Marty Michaels

There’s a bit of a horror theme going on in here of late. Today we’re going to head out to the laboratory on the hill and take a look at the top ten creations of Dr. Frankenstein. Brought to life by Mary Shelley in 1818 in “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus,” the Frankenstein Monster has taken on a life of his own and become a global icon. So sharpen your pitchfork and grab your flaming torch and let’s hunt down the top ten Frankenstein Monsters. Onward!

10. Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

Lurching out of the lab first comes Lon Chaney, Jr. Son of silent movie legend Lon Chaney, Chaney, Jr. was always destined to be a horror movie actor and after his star-making turn in The Wolf Man he was the obvious choice to fill the (sizeable) boots of Boris Karloff. Playing the part as a silent brute with almcost none of the pathos of Karloff’s performance, the Lonster nonetheless turned in a somewhat memorable performance in what is probably the most fun of the Universal Frankenstein movies.

9. David Prowse in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974)

The body of Darth Vader and darling of slightly rubbish sci fi and comic conventions, Dave Prowse played the Monster in Horror of Frankenstein, but turns in better performance in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell, the last of the Hammer Frankenstein movies. Encased in a bulky body suit, this Monster was almost troglodytic in both apperence and demeanor and, despite the low budget makeup and body suit, Prowse does manage to bring some pathos to the doomed creature.

8. Bela Lugosi in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Remembered by most as one of the worst Frankenstein Monsters in cinema history, I feel that Lugosi has been short changed by time. Yes, he’s far too old and frail looking to play the Monster, but here’s the thing: In the climax of Ghost of Frankenstein, the Monster has the brain of his friend Ygor (Lugosi) implanted into his head but the experiment goes wrong and the Monster goes blind. Ok, so a blind Monster with Bela Lugosi’s brain in his skull. Good stuff. And that’s how Lugosi played the part, speaking in his own voice and groping at the air, his arms held out in front of him. Problem is, all references to the Monster’s blindness were cut, as was all of Lugosi’s dialouge, rendering him ridiculous. Of course, whenever anyone does an impression of the Frankenstein Monster they hold their arms out and grunt, doing Lugosi’s Monster rather than Karloff’s. So I guess, in a round about way, Lugosi got the last laugh after all.

7. Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein (1974)

Mel Brook’s affectionate – and damn funny – spoof of the Frankenstein movies produced at Universal is one of the all time classic horror movies, and probably my favorite Mel Brooks movie. Peter “Ray’s dad off of Everybody Loves Raymond” Boyle plays the Monster somewhere between Boris Karloff and Fred “Herman Munster” Gwyne. Gene Wilder turns in a typically brilliant performance as Freddy Frankenstein and Terri Garr is almost painfully cute as Inga, but the film is stolen by Marty Feldman’s hunchbacked Eye-Gore and Peter Boyle’s Monster. The scene with Gene Hackman as the blind hermit and the song and dance number with the Monster and Freddy tapdancing their way through “Puttin’ on the Ritz” are worth the price of admission alone.

6. Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

The Hammer Frankenstein series made a radical departure from the Universal series by chosing to follow the adventures of Peter Cushing’s Baron Frankenstein than the adventures of his Monster. The Baron created a new Monster in each film, starting with Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein. Lee, an actor capable of bringing incredible depth to his performances (when he puts his mind to it, but to be fair, most of the time he just plays Christopher Lee), plays the Monster more like Lon Chaney than Boris Karloff, but there are moments when a spark of humanity shines though and we feel the tragedy of the Monster. The makeup is as far removed from the Universal design as it gets nd it’s testament to the genius of Roy Ashton that it managed to become an icon of Hammer horror. If only Lee had played the Monster more in line with the way he played the Mummy, then his performance would’ve ranked far higher on this list.

5. Freddie Jones in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed! (1969)

Freddie Jones is perhaps more famous as a director than an actor, which is a shame because he was a great actor occassionally touched by brilliance: his performance, for example, as Bytes in The Elephant Man is one of the standout performances in a film packed with heavyweight thespians. In Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed he plays a sensitive and misunderstood Monster

4. David Warner in Frankenstein (1984)

David Warner’s touching performance as the Monster makes number five on our list. Thoughtful and articulate, the Monster in this version of the story is much closer to Mary Shelley’s intentions; indeed, the Monster is disfigured by a fire in this version, rather than being a mess of stitches and dead flesh. The scene where the childlike Monster meets his creator (Rober Powell looking creepily like a young Peter Cushing) is heartbreaking as the Monster kneels before Frankenstein in adulation, believing him to be God.

3. Glenn Strange in House of Frakenstein (1944)

This is maybe an odd choice for the number three spot on this list, but hear me out. Glenn Strange played the Monster three times: House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and the classic comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and, sadly, in two of those three movies, he isn’t given much to do, spending most of the movie on his back on a lab table until being brought to life in the final reel for a lurch around the lab. That said, when it came time for Aroura to make their line of classic monster model kits, they based the Frankenstein’s Monster model on Glenn Strange and thus, for a generation of monster kids, Glenn Strange was the face of the Frankenstein Monster. Couple this with the fact that that Glenn Strange was the only actor who managed to look legitametley frightening in the Jack Peirce makeup (with the exception of Karloff in the original) and you have an iconic representation of Frankenstein’s creation.

2. Charles Ogle in Frankenstein (1910)

Speaking of men looking scary, it’s fitting that one of the first even monsters seen on film – Charles Ogle as Frankenstein’s Monster in the first ever Frankenstein movie – is to this day one of the best and scariest monsters ever filmed. Produced by the Edison company, Frankenstein may be the first horror movie ever made and it was considered lost for many years. Genre fans rejoyced, therefore, when a print was found and a DVD was released. Charles Ogle plays the Monster as a twisted and deformed conniver who delights in leering at his creator through the bed curtains (a scene which is still unsettling to this day) and is created in a vat of bubbling chemicals. Some brilliant special effects and a standout performance by Ogle make the Edison Frankenstein not merely a collector’s peice, but a genuine classic.

1. Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (1931)

Iconic is too small a word. One of those rare occasions when character and actor come together as one, Boris Karloff’s performance as the Monster in James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein is one of the greatest performances in cinema. Able to show an astounding variety of emotions through the gresepaint and collodion, Karloff’s performance works on so many levels. For a start, he looks bloody scary, like a walking corpse, but couple this with the tragedy and pathos and childlike innocence of his performance and it’s easy to see why Karloff, almost eighty years on, remains the definitive Frankenstein Monster. The makeup works so well with Karloff’s face that it’s easy to forget that this wasn’t what Karloff really looked like; the acting shown by the relatively unknown at the time Karloff is astonishing. Easily one of the best performances in the horror genre, and one that, despite being almost totally unlike the creature she had created, Mary Shelley would probably have been proud of.

In the foreword to the second edition of her novel “Frankenstein,” Mary Shelly told her creature to “go forth into the world and multiply.” Even she, however, couldn’t possibly have imagined the impact upon popular culture her creation would have. Say the name “Frankenstein” to almost anyone in the world and they will instantly know what you’re talking about. Give me your thoughts below and check back soon for the next installment in our never ending top ten countdowns. End transmission.

Tags: frankenstein, horror, monsters, movies, sci fi, Top Tens