story later, but I just wanted to bring this story up as an almost reverse Frankenstein. And not surprisingly, at first Poe did not publish the story as a work of fiction - in his tone and technical descriptions, he left the impression that this suspension between life and death was something that actually happened. He made The Facts in the Case M. Valdemar sound like a scientific report. Frankenstein was a story of fiction and ideas, and no one took it for fact.
Now back to Presumption -
5:10 Presumption: The Fate of Frankenstein
Presumption, by Richard Brinsley Peake, has the distinction of being the first recorded theatrical adaptation of Frankenstein.
According to a royal decree at the time, the royal theatre during 1823 could only stage plays that included pantomime, and spectacle. The play therefore included pantomime because the creature in the play did not speak, and spectacle in the last scene where Frankenstein and the creature are killed in a huge snow avalanche. Interesting enough, the recent production by the National Theatre of Frankenstein also has the same kind of elements - lots of pantomime (such as the creature being born,) and a great deal of spectacle.
And the other main claim to fame for Presumption is that is was the only stage version of Frankenstein that Mary Shelley saw. Mary Shelley and her father William Godwin saw the play at the English Opera House shortly after she returned to England. Her husband Percy had died, and now her father and Mary had reconciled. Mr. Godwin even arranged for her daughter’s novel to be reprinted in two volumes in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the play.
There are a few differences between the book and Presumption. The creature in the play is blue-skinned, and is called the Hobgoblin. And this is the first version of Frankenstein with a lab assistant for the doctor. But he is not called Igor - or in the case of Young Frankenstein - EYE gore - but is called Fritz - which I think is almost as funny as EYE gore.
A group called the London Society for the Prevention of Vice organized a campaign urging theatergoers to boycott Presumption. They claimed that it was a blasphemous production, “pregnant with mischief and dangerous doctrines. The protestors began a controversy that only make the play more popular.
From a more modern perspective, I think the play has elements of d as an early Rocky Horror Show. In the cover of the published play from the period, the creature is seated on a table with one leg on the floor. The creature basically looks like a seductive drag queen with very muscular thighs. Could this have been the inspiration for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show?” By the way, I am including that cover picture as the cover art for this episode.
Back in 1823, there were a few negative feelings about the play. This was because of the radical political and social positions that Mary Shelley had taken in the past - such feelings had nothing to do with the production itself. Often when the play was criticized, the political positions of the writer were what was actually being criticized.
Even so, Frankenstein was one of the most popular plays of its era, and was revived three times in Covent Garden and twice at the English Opera House.
Frankenstein is an extremely complex novel that deals with many complicated issues. Celebrate Poe will definitely look at some of the offshoots of the original - from the horror films of the 30s to Young Frankenstein to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but the remainder of this episode is largely devoted to two major versions of Frankenstein that are not only noted for their epic scale but for their faithfulness to the original.
9:15 Frankenstein at National Theatre
The first is a 2011 version of Frankenstein that premiered at the Royal National Theatre. As I mentioned in the last episode of Celebrate Poe, this production has Doctor Strange or Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating the roles of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. The play was written by Nick Dear, who you may remember from the last episode, wrote Byron in 2003. And the play was directed by Danny Boyle, who directed Slum Dog Millionaire - so he certainly knows his way around visual effects.
Both versions are available at no charge on youtube - one with Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller as the creature. And the other version has Jonny Lee Miller as Dr. Frankenstein, and Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature. I have both links at the beginning of the show notes, as well at the beginning of the transcript for this episode - both at celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com
Now Mary Shelley’s novel is written in epistolary or epistle - form - like the epistle to certain cities in the New Testament - in other words, the novel is written in the form of letters. The play (as well as Kenneth Branaugh’s movie) takes a few liberties in format, but basically tells the same story. In both, Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a creature from human corpses. The first ten minutes of the relatively recent English drama version has Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller - whoever is playing the creature that night - rolling around the stage and contorting their bodies into all kinds of positions. The creature flaps around the stage like an out-of-control sea creature. For more than 10 minutes, the creature struggles to stretch and stand; to gain motor control of limbs and awkwardly contorts its body in an attempt to learn how to walk and run.
And when I was rewatching the motion picture version that I will discuss later, it hit me. The recent English play adaptation is more of a creature-centric version of the story. It does not start out with the Frankenstein family in their finery, but with the birth of the creature. We see things through the creature’s eyes for much of the play - which only increases our sympathy for his plight as a being who will always be an outsider.
When finally, the actor playing the creature shows that he has felt the warmth of the sun and the cooling rain for the first time, his happiness in simple pleasures is contagious. The actors playing the creatures come across like babies who are discovering nature for the first time.
And YOU as the audience share in that joy - the actors are that good at communicating their emotions. Eventually, the character of Victor Frankenstein enters, sees the deformed appearance of his creation, and flees in terror.
The set is a somewhat abstract combination of lights and wood. The stage uses small plots of grass for scenes in the open. Sometimes whole rooms and buildings ascend from the basement of the rotating stage. Other times rooms descend from the rafters. And as if to add to the confusion, often the creature wanders across the stage as he gradually learns basic skills
This is not the creature that you might be familiar with - at first he does not understand his surroundings at all - later he stops grunting, and is articulate about his emotions. He gradually becomes more accustomed to the world, and even learns to read classical works.
When the creature reads Victor Frankenstein’s journal and learns how he was created, and that humans fall in love, he begins to dream of having a female partner. The creature becomes friends with a blind man who teaches him about life, but when two sighted people see the creature, they are repulsed and drive him out. The creature takes revenge on them by setting fire to the cottage and killing the family. Then he decides to take out his revenge on Victor for bringing him into a world where he will always be an “other” and never accepted.
14:17 Reading the novel on podcast?
Now when I was trying to figure out a way to approach Frankenstein I first thought of reading the novel aloud - but it is 8 hours long without commentary.
After spending several hours, I eventually cut it down to 6 hours - then 4 hours - but it just did not feel right. But in that process, I learned more about the novel that I ever could have imagined - the vivid descriptions, constantly building tension, and which words were most important. During that process, you can’t help but become familiar with what is important, and what are minor plot details. That is why I am so impressed by the National Theatre and later movie versions of Frankenstein that Celebrate Poe is dealing with today. They may not be the most familiar - tho they certainly are far from shabby - but I feel they are excellent versions of the novel. And while they do leave out the nonessential details, they add a great deal of creativity.
15:45 The plot thickens
Of course, a lot happens in the novel, National Theatre drama, and Kenneth Branagh movie that I am not going to mention - don’t want to spoil the story for you.
But I will skip to the end of the play - which again is basically the same as the novel and Branaugh movie - near the conclusion, Dr. Victor Frankenstein chases the creature - who has vowed to destroy Victor - to the Arctic Circle. Victor collapses, frostbitten, exhausted, and unable to move. The creature comes to Victor and begs his forgiveness. The creature believes Victor has just died, and the creature tells Victor Frankenstein that he loves him. Victor comes back to life and mutters that he does not know how to love - and communicates that he must continue his revenge-driven pursuit of the Creature. As in Mary Shelley’s novel, both characters are resigned to their fate, and the Creature leads Victor across the stage into the fog.
Again, I am not going to describe - even if it were possible - all the things that happen in the story - don’t want to spoil the story. And you might ask - which is better - the version with Jonny Lee Miller as the creature or Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature. Well, I happened to watch the version with Jonny Lee Miller as the creature first - and I thought at the time that I couldn’t imagine anyone ever playing that part as well. I think that performance was imprinted on me because it was the first one I saw - kinda like little ducklings and the first thing they see - hopefully - is their mother - so they know to follow her.
Every movement that Jonny Lee Miller seemed perfect - his performance left me thinking - how can anyone move that way? And then I watched the version with Benedict Cumberbatch a week later - and he was every bit as good. - I would advise you to choose a version - Cumberbatch or Miller - you really can’t go wrong - both actors really make their characters come alive. Watch the drama for no more than an hour before picking it up later and finishing it. This production of Frankenstein is really intense.
OK - I just finished watching the Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature version, and if pressed I would give Jonny Lee Miller a 99 and Benedict Cumberbatch a 100 as the creature - at the end of the play, Cumberbatch’s character shows a bit more growth - but in either case, you can’t go wrong. I think it is interesting that when they gave the Olivier award for best actor in a drama, Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch shared the award.
Obviously there are some things that you can show in a movie which are difficult to fully show onstage. A good example is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from 1994. I think most people agree that this movie adaptation is the most faithful of the dozens of Frankenstein versions out there.
One reason is that it was directed by and starred Kenneth Branaugh - a guy who really has a knack for communicating the classics - he directed or starred in excellent versions of such Shakespearean plays as Henry V, Othello, As You Like It, Love’s Labours Lost, and Much Ado About Nothing. He also directed and starred in the first (and as far as I know) only complete version of Hamlet at just over 4 hours. That is a great production on DVD, where you can watch it for a few minutes, and then come back for another go at it - but you really have to be a Shakespeare nerd to watch Hamlet in a theater for over 4 hours.
I personally believe that Kenneth Branagh is especially good at directing dramas that deal with family conflicts. This is the case in many of the Shakespearean plays and movies that he has been connected with, as well as perhaps the most well-known non-Shakespearean movie that he has directed. That would be Thor of the Marvel Universe - a movie that started Shakespearean actors Anthony Hopkins as the father, Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as his son Loki. Chris Helmsworth also played one of Odin’s sons, and while not a Shakespeare actor, I think he certainly held his own.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - not the documentary or the novel - also stars Robert DeNiro as the monster, Kenneth Branagh as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Tom Hulce (who played Mozart in Amadeus) Helena Bonham Carter (who was in Les Miserables,) John Cleese from Monty Python, and Ian Holm from the Lord of the Rings. Another supporting actor in the movie is Aidan Quinn who was also in the television show Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller.
21:15 Opinions of the movie
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein cost almost 50 million dollars to make, and really shows it - lavish sets and unbelievable scenery - all giving it a larger than life quality that some people did not like. But I think Frankenstein is basically an unbelievable science fiction story, and having a grandiose, epic quality is exactly what the story needs.
The movie begins with Victor Frankenstein telling his story to a crew trying to travel through the ice in the Arctic Sea.
The movie then begins to tell the story of Victor growing up in Geneva with Elizabeth Lavenza, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who grows up to become the love of his life. Before Victor leaves for college, his mother dies giving birth to his brother William. Tramatized by grief, Victor vows that he will find a way to conquer death. Eventually, Victor and his friend Henry Clerval meet a professor who is able to teach him how to create life - but the professor warns to ignore his teachings in this area lest he create an abomination.
The professor is murdered by an angry patient, and Victor begins building a body from corpses. The resulting creature escapes, encounters a family, and tries to earn their trust. When they violently reject him, the creature burns down the family’s farm and vows revenge on Victor Frankenstein.
Even though Kenneth Branagh is basically faithful to the novel, there are a few sections where he makes small changes to the plot. I would be spoiling the story to give them away, but I will just say that they make perfect sense in the narrative and come across as perfectly logical. If you have seen the movie and are familiar with the book or play, I think you will know what I mean.
Hint - I think the biggest change in the plot is a scene beginning with the creature whispering to Elizabeth - the character played by Helena Bonham Carter - on her wedding night. The creature whispers, “Don’t bother to scream.” My heart started beating faster and faster, and I was totally engrossed in the movie. I couldn’t believe what the creature did, and how Victor Frankenstein reacted. Actually, I was already engrossed in the movie - this made me realize - this is a really, really good film.
I think one reason there were strong reactions to Kenneth Branaugh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, was that so many critics seem to ignore the necessary changes that are going to happen when you adapt great literature to film - that you can’t include everything in exactly the same way. In some cases, ignoring interior monologues that you find in a novel for visual representations can add new dimensions to the narrative. For example, in the movie Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the home of the Frankenstein family has these towering walls everywhere you go - when a character runs up some stairs there are running beside a towering wall - kinda cool when the character is a lady dressed in regal period clothes. And the towering walls make the human characters very small in perspective - the same thing about the towering Swiss mountains outside - especially when the character is climbing the mountain. In the novel, you get these great descriptions by Mary Shelley of the surrounding Alps, but in the movie - the sweeping camera angles of mountains that seem to go on forever take your breath away.
On the other hand, no movie can spend pages and pages taking you inside a character’s mind like a book can. The director has to depend on his or her sense of a visual language to effectively communicate the spirit of a literary work. The director Lewis Milestone probably said it best when he observed: “If you want to produce a rose, you will not take the flower and put it into the earth. This would not result in another rose. Instead, you will take the seed and stick it into the soil. From it will grow a rose. It’s the same with film adaptation.”
When I first saw the DVD, my reaction was very positive - I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. But apparently, the movie has engendered a great deal of criticism since its release.
For example, the lead screenwriter later called the film "the best script I ever wrote and the worst movie I've ever seen." He was to write:
There's a weird doppelganger effect when I watch the movie. It's kind of like the movie I wrote, but not at all like the movie I wrote. It has no patience for subtlety. It has no patience for quiet moments. It has no patience period. It's big and loud and blunt and rephrased by the director at every possible turn. Cumulatively, the effect was a totally different movie. I don't know why Branagh needed to make this big, loud film ... the material was subtle. Shelley's book was way out there in a lot of ways, but it's also very subtle. I don't know why it had to be this operatic attempt at filmmaking. Shelley's book is not operatic, it whispers at you a lot. The movie was Ken’s vision entirely. If you love that movie you can throw all your roses at Ken Branagh's feet. If you hated it, throw your spears there too, because that was his movie.
Sounds like sour grapes to me.
And Yes, the movie WAS operatic - not in the sense that the actors sang - but it WAS very grandiose - larger than life - and I think that is totally appropriate - these are NOT normal people - but (especially in the case of Dr. Frankenstein) they are people who consider themselves gods - not in a religious sense - but humans who have the ability to create life.
Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing: "I admired the scenes with De Niro [as the Creature] so much I'm tempted to give Mary Shelley's Frankenstein a favorable verdict. But it's a near miss. The Creature is on target, but the rest of the film is so frantic, so manic, it doesn't pause to be sure its effects are registered.” Actually, I kinda like that - when, especially when the monster starts taking out his revenge, the film really picks up the pace and your heart doesn’t slow down until the slow resolution. The film is definitely visually ambitious - and I think that is a great deal better than wallowing in a character’s interior monologue - something a book can get away with but would seem tedious in a movie.
Reelviews.net gave the film three out of four stars, writing: "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein may not be the definitive version of the 1818 novel and the director likely attempted more than is practical for a two-hour film, but over ambition is preferable to the alternative, especially if it results—as in this case—in something more substantial than Hollywood's typical fluff."
TRANSITION
As I may have mentioned, I had seen Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein about a year ago, and while doing the transcript for this podcast watched it again - and thought that I was gonna be kinda bored - but this movie really holds up. It even visually references the effects of Tambora with its occasional scenes of rain and thunder, as well as the plague that was terrorizing the city. The movie has closeups that would be impossible onstage. And even though the movie was released over 15 years ago, there are many references to cholera and the need for quarantine that are timely today. The main difference is that we have a vaccine and basically understand how to stop the disease. And Frankenstein even has a character who refuses to get a vaccine and considers it evil - much like some anti-vaxers today.
29:57 Medicine and vaccine
Historically, Edward Jenner developed a vaccine for smallpox in 1796 that would have conceivably been available, However the movie seems to indicate that the population of the town was being vaccinated for cholera, and a vaccine for cholera was not invented until 1885 - after the events in Frankenstein occurred. But again, we don’t go to the movies to learn science history.
But it hit me several days later (a lot of things have been hitting me lately) - and this is just my opinion - that while we don’t go to the movies for biographical history of an individual or even an event - with something like medicines and vaccines - accuracy IS important. I know that when this adaptation of Frankenstein was made almost 15 years ago, the specific plague might not have been that big a deal to most people. And back in 1994, most people (I know I didn’t) didn’t really know the differences between various plagues and when they occurred - cholera, smallpox, yellow fever, tuberculosis - or is it consumption and so on - but I believe future generations will have more of an understanding of various plagues - both historically and preventing pandemics in the future.
But back to the movie -
Frankenstein, whether it be the Mary Shelley novel, a stage drama, or a motion picture - can be highly entertaining. I believe Frankenstein is a cautionary tale of the need for human connection and the yearning for love. Frankenstein eloquently points out the need for a person to understand the consequences of his or her actions - not just doing something because they can.
32:24 Mary Shelley and Edgar Poe
Now this probably won’t be the last time you hear this, but the more I read about Mary Shelley and the tragedies in her life, - the more I see her as almost a female equivalent of Edgar Allan Poe - sure, their lives and surroundings were quite different, but they both seemed to have a basic sense of the macabre in their works. Mary Shelley certainly had an incredible imagination and sense of creativity - but being a woman in the 19th century, she did not have the educational opportunities to express those thoughts like the educational opportunities afforded young Edgar Allan Poe - fascinating opportunities that will be emphasized in future episodes of Celebrate Poe.
33:15 REASONABLE CHANCE OF GETTING BACK TO NORMAL
I just got my second vaccine (the Pfizer shot) and could not believe the atmosphere. This is relatively conservative Indiana, and it was almost like a rock festival - a Woodstock atmosphere - where it seemed everyone was happy and smiling. I almost expected to hear the strains of Jimi Hendrix - I have never seen so many happy people.
Getting the vaccine is such a great feeling - that we have a realistic change of getting back to normal. Already, the goals of the current administration regarding the vaccine have been more than doubled. But we are rounding the corner - keep wearing masks when you can’t be six feet away from a person, and remember to wash your hands.
One little thing that might help is learn to memorize while you wash your hands.I know that might sound tedious, but it might really help to memorize a cool passage that you can use later.
Before Celebrate Poe has done this with poems - especially some by Edgar Allan Poe - but this is the first time that this podcast has used prose to memorize.
And I think you will see why it is a little bit easier to memorize poetry with its rhythm. It is felt that before the advent of written language, individuals would sit around a fire and repeat stories, tales, myths, etc. - but always in poetry or rhyming verse - it makes them easier to remember than prose.
But try this short bit of prose from Presumption - the first adaptation of Frankenstein. I think it is interesting that Mary Shelley’s text was considered so vivid and graphic that much of the novel’s text could be used verbatim in the play version - including the words suggested for memorization today.
First - Go to celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com - this should take you to a webpage for all episodes - Click on the name of this episode - True to the Original - that will take you to a page that has more detail about this specific episode - Click on “transcript” and there should be some text in bold at the top of the transcript that starts “It was already one in the morning.” Select all of the text in bold, copy it, and paste the text into your word processor - such as Pages or Microsoft Word, The text is:
It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
His cadaverous skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath, his hair lustrous, black, and flowing—his teeth of pearly whiteness—but these luxuriances only form more horrible contrasts with the deformities of the monster. . . . The dreadful spectre of a human form—no mortal could withstand the horror of that countenance—a mummy embued with animation could not be so hideous as the wretch I have endowed with life!
Print that text out - maybe making it larger so you can see it easily - and tape it in your kitchen or over your bathroom sink so that it is easily visible. Then while washing your hands, learn “It was already” - just practice it over and over and then later learn “one in the morning” Practicing those lines of chunks of just 3 or 4 words will eventually result in the ability to delivery these lines smoothly as a whole - be at a party or just with a group at Halloween. Slowly intone those words with your eyes glaring at your audience or the group around you while pointing with a crooked finger at an imaginary creature.
Sources and Outro
Sources for this episode include Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Presumption, The Fate of Frankenstein by Richard Brinsley Peake, Frankenstein - a play by Nick Dear directed by Danny Boyle, Monstrous Progeny: A History of the Frankenstein Narratives, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - a film directed by and starring Kenneth Branaugh
Why not visit my podcast web site at celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com - click on the episode you want to learn more about to see its show notes and a transcript. And remember, I have links for both castings of Frankenstein at the National Theatre.
Join me for the next episode of Celebrate Poe for Gods and Monsters - A Whale of a Frankenstein. Before going into some of the later versions of Frankenstein such as Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and some of the many reanimated classics, I want to especially look at some of the early Frankenstein film classics, especially those directed by James Whale, such as the 193 1 Frankenstein, and The 1935 Bride of Frankenstein. Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.