Frankenstein in popular culture
Encyclopedia
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Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
's novel Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
have influenced popular culture for at least 100 years. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
.
Silent era
The first film adaptation of the tale, FrankensteinFrankenstein (1910 film)
Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley.It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr...
, was done by Edison Studios
Edison Studios
Edison Studios was an American motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films as the Edison Manufacturing Company and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. until the studio's closing in 1918...
in 1910, written and directed by J. Searle Dawley
J. Searle Dawley
J. Searle Dawley was an American director and screenwriter. He directed 149 films between 1907 and 1926. He was born in Del Norte, Colorado and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:...
, with Augustus Phillips
Augustus Phillips
Augustus Phillips , was an American actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1910 and 1921. Perhaps most notable is his appearance in J. Searle Dawley's 1910 production of "Frankenstein", playing Victor Frankenstein, as a young medical student...
as Frankenstein, Mary Fuerte as Elizabeth, and Charles Ogle
Charles Stanton Ogle
Charles Stanton Ogle was an American silent film actor.-Biography:Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Ogle first performed in live theatre, making his first appearance on Broadway in 1905. He embarked on a career in film with Edison Studios in The Bronx, New York in 1908, appearing in The Boston Tea Party...
as the Monster. The brief (16 min.) story has Frankenstein chemically create his creature in a vat. The monster haunts the scientist until Frankenstein's wedding night, when true love causes the creature to vanish. For many years, this film was believed lost. A collector announced in 1980 that he had acquired a print in the 1950s and had been unaware of its rarity.
The Edison version was followed soon after by another adaptation entitled Life Without Soul
Life Without Soul
Life Without Soul is a horror film, directed by Joseph W. Smiley and written by Jesse J. Goldburg. This film is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic novel Frankenstein. The film is about a doctor who creates a soulless man...
(1915), directed by Joseph W. Smiley, starring William A. Cohill as Dr. William Frawley, a modern-day Frankenstein who creates a soulless man, played to much critical praise by Percy Standing
Percy Standing
Percy Standing was an English film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 42 films between 1913 and 1934. He was the son of Herbert Standing...
, who wore little make-up in the role. The film was shot at various locations around the United States, and reputedly featured much spectacle. In the end, it turns out that a young man has dreamed the events of the film after falling asleep reading Mary Shelley's novel. This film is now considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
There was also at least one Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an film version, the Italian Il Mostro di Frankenstein ("The Monster of Frankenstein") in 1921. The film's producer Luciano Albertini essayed the role of Frankenstein, with the creature being played by Umberto Guarracino, and Eugenio Testa directing from a screenplay by Giovanni Drivetti. The film is also now considered a lost film.
Universal Pictures
- See also Universal MonstersUniversal MonstersUniversal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
The most famous adaptation of the story, 1931
1931 in film
-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
's Frankenstein
Frankenstein (1931 film)
Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
, was produced by Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, directed by James Whale
James Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
, and starred Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
as the monster. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
. Its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
(1935
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
), was also directed by Whale and is probably the most critically acclaimed of all the Universal horror films. It was followed by Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
in 1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
and The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein
The Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr...
in 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
. The latter film marked the series' descent into B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
territory; later efforts by Universal combined two or more monsters, culminating in the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's horror film stable...
. The Universal films in which The Monster appears (and the actors who played him) are:
- FrankensteinFrankenstein (1931 film)Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
(1931 - Boris Karloff) - Bride of FrankensteinBride of FrankensteinBride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
(1935 - Karloff) - Son of FrankensteinSon of FrankensteinSon of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
(1939 - Karloff) - The Ghost of FrankensteinThe Ghost of FrankensteinThe Ghost of Frankenstein, is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr...
(1942 - Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
) - Frankenstein Meets the Wolf ManFrankenstein Meets the Wolf ManFrankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American monster horror film produced by Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. This was the first of a series of "ensemble" monster films combining characters from several film...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
- Béla LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
, with Eddie ParkerEddie ParkerEddie Parker was a stuntman and actor who appeared in many classic films, mostly westerns and horror films...
, Gil PerkinsGil PerkinsGil Perkins was an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:As a teenager, Perkins was a trackman and an athlete. He ran away from home at a young age and joined the crew of a Norwegian cargo ship as a deck hand.-Early career:In his early adult life, he left for Hollywood...
, and a possible third stuntman often doubling) - House of FrankensteinHouse of Frankenstein (1944 film)House of Frankenstein is an American monster horror film produced in 1944 by Universal Studios as a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the previous year. This monster rally approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet...
(1944 - Glenn StrangeGlenn StrangeGlenn Strange was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western films. He is best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in three Universal films during the 1940s and for his role as Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series...
) - House of DraculaHouse of DraculaHouse of Dracula was an American horror film released by Universal Pictures Company in 1945. It was a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula and The Wolf Man...
(19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
- Strange) - Abbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's horror film stable...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
- Strange).
Hammer Films
In Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, a long-running series by Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
focused on the character of Dr. Frankenstein (usually played by Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
) rather than his monster. Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
played Dr. Frankenstein in all of the films except for Horror of Frankenstein in which the character was played by Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
. Cushing also played a creation in Revenge of Frankenstein. David Prowse
David Prowse
David Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
played two different Monsters.
The Hammer films are a series in the loosest sense, since there is only tenuous continuity between the films after the first two (which are carefully connected). Starting with The Evil of Frankenstein, the films are stand-alone stories with occasional vague references to previous films, much the way the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films form a series. In some of the films, the Baron is a kindly, even heroic figure, while in others he is ruthless and cruel, and clearly the villain of the piece.
The Hammer Films series (and the actor playing The Creature) consisted of:
- The Curse of Frankenstein (19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
- Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
) - The Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
(19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
- two Creatures: Michael GwynnMichael GwynnMichael Gwynn was an English actor. He attended Mayfield College near Mayfield, East Sussex. During the Second World War he served in East Africa as a major and was adjutant to the 2nd Battalion of the King's African Rifles.He is perhaps best remembered in contemporary culture as the shyster Lord...
and Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
) - The Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 British horror film made by Hammer Studio. Directed by Freddie Francis, the film stars Peter Cushing and New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston....
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
- Kiwi KingstonKiwi KingstonErnie "Kiwi" Kingston was a wrestler and film actor from New Zealand, relatively unknown, but still remembered for his role as the Karloff-like Frankenstein Monster in Hammer's The Evil of Frankenstein . He also appeared in the film Hysteria .-External links:*...
) - Frankenstein Created WomanFrankenstein Created WomanFrankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer Horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein and Susan Denberg as his new creation...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
- Susan DenbergSusan DenbergSusan Denberg is the stage name of an Austrian model and actress, born Dietlinde Zechner...
) - Frankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr...
(19691969 in filmThe year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
- Freddie JonesFreddie JonesFrederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
) - The Horror of FrankensteinThe Horror of FrankensteinThe Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster...
(19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
- David ProwseDavid ProwseDavid Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
) - Frankenstein and the Monster from HellFrankenstein and the Monster from HellFrankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, and David Prowse...
(19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
- David Prowse)
In 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot episode for a TV series to be called Tales of Frankenstein, in association with Columbia Pictures. Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring , born Alfred Pollack, was a German actor.-Biography:Diffring was born in Koblenz...
played the Baron, and Don Megowan
Don Megowan
-Career:Born in California USA, Megowan starred in the Sci-Fi movies: The Werewolf in the role of sheriff Jack Haines, and in The Creation of the Humanoids as a captain in the army who must stop the Humanoids....
his creation. Curt Siodmak directed. The series was scrapped, largely because of the two companies' disagreement over what the basic thrust of the series would be. Hammer wanted to do a series about Baron Frankenstein involved in various misadventures, while Columbia wanted a series of science fiction stories loosely based around the idea of science gone wrong. Though unshown at the time of its production, the episode is available on DVD from several sources.
Other films
Depictions of The Monster have varied widely, from mindless killing machines to the depiction of The Monster as a kind of tragic heroTragic hero
A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy. Tragic heroes appear in the dramatic works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Webster, Marston, Corneille, Racine, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Strindberg, and many other writers.-Aristotle's tragic hero:Aristotle...
(closest to the Shelley version in behavior) in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, The Bride, and Van Helsing. Throughout the Universal series, he evolves from the latter to the former.
Three films have depicted the genesis of the Frankenstein story in 1816: Gothic
Gothic (film)
Gothic is a 1986 film directed by Ken Russell. It starred Gabriel Byrne as Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy Bysshe Shelley, Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley and Timothy Spall as Dr John William Polidori...
directed by Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
(1986), Haunted Summer directed by Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer is a Czech-born film director and screenwriter.A significant figure in the Czech New Wave of the mid-1960s, Passer worked closely with Miloš Forman on many of his films, and directed his first feature in 1965...
(1988), and Remando al viento (English title: Rowing with the Wind) directed by Gonzalo Suárez
Gonzalo Suárez
Gonzalo Suárez Morilla is a Spanish writer, screenwriter and film director.-Career:In 1963 he published his first novel De cuerpo presente....
(1988). The opening scene of Bride of Frankenstein also dealt with this event.
1950s & 1960s
- 1957: American International PicturesAmerican International PicturesAmerican International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
(AIP) released the low-budget I Was a Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage FrankensteinI Was a Teenage Frankenstein is a film starring Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and Gary Conway released by American International Pictures in November 1957. It is the follow-up to AIP's box-office hit I Was a Teenage Werewolf released less than five months earlier...
in November 1957, a few months after their wildly successful I Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage WerewolfI Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
. In a desperate and vain attempt to be viewed as a great scientist, an unscrupulous professor creates a monster out of parts of teenagers killed in a car crash, then later directs his creation to kill a good-looking teenager to replace the monster's disfigured face. Whit BissellWhit BissellWhitner Nutting Bissell , better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.-Early life:Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at...
stars as Prof. Frankenstein, Gary ConwayGary ConwayGary Conway is an American actor and screenwriter.Conway was born Gareth Monello Carmody in Boston, Massachusetts. His most notable credits include a co-starring role with Gene Barry in the detective series Burke's Law from 1963-1965...
plays the creature. A follow-up, How to Make a MonsterHow to Make a Monster (1958 film)How to Make a Monster is a 1958 American horror film released by American International Pictures. The film is a follow-up to both I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. Like Teenage Frankenstein, a black & white film that switched to color for the final moments, How to Make a...
, was released in July 1958. This film featured actor Gary ConwayGary ConwayGary Conway is an American actor and screenwriter.Conway was born Gareth Monello Carmody in Boston, Massachusetts. His most notable credits include a co-starring role with Gene Barry in the detective series Burke's Law from 1963-1965...
as an actor playing the Teenage Frankenstein in a film.
- 1958: Another wildly differing adaptation is the 1958 film Frankenstein 1970Frankenstein 1970Frankenstein 1970 is a 1958 science fiction horror film, starring Boris Karloff and Don 'Red' Barry. This independent film was directed by Howard W. Koch, and its alternative titles were Frankenstein 1960 and Frankenstein 1975. Released on a low budget, the film was originally intended to be...
, which focuses on the themes of nuclear power, impotence, and the film industry. Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
stars as Dr. Frankenstein, who harvests the bodies of actors to create a clone of himself using his nuclear-powered laboratory. His intention is to have this clone carry on his genes into future generations.
- 1958: This year also brought the bizarre Frankenstein's DaughterFrankenstein's DaughterFrankenstein's Daughter was the third of four drive-in films crafted by producer Marc Frederic and director Richard E. Cunha in the late 1950s. In it, Victor Frankenstein's grandson repeats his grandfather's grisly experiments.-Plot:...
, in which modern descendant of Frankenstein Donald Murphy experiments with a Jekyll/Hyde type of serum before stitching together a grotesque female creature. John Ashley and Sandra Knight co-starred.
- 1961: Frankenstein, el Vampiro y Cia ("Frankenstein, the Vampire and Company") was a Mexican remake of Abbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's horror film stable...
.
- 1965: An extremely tangential adaptation is Ishirō HondaIshiro HondaIshirō Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese film director...
's 1965 tokusatsuTokusatsuis a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
kaijuKaijuis a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
film Frankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the World, released in Japan as , with Toho's official English title being Frankenstein vs. Baragon, is a kaiju film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd...
(Furankenshutain tai Chitei Kaijû Baragon), produced by Toho Company LtdTohois a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
. The film's prologue is set in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; the monster's heart is stolen by NazisNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
from the laboratory of Dr. Reisendorf in war-torn FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, and taken to Imperial JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Immortal, the heart survives the atomic bombing of HiroshimaHiroshimais the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and is eaten by a savage child survivor, and after discovered by scientists in Present Day Japan, he feeds on protein, eventually growing into a giant humanoid monster that breaks loose and battles the subterranean monster BaragonBaragonis a fictional Kaiju that was first featured in the 1965 Toho-produced film, Frankenstein Conquers the World. Baragon is a four-legged dinosaur with a horn on his head and large ears. His main weapon is a heat ray that he can fire from his mouth...
, which was destroying villages and devouring people and animals. There was also a sequel to this film (see below).
- 1965: Frankenstein Meets the Space MonsterFrankenstein Meets the Space MonsterFrankenstein Meets the Space Monster is a science fiction cult film, directed by Robert Gaffney and starring Marilyn Hanold, James Karen, and Lou Cutell. The film was released in Great Britain as Duel of the Space Monsters. It is also known as Frankenstein Meets the Space Men, Mars Attacks Puerto...
. Martians come to Earth to steal our women, with the goal of repopulating their planet. When they cause a NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
space craft to crash, the pilot (Captain Frank Saunders) becomes horribly disfigured. Becoming a "Frankenstein" like monster, it's up to him to save the women of Earth.
- 1966: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's DaughterJesse James Meets Frankenstein's DaughterJesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a low-budget western/horror hybrid film filmed in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James encounters the fictional granddaughter of the famous Dr. Frankenstein. The film was originally released as part of a...
. Director William BeaudineWilliam BeaudineWilliam Beaudine was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.-Early life and career:...
's Sci-Fi\Western contribution has what would actually be Frankenstein's granddaughter, Maria Frankenstein, cobbling a monster out of Jesse JamesJesse JamesJesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
' (John LuptonJohn LuptonJohn Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
) brawny partner-in-crime, Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder), after an ambush by the law. Frankenstein renames her creation IgorIgor (fictional character)Igor is the traditional stock character or cliché hunch-backed assistant or butler to many types of villain, such as Count Dracula or a mad scientist, familiar from many horror movies and horror movie parodies, the Frankenstein series and Van Helsing films in particular.-Origins:Dwight Frye's...
. Narda OnyxNarda OnyxNarda Onyx is an Estonian-born naturalized American film and television actress.Narda Onyx, at the age of eleven, escaped with her family through Soviet lines, and deceived her would-be German captors near the end of World War II...
plays Maria Frankenstein.
- 1966: War of the GargantuasWar of the GargantuasThe War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as , is a 1966 Kaiju film, sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers...
(Furankenshutain no Kaijû: Sanda tai Gaira), also directed by Honda, is a sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the WorldFrankenstein Conquers the World, released in Japan as , with Toho's official English title being Frankenstein vs. Baragon, is a kaiju film produced in 1965 by Toho Company Ltd...
(although this is obscured in the US version), with the Frankenstein Monster's severed cells growing into two giant humanoid brother monsters: Sanda (the Brown Gargantua), the strong and gentle monster raised by scientists in his youth, and Gaira (the Green Gargantua), the violent and savage monster who devours humans. The two monsters eventually battle each other in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
1970s & 1980s
- 1971: Dracula vs. FrankensteinDracula vs. FrankensteinDracula vs. Frankenstein is a 1971 horror film directed by Al Adamson.-Plot:A mad descendent of the original Dr. Frankenstein takes to murdering young women for experimentation in hopes to revive his ancestor's creation , with help from his mute assistant...
by Al AdamsonAl AdamsonAl Adamson was a prolific director of B-grade horror films throughout the 1960s and 1970s.After assisting his father, Victor Adamson, in making the 1963 movie Halfway to Hell, Adamson decided to work in the motion picture industry himself...
is an extremely low-budget horror thriller, starring aged film stars J. Carroll Naish and Lon Chaney Jr. In the film, Count Dracula (Zandor Vorkov) has the last living descendant of Frankenstein (Naish) revive his famous ancestor's creation (played by John Bloom).
- 1971: The Italian La Figlia di Frankenstein ("The Daughter of Frankenstein"), released in North America as Lady FrankensteinLady FrankensteinLady Frankenstein is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles. It stars Joseph Cotten, Rosalba Neri , Mickey Hargitay and Paul Müller...
. Joseph CottenJoseph CottenJoseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
plays Baron Frankenstein, who is killed by his creation early in the film. Sara BayRosalba NeriRosalba Neri , sometimes credited as Sara Bey or Sara Bay, is a retired Italian actress.-Biography:When she was very young, she won a beauty pageant and attended il Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia...
, as the Baron's daughter, creates her own creature from a handsome young man and the brain of her homely but brilliant lover (Paul Muller).
- 1972: Jesús FrancoJesús FrancoJesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
contributed Dracula Contra Frankenstein ("Dracula Vs. Frankenstein"), which hit the North American drive-in circuit as Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein. Baron Frankenstein (played by Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
revives Count Dracula (Howard VernonHoward VernonHoward Vernon was a Swiss actor.Vernon was born Mario Lippert to a Swiss father and an American mother and was fluent in German, English, and French...
) in order to enslave an army of vampires to help his monster (Fred Harrison) conquer the world.
- 1972: Franco followed up his Dracula/Frankenstein effort with The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (also known as The Curse of Frankenstein, but bearing no relation to the Hammer film). Here, Baron Frankenstein (Dennis Price again) is killed off early on by minions of the evil Count Cagliostro (Howard Vernon), who wants to use the monster in his plots to rule the world.
- 1972: Frankenstein 80Frankenstein 80Frankenstein 80 is a 1972 Italian film directed by Mario Mancini.The film is also known as Frankenstein '80 in Italy .- Plot summary :...
, a film by Mario Mancini, featured a modern-day scientist named Albrechtstein (Gordon Mitchell) creating a monster called Mosaico (Xiro Papas). Mosaico is driven to homicidal mania by lust, and by his body's constant rejection of its constituent parts. The ingenue was played by Dalila Di Lazzaro (under the pseudonym "Dalila Parker"), who later appeared as the female creation in 1973's Flesh for Frankenstein (see below).
- 1973: BlackensteinBlackensteinBlackenstein, also known as Black Frankenstein, is a 1973 blaxploitation horror film loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was made in an attempt to cash in on the success of Blacula, released the previous year by American International Pictures...
, a low-budget blaxploitationBlaxploitationBlaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film.
- 1973: Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's Flesh for Frankenstein has Udo KierUdo KierUdo Kier is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.-Early life:...
playing the Baron, a bizarre but brilliant scientist who creates a male and female zombie in hopes of breeding a superior race. Joe DallesandroJoe DallesandroJoseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
plays the handyman who attempts to thwart the Baron's mad dream, and Monique van Vooren is the Baron's nymphomaniac wife.
- 1973: Frankenstein: The True StoryFrankenstein: The True StoryFrankenstein: The True Story is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film loosely based on the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was directed by Jack Smight, and the screenplay was co-written by novelist Christopher Isherwood....
has Leonard WhitingLeonard WhitingLeonard Whiting is a British actor who starred as Romeo in the 1968 Zeffirelli film version of Romeo and Juliet opposite Olivia Hussey's Juliet, a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor....
as Victor Frankenstein and Michael SarrazinMichael SarrazinMichael Sarrazin was a Canadian film and television actor who found fame opposite Jane Fonda in the drama film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? .- Early life :...
playing the creature. This TV movie has a different take, borrowed from Hammer's The Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
. The creature starts out as a handsome man and turns hideous later on in the movie.
- 1976: Victor Frankenstein (a.k.a. The Terror of Frankenstein,) a fairly faithful version of the book, starred Leon Vitali as Frankenstein. Per Oscarson played the creature.
- 1981: Another Japanese version, this one animated, was Kyofu Densetsu: Kaiki! FurankenshutainKyofu Densetsu: Kaiki! Furankenshutain, is a 1981 Japanese animated television film based on Mary Shelly's novel and the Marvel comic book Monster of Frankenstein . In this 98-minute violent, adult-oriented film, the creature was portrayed as a misunderstood monster, who only wanted to be loved. The film was dubbed and released in the...
(called in the U.S. simply Frankenstein,) released in 1981.
- 1985: The BrideThe Bride (film)The Bride is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, released in 1985 and directed by Franc Roddam. The film stars Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein and Jennifer Beals as Eva, a woman he creates in the same fashion as his infamous monster....
was an adaptation directed by Franc RoddamFranc RoddamFrancis George "Franc" Roddam is an English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher. He is married to photographer, Leila Ansari, and has six children from previous marriages. He currently lives in London.-Career:Roddam's films include "Quadrophenia", "K2",...
. It stars Clancy BrownClancy BrownClarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
as the monster, with rocker Sting as Dr. Charles Frankenstein. The plot features the Monster wandering about Europe with a tragic circus midget (David RappaportDavid RappaportDavid Stephen Rappaport was an English actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film...
) while the Doctor himself engages in a PygmalionPygmalion (play)Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
-inspired relationship with a female creation, the eponymous monster's bride played by Jennifer BealsJennifer BealsJennifer Beals is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former...
. A love triangle between Doctor, Monster, and Bride provides the film's conflict.
- 1987: The Monster SquadThe Monster SquadThe Monster Squad is a comedy/horror film written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Fred Dekker . It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features the classic monsters , led by Count Dracula...
is a comedyComedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/horror filmHorror filmHorror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Fred DekkerFred DekkerFred Dekker is an American writer and director of the cult classic films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad . He contributed the story ideas for both House and Ricochet...
that was released by TriStar PicturesTriStar PicturesTriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
. The film features the reunion of a number of classic movie monsters, led by DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
and including Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein (1931 film)Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
(Tom NoonanTom NoonanTom Noonan is an American actor and film writer-director.-Early life:Noonan was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of Rosaleen and Tom Noonan, who worked as a dentist and jazz musician respectively...
), The Wolf Man, The MummyThe Mummy (1932 film)The Mummy is a 1932 horror film from Universal Studios directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest. The movie also features Zita Johann, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan...
, and The Gill ManCreature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
.
1990s & 2000s
- 1990: Frankenstein UnboundFrankenstein UnboundFrankenstein Unbound is a 1990 horror movie based on Brian Aldiss' novel of the same name. This film was directed by Roger Corman, returning to the director's chair after a hiatus of almost twenty years.- Cast :...
was a science fiction movie based on the novel by Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
and the last movie directed by Roger CormanRoger CormanRoger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
. In it, a scientist travels back in time to meet Victor Frankenstein (Raúl JuliáRaúl JuliáRaúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
) and his Creature, as well as Mary Shelley herself.
- 1992: Frankenstein. Directed and written by David Wickes, this Creature was not pieced together from body parts but a clone (of sorts) of Frankenstein himself, establishing a psychic bond between Creator (Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
) and Creature (Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
). A female creature was nearly created the same way, using Elizabeth (Fiona GilliesFiona GilliesFiona Gillies is a British actress who has appeared on television and the stage.She first appeared in the 1988 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles as Beryl Stapleton. A year later she appeared in the mini-series Mother Love....
) as the model.
- 1994: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was directed by Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
, who also portrayed Victor Frankenstein. It featured a star cast with Robert De NiroRobert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
as the monster, Tom HulceTom HulceThomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
as Henry, John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
as Professor Waldman, Helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as Elizabeth, and Aidan QuinnAidan Quinn-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
as Captain Robert Walton.
- 2004: Van HelsingVan Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
. This film was a reinvention of the famous Universal stable of monsters of the 1930s and 1940s. Shuler HensleyShuler Hensley-Early life:Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the...
plays the Monster who, contrary to usual practice, is directly referred to by the name Frankenstein in the film's publicity, but he is named mostly in the film as "the monster" or "the creature". The portrayal of the creature in this movie as intelligent, articulate, sympathetic, and as a hero who only wants to live, is somewhat close to the portrayal in the book. Physically, he is large and bulky, as opposed to his tall and thin portrayal in the classic films, and bears many physical features of Boris Karloff's portrayal, such as the bolted neck and flat head. He also has a visible brain and heart, which glow green and protected under glass casings, and a large engine in his left leg. He plays a vital role in the birth of DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
's numerous offspring, the combination of his 'father's' machine that gave him life in the first place and the use of himself as a power source allowing the numerous stillborn children Dracula has conceived with his brides over the centuries to be brought to life, requiring Van Helsing to kill Dracula himself in order to stop the children.
- 2005: Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood CoveFrankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood CoveFrankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove is a 2005 horror film written and directed by William Winckler. It is the second film from William Winckler Productions. Filmed in black and white, the movie is an homage to classic monster movies, harkening back to the days of Universal's "Monster...
. In this film, Frankenstein's monster is resurrected to fight terrorists along with a half-fish, half-man creature. However, the plan soon goes awry.
- 2006: Perfect Woman. This film, produced by Olympic Productions, is a modern spin on the tale. The plot follows a reality game show that is looking for the perfect woman to win the perfect man, played by Marcus SchenkenbergMarcus SchenkenbergMarcus Lodewijk Schenkenberg van Mierop better known as Marcus Schenkenberg, , is a Swedish model of Dutch and Indonesian descent. He was born in Solna and has dual citizenship of both Sweden and the Netherlands...
. Little do the girls know that the game show is a mask for an evil genius who is literally trying to make the perfect woman, using various body parts.
- 2006: Subject TwoSubject TwoSubject Two is a 2006 American film directed by Philip Chidel, starring Christian Oliver and Dean StapletonThe plot revolves around Adam a medical student who is lured to a cabin far from civilization wherein he volunteers to be repeatedly killed and reanimated by Dr. Franklin Vick, with use of a...
. This film, written and directed by Philip Chidel, has a modern nanotechnology spin on the tale. The plot follows a disillusioned medical student's journey to a remote snowbound mountain location where he is met by Dr. Vic.
- 2009: Army of Frankenstein, This film is directed by Richard Raaphorst, the story tells over a fight in the year 1945 between Polish and German Borderlines at the end of the Second World War.
- 2011: "Frankenstein's Wedding - Live in Leeds" - Broadcast live on BBC3, this adaptation used the romance between Victor and Elizabeth as a basis for a music drama portraying the rest of the story and was filmed live on the 19th of March 2011 at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds. The drama used popular music, such as "Wires" by Athlete, sung by Andrew Gower, portraying the Scientist, Frankenstein. Other members of the cast included Lacey Turner as Elizabeth "Liz" Lavenza and David Harewood as the Creature.
Parodies and Satires
- In the 1964 cartoon Dr. Devil and Mr. HareDr. Devil and Mr. HareDr. Devil and Mr. Hare is a Warner Bros., Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released on March 28, 1964, starring Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil. It was directed by Robert McKimson. It was produced by David H. DePatie. The cartoon was animated by Ted Bonnicksen, Warren Batchelder, and...
, Frankenstein beats up both Tasmanian DevilTasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes)The Tasmanian Devil, often referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons. The character appeared in only five shorts before Warner Bros...
and Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
.
- A 1965-1968 cartoon featured over-nice Milton the MonsterMilton the MonsterMilton the Monster, also called The Milton the Monster Show was an American animated cartoon TV series that ran on ABC from October 9, 1965, to September 7, 1968...
and "Fangenstein"
- In a 1968 episode of The InspectorThe InspectorThe Inspector is a series of 1960s theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The titular character is based on Jacques Clouseau, a comical French police officer who is the main character in the Pink Panther series of films.-Plot:Although the...
entitled "Transylvania Mania," a smart Dracula-like character and a stupid Frankenstein-like creature try to steal The Inspector's brain to put it in a new creature the vampire is building.
- The 1970 cartoon Groovie GooliesGroovie GooliesGroovie Goolies is an American animated television show that had its original run on network television between 1970 and 1972. Produced by Filmation, Groovie Goolies was a spinoff of Sabrina the Teenage Witch...
featured Franky, a friendly version of the Monster.
- The Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
and Gene WilderGene WilderGene Wilder is an American stage and screen actor, director, screenwriter, and author.Wilder began his career on stage, making his screen debut in the film Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. His first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers...
comedy Young FrankensteinYoung FrankensteinYoung Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard...
(1974) borrows heavily from the first three Universal Frankenstein films, especially Son of FrankensteinSon of FrankensteinSon of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
. The production used many of James Whale's original laboratory set pieces and employed the technical contributions of their original creator, Kenneth StrickfadenKenneth StrickfadenKen Strickfaden, short for Kenneth Strickfaden was an electrician, film set designer, and electrical special effects creator...
. In this film, Wilder portrayed Dr. Frankenstein's supposed grandson, Frederick, and the monster was played by Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
. A Turkish remake, Sevimli Frankestayn was released in 1975. Brooks later adapted his film for musical theater. The musical Young FrankensteinYoung Frankenstein (musical)Young Frankenstein, officially known as The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. It is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Brooks and Gene Wilder and directed by Brooks, who has...
opened on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in November 2007.
- The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
(1975) was a musical parody of the story. In this twisted comedic tale, Dr. Frank N. Furter creates a creature for his own pleasure (named 'Rocky') and finds he cannot control the creature's lust.
- Phantom of the ParadisePhantom of the ParadisePhantom of the Paradise is a 1974 musical film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The story is a loosely adapted mixture of The Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Faust and also briefly references Frankenstein and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari...
(1975) used a Frankenstein's monster motif for the two songs, 'Somebody Super like You', when they cut off the limbs of victims and begin to create their man (Beef) of perfection, and 'Life at Last', when the man is brought to life via lightning and sings mainly about finding a woman.
- TommyTommy (film)Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
(1975) had Sally Simpson marrying a green-tinged Frankenstein's monster teenage rock musician.
- The 1980s cartoon Drak PackDrak PackDrak Pack was an animated television series. It aired in the United States on CBS Saturday Morning between September 6, 1980 and September 12, 1982. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera's Australian subsidiary, listed in the credits as "Hanna-Barbera Pty. Ltd"...
featured Frankie, a descendant of the Monster who could assume his form as a superhero guise.
- The 1982 young adult novel "Frank and Stien and Me" by Kin PlattKin PlattKin Platt was an American writer-artist best known for penning radio comedy and animated TV series, as well as children's mystery novels, for one of which he received the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award....
has the protagonist meet the strange Dr. Stein and his hulking creature Frank while on the run from smugglers. In the novel Frank is described as an accident victim that Dr Stein has saved from death and rebuilt. The book features a running joke with Stein being confused by references to Frankenstein, being unfamiliar with the story.
- The stars of the 1985 teen comedy Weird ScienceWeird Science (film)Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
are inspired by the original Universal film to create an idealistic girlfriend.
- FrankenhookerFrankenhookerFrankenhooker is an American black comedy horror film that was released in 1990. Very loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the film was directed by Frank Henenlotter and stars James Lorinz as medical school drop-out Jeffrey Franken and former Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen as the...
(1990) is a parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the Universal films in which "Jeffrey Franken" gathers body parts from various streetwalkers in order to build the "perfect" woman. This same concept was borrowed for 2006's Perfect Woman (mentioned above).
- Frankencelery appears in Where's God When I'm S-Scared?Where's God When I'm S-Scared?Where's God When I'm S-Scared? is the first episode of the Christian animated series VeggieTales. It was initially released in December 1993 directly by Big Idea based on a "burn-on-demand"-like service, the first tapes being shipped out on December 21 , and was released on DVD February 10, 2004...
, the 1993 debut episode of the ChristianChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
children's series VeggieTalesVeggieTalesVeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
. The star of Tales from the Crisper calms Junior Aasparagus with the message that he's a harmless actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
named Phil Winklestein, from Toledo, OhioToledo, OhioToledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
- The Tim BurtonTim BurtonTimothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
films Frankenweenie and Edward ScissorhandsEdward ScissorhandsEdward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
bear many references to the Frankenstein story.
- A 2001 short film called Frankenthumb, directed by Steve Oedekerk, a parody of the James Whale 1931 film told with thumbs with superimposed faces and elaborate miniature sets.
- One of the Garbage Pail KidsGarbage Pail KidsGarbage Pail Kids , "La Pandilla Basura" or "Basuritas" in Latin America, "Gang do Lixo" in Brazil, "Sgorbions" in Italy, "Les Crados" in France and "Die total kaputten Kids" in Germany) is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody...
was a Frankenstein-like character whose name was, appropriately, "Frank N. Stein" (his alternate name was "Undead Jed").
- Return of the Killer TomatoesReturn of the Killer TomatoesReturn of the Killer Tomatoes! was the first sequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.-Synopsis:Set twenty five years after the events of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes , the basic plotline is that after the events of the first film...
(1988) includes a scene in which the lead character is watching a movie called Frankenstein's Mummy (as a spoof of the 1930s sequel titles) on nighttime television. Return also features a character named Igor who parodies the "hunchbacked assistant" cliche upon his first appearance in the film.
- Frank EnsteinFrank EnsteinFrank Enstein is a 50-minute 1993 direct-to-video cartoon utilizing digital ink and paint, produced by Burbank Animation Studios and marketed on VHS and later DVD through Strand Home Video, Koch video, and Timeless Media's Timeless Tales brand.-Plot:The story is a retelling of Frankenstein which...
(1992) is a direct-to-video children's film about a robot named "Frank Enstein" who goes on an adventure.
Television derivatives
The Frankenstein story and its elements have been adapted many times for television:- The anthology series Tales of TomorrowTales of TomorrowTales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others...
(1951–1953) featured a half-hour adaptation starring Lon Chaney Jr. as an atomically-animated monster. - Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
reprised his role wearing the Frankenstein monster makeup in a 1962 episode of Route 66Route 66 (TV series)Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
entitled Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing for Halloween. Also appearing in the episode were Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
as both the Wolf Man and The MummyThe Mummy (1932 film)The Mummy is a 1932 horror film from Universal Studios directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest. The movie also features Zita Johann, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan...
and Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
. - Universal produced a television sitcom from 1964 to 1966 for CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
entitled The MunstersThe MunstersThe Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
with Fred GwynneFred GwynneFrederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
as Herman MunsterHerman MunsterHerman Munster, 5th Earl of Shroudshire, is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is an entity much like Frankenstein's monster along with Lurch on the show's competitor The Addams Family.Due to the...
, a character physically resembling the Universal's cinematic depiction of Frankenstein's monster, who was the patriarch of a family of kindly monsters. The rest of the family included a grandfather resembling the Universal Dracula (who may actually be Dracula), a wife that resembles "The Bride of Frankenstein"Lily MunsterLily Munster, Countess of Shroudshire , is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is an undead vampire. Her character resembles Vampira...
, and a werewolf sonEddie MunsterEdward Wolfgang "Eddie" Munster is a fictional character on the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Butch Patrick. The only child of Herman and Lily Munster, Eddie is a werewolf...
. The Munsters' house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane can still be seen on the Universal Studios' backlot tour at Universal StudiosUniversal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
in Universal CityUniversal City, CaliforniaUniversal City is a community in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, that encompasses the 415 acre property of Universal Studios...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. - The 1965 Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial The ChaseThe Chase (Doctor Who)The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
features a sequence set in what appears to be a mysterious old house where various horror film monsters, including Frankenstein's monster, menace first the Doctor and his companionsCompanion (Doctor Who)In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
and later the Daleks. The house is subsequently revealed to be a Haunted House exhibit at an event entitled the "Festival of GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, 1996" - Milton the MonsterMilton the MonsterMilton the Monster, also called The Milton the Monster Show was an American animated cartoon TV series that ran on ABC from October 9, 1965, to September 7, 1968...
(1965–1967) was a cartoon character developed shortly after The Munsters about a kind-hearted Frankenstein monster who famously "flipped his lid" (emitted steam like a whale's blowhole) when angered, and who was constantly nearly kicked out of the lab by his scheming creator. - The Gothic TV drama Dark ShadowsDark ShadowsDark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
featured a plotline running from April 1968 until December 1968 in which an artificial man named Adam is stitched together from corpses and reanimated using the life force of vampire Barnabas CollinsBarnabas CollinsBarnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
. - The 1968 BBC-TV series Mystery and ImaginationMystery and ImaginationMystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and...
featured an adaptation starring Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as both Frankenstein and his creation. - A 1973 Universal production, Frankenstein: The True StoryFrankenstein: The True StoryFrankenstein: The True Story is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film loosely based on the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was directed by Jack Smight, and the screenplay was co-written by novelist Christopher Isherwood....
was more an amalgamation of various concepts from previous films than a direct adaptation of the novel. It starred Leonard WhitingLeonard WhitingLeonard Whiting is a British actor who starred as Romeo in the 1968 Zeffirelli film version of Romeo and Juliet opposite Olivia Hussey's Juliet, a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actor....
as Frankenstein and Michael SarrazinMichael SarrazinMichael Sarrazin was a Canadian film and television actor who found fame opposite Jane Fonda in the drama film They Shoot Horses, Don't They? .- Early life :...
as the Creature, with a star supporting cast including James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, David McCallumDavid McCallumDavid Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Agnes MooreheadAgnes MooreheadAgnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
, and Jane SeymourJane Seymour (actress)Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
. - Dan CurtisDan CurtisDan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
' 1973 adaptation had Robert FoxworthRobert FoxworthRobert Heath Foxworth is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life and career:Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth , a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor...
as Frankenstein and Bo SvensonBo SvensonBo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:...
as the Creature. - In an episode of Fantasy IslandFantasy IslandFantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, Dr. Anne Frankenstein, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, visits the island to try to find out about her ancestor. A being created by the elder scientist appears, and Anne is determined to take the being with her, naively believing it will be treated with proper care in the 1980s. - A 1976 Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial, The Brain of MorbiusThe Brain of MorbiusThe Brain of Morbius is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1976...
, has a Time Lord criminal body brought back to life by a mad scientist, using the Time Lord's brain and a body composed of various alien races who had crashed onto the planet where Morbius' brain had been stored since his defeat. - A 1979 series starring Jack Elam as a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein called "Struck by LightningStruck by Lightning (TV series)Struck by Lightning was a 1979 American television sitcom about Frankenstein's monster, which aired on CBS.Like Working Stiffs, another 1979 CBS sitcom, this show was canceled after only three episodes were aired in the United States, although all completed episodes did end up being shown in...
." - In an episode of The Superfriends, the Superfriends battle Dr. Victor Frankenstein and two of his monsters, one with all of the powers of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
- A 1984 BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
version starring Robert PowellRobert PowellRobert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
as Victor, David WarnerDavid Warner (actor)David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
as his creature, and Carrie FisherCarrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
as the doomed Elizabeth. - A 1992 production for the AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TNT cable network, with Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
as Victor and Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
as his hapless creation. - "Frankenbone", a 1996 episode of the children's show WishboneWishbone (TV series)Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas...
had an adaptation of the Shelley story with the canine star in the role of Victor and Matthew Tompkins as the Monster. - The 1996-98 Fox KidsFox KidsFox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
series Big Bad BeetleborgsBig Bad BeetleborgsBig Bad Beetleborgs is an American television series produced by Saban Entertainment. It aired for two seasons on Fox Kids between September 7, 1996 and March 2, 1998. Reruns later aired on UPN Kids during 1998-1999...
(later Beetleborgs Metallix) featured a "hulking stitched-up" character named Frankenbeans, "brought to life" by David Fletcher. The zany character owes a great debt to Herman MunsterHerman MunsterHerman Munster, 5th Earl of Shroudshire, is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is an entity much like Frankenstein's monster along with Lurch on the show's competitor The Addams Family.Due to the...
and Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
in Young FrankensteinYoung FrankensteinYoung Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard...
. Strangely, the character is celebrated every year on the Thursday before the last Friday of October on a day called Frankenbeans Thursday. - A 2004 production titled FrankensteinFrankenstein (2004 film)Frankenstein is a 2004 made-for-television USA Network production starring Thomas Kretschmann as Victor Helios and Vincent Pérez as his creature. It was produced by Martin Scorsese and based on Dean Koontz's version of Frankenstein...
for the American USA NetworkUSA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
starred Thomas KretschmannThomas KretschmannThomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
as Victor and Vincent PérezVincent PérezVincent Pérez is a Swiss-born French speaking actor and director. He is best known internationally for playing the title character Ashe Corven in The Crow: City of Angels, and for starring in Queen of the Damned, playing Marius de Romanus...
as his original creature, named "DeucalionDeucalionIn Greek mythology Deucalion was a son of Prometheus and Pronoia. The anger of Zeus was ignited by the hubris of the Pelasgians, and he decided to put an end to the Bronze Age. Lycaon, the king of Arcadia, had sacrificed a boy to Zeus, who was appalled by this savage offering...
" (because he was the "son" of the "Modern PrometheusPrometheusIn Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
". It was not a direct adaptation but a postmodernPostmodernismPostmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
gothicGothic fictionGothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
reinvention set in present-day New Orleans. - As played by Phil HartmanPhil HartmanPhilip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
, The Monster was also a popular recurring comedic character on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the early 1990s, often delivering the line, "Fire bad!" - The Monster was a recurring character on "Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
" (played by Brian StackBrian StackBrian Stack is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and currently on O'Brien's newest show, Conan on TBS.-Early...
,) mainly in the segment "Frankenstein Wastes a Minute of Our Time" and as a Jewish character. - Buffy the Vampire SlayerBuffy SummersBuffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
has also faced "Frankensteinian" creations. In the season two episode "Some Assembly Required, the creation was Darryl Epps, a reanimated high school jock whose brother reanimated him after an accident, but after his brother refused to complete a project to create a bride for him as the rapid decay rate of brain tissue would have required him to actually kill someone, Darryl allowed himself to die in a fire rather than have to live alone. The season four Big BadBig BadBig Bad is a term originally used by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief villain or antagonist in a particular broadcast season...
was Adam, a conglomeration of robot, human, and demon parts created by a government scientist in charge of a demon research facility who rebelled against his creator and tried to create a new society of creatures like him before he was destroyed. - A season five episode of The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, "The Post-Modern PrometheusThe Post-Modern Prometheus"The Post-Modern Prometheus" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter and aired in the United States on November 30, 1997 on the Fox network...
", retold the Frankenstein legend updated with genetic engineering technology. The episode, the only one of the series filmed exclusively in black and white, was inspired by the film adaptations of the legend; the creature, shunned by the mad scientist who created him, seeks a mate in a small town. - The AnimaniacsAnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
episode Phranken-Runt, featuring Rita and Runt parodied both the overall FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
plot and elements of The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
. - In the Histeria!Histeria!Histeria! is a 1998 American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, Histeria! stood out as the most explicit edutainment program in order to meet FCC requirements for...
episode "Super Writers", at the end of a sketch about Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
publishing "The RavenThe Raven"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
", Mary Shelley appears (portrayed by Charity Bazaar dressed as the Bride of FrankensteinBride of FrankensteinBride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
) to pitch the book to Sammy Melman. - The Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (United States)Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
show Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
featured a Frankenstein parody character called "Frank Enstein". - Frankenstein's monster was one of the monster trio from various skits on The Electric Company, portrayed by Skip Hinnant.
- "Dr. What's-his-name," an episode of the 1975 live-action series The Ghost BustersThe Ghost BustersThe Ghost Busters was a live-action children's television series that ran from 1975, about a team of bumbling detectives who would investigate ghostly occurrences. Only 15 episodes were created....
, features a long-suffering Doctor Frankenstein whose goal is to make his gigantic, childlike Creature more obedient with the brain of "the world's most gullible fool". Spenser (Larry StorchLarry StorchLawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr...
), of course, is the world's most gullible fool... - In the 1994 animated television series Monster ForceMonster ForceMonster Force was a 13-episode animated television series created in 1994 by Universal Cartoon Studios and Canadian studio Lacewood Productions. The story is set in approx. 2020 and centers on a group of teenagers who, with help of high tech weaponry, fight off against classic Universal Monsters...
, Frankenstein's monster alias "Frankenstein" or "the Monster" becomes humanity's ally in a desperate fight against evil Creatures of the Night. - The children's animated series ArthurArthur (TV series)Arthur is an American/Canadian animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group and WGBH for the Public Broadcasting Service...
has an episode depicting a reenactment of the night the novel was created. Titled Fernkenstein's Monster, it was described as: "Inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Fern tells a tale so scary that Arthur and the gang become afraid of her. Can Fern prove her skills as a writer and create a different story that's fun instead of frightening?" - The 2000 animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series Argento SomaArgento Somais a 25-episode anime TV series that aired on TV Tokyo from October 6, 2000, to March 22, 2001.Episode 26, , was released direct-to-video.- Plot :...
draws a large amount of inspiration from Frankenstein. The show's plotline revolves around an ambitious scientist assembling a giant silver creature from scattered components. The giant (aptly nicknamed "Frank") possesses a tender and compassionate nature but has a bizarre and hideous exterior and the potential to inflict death and destruction. - The Duck DodgersDuck Dodgers (TV series)Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series, based on the classic cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005. The series aired on Cartoon Network and starred Daffy Duck as the titular character...
episode "Castle High" revolved around the main characterDaffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
explaining to I.Q. High what had happened to his castle, the flashback based on the story. - One of Arale's classmates in Dr. Slump was named Monsuta (aka Frank).
- In DragonballDragon Ballis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
, young Goku befriends a cyborg named Number 8 (whom he nicknames Ha-chan) who was similar in appearance to Frankenstein's monster. - An episode of Goof TroopGoof TroopDisney's Goof Troop is an American animated television series from The Walt Disney Company featuring Goofy as a father figure and bonding with his son Max.-Premise:...
had a spoof called "Frankengoof"; despite the title, the monster is a mirror image of Black Pete. - An episode of Darkwing DuckDarkwing DuckDarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...
had a spoof called "Steerminator" in which dead supervillian Taurus Bulba is rebuilt into a cyborg. - An episode of The Catillac CatsThe Catillac CatsThe Catillac Cats is the name of an animated series made in 1984 by DiC. The Catillac Cats formed the second half of each episode of the animated series Heathcliff.-The Gang:...
has Riff Raf as a mad scientist about to be beaten up by Mungo/Frankenstein - The Moosylvania episode of Rocky and His FriendsThe Rocky and Bullwinkle ShowThe Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
showed Boris and Natasha attempting to pass off some small Western town as Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
...and the Capitol BuildingUnited States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
is topped off with a statue of the Frankenstein Monster! - In the Scooby-DooScooby-DooScooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
television movieTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul SchoolScooby-Doo and the Ghoul SchoolScooby-Doo and the Ghoul School is a 1988 TV-movie produced for syndication by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Superstars 10 film package.-Plot:...
, ScoobyScooby-Doo (character)Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and the protagonist in the Scooby-Doo animated television series created by the popular American animation company Hanna-Barbera...
, ShaggyShaggy RogersNorville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character from the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only...
, and Scrappy-DooScrappy-DooScrappy Cornelius Doo is a fictional Great Dane puppy created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1979 as the nephew of Hanna-Barbera cartoon star Scooby-Doo. Scrappy has appeared in a number of the various incarnations of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series. Lennie Weinrib provided his voice for one season...
meet the daughters of several monsters at "Miss Grimwood's School for Girls". One of the 'girl ghouls' (as they are called in the movie) is named Elsa Frankenteen, her father being Frankenteen Sr. Frankenteen Sr. is, as an adult male, the best representation, with daughter more closely resembling Elsa LanchesterElsa LanchesterElsa Sullivan Lanchester was an English-American character actress with a long career in theatre, film and television....
's interpretation of the Bride of Frankenstein. 'Frankenteen' is also a portmanteau of 'Frankenstein' and 'teen' because Elsa is a teenager. - There were two instances where the concept of Frankenstein's monster was used in the Super SentaiSuper SentaiThe is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
and Power RangersPower RangersPower Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
series. In Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, the monster Dora Frank was an obvious nod to the monster, as well as its Mighty Morphin Power RangersMighty Morphin Power RangersMighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
counterpart, which was simply referred to as the "Frankenstein Monster". Then in Mahou Sentai MagirangerMahou Sentai Magiranger, is Toei Company's twenty-ninth production of the Super Sentai television series. The action footage was used in Power Rangers Mystic Force and both shows had scenes simultaneously shot in New Zealand...
one of the main villains, Victory General Branken, was inspired by Frankenstein's Monster. Branken's Power Rangers: Mystic ForcePower Rangers: Mystic ForcePower Rangers Mystic Force is an American television series, and is part of the Power Rangers franchise. As with all Power Rangers series, the show is adapted from a series in the long-running Japanese tokusatsu franchise, Super Sentai...
counterpart was Morticon. - In the series Kamen Rider KivaKamen Rider Kivais the title of the 2008 Kamen Rider Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It premiered on January 27, 2008, following the finale of Kamen Rider Den-O. It aired as a part of TV Asahi's 2008 Super Hero Time block with Engine Sentai Go-onger...
, Dogga's race, the Franken, are an obvious nod to the monster, along with Kiva's Dogga form. - An episode of SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
called "Frankendoodle" involves SpongeBob using a human artist's "magic pencil" to create a living, evil doodle of himself. - In the Halloween special of another NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
series, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy GeniusThe Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy GeniusThe Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, often shortened to just Jimmy Neutron, is an American animated television series, and spin-off of the Academy Award-nominated computer-animated movie, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The series first officially aired on July 20, 2002, on Nickelodeon...
, Jimmy's father, Hugh, mistakes an invention for a game he calls "Name that Monster" and is transformed into a Frankenstein's monster-like being. - In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
2003 installment of the Treehouse of Horror series, Treehouse of Horror XIVTreehouse of Horror XIV"Treehouse of Horror XIV" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season and originally aired on November 2, 2003. In the fourteenth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer takes on the role of the Grim Reaper , Professor Frink creates a Frankenstein-version of his deceased father and...
, there is a segment entitled "Frinkenstein", whereby Professor FrinkProfessor FrinkProfessor John Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr., or simply Professor Frink, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money". Frink is Springfield's nerdy scientist and professor and is extremely...
uses his universal multi-tool to resurrect his dead father, who then goes on a rampage stealing organs from others until his son is forced to kill him.In Treehouse of Horror XVIIITreehouse of Horror XVIII"Treehouse of Horror XVIII" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season and was first broadcast on November 4, 2007. In the eighteenth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Bart harbors Kodos the alien in "E.T. Go Home," Homer and Marge are husband and wife assassins who try to take each...
, BartBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
wears a costumeHalloween costumeHalloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...
resembling the monster.In Treehouse of Horror XXTreehouse of Horror XX"Treehouse of Horror XX" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. The episode first aired on October 18, 2009 on Fox. This is the twentieth "Treehouse of Horror" installment, containing three self-contained stories: In "Dial 'M' for Murder or Press '#' to Return to Main Menu,"...
he appears as one of the monsters at HomerHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and MargeMarge SimpsonMarjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
`s HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
party and in Treehouse of Horror XXITreehouse of Horror XXI"Treehouse of Horror XXI" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 2010...
as the monster FrinkProfessor FrinkProfessor John Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr., or simply Professor Frink, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money". Frink is Springfield's nerdy scientist and professor and is extremely...
created in his lab. Also in Treehouse of Horror IIITreehouse of Horror III"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1992. In the third annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer buys Bart an evil talking Krusty doll, King Homer is captured by Mr. Burns, and Bart...
Lewis is wearing a Halloween costumeHalloween costumeHalloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...
of the monster at the HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
party with Bart and LisaLisa SimpsonLisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
. - A villainous alien from Ben 10Ben 10The Omnitrix was originally created by a Galvan named Azmuth. The Omnitrix was intended to allow beings to experience life as other species in order to bring understanding and foster peace in the universe....
named Doctor Vicktor resembles the Frankenstein's monster, as well as the copy of him in the Omnitrix - In the original TransformersThe Transformers (TV series)The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
episode "Autobot Spike", Sparkplug Witwicky creates an Autobot using mismatched robot parts that he names Autobot X, but the robot is a mindless monster and goes berserk. Later, Spike Witwicky is injured and his consciousness is transferred to the giant robot body. Spike makes several direct references to the invention as a "robot Frankenstein monster". - Also, the character of Rampage in the Transformers: Beast WarsTransformers: Beast WarsTransformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
series has a great many similarities to Frankenstein's monster, especially his origins as a product of science gone horribly wrong; the main differences are his status as an irredeemable psychopath and that his body wasn't created by piecing others together. In a later episode, Megatron's cloning of Dinobot bears a strong resemblance to the creation of the monster. - In an episode of Time Warp TrioTime Warp Trio (TV series)Time Warp Trio is an animated television series, based on the children's book series written by Jon Scieszka. Produced by Soup2Nuts in association with WGBH Boston, the show airs on Discovery Kids in the United States and on CBBC in the United Kingdom...
entitled Nightmare on Joe's Street, Mary Shelley accidentally draws her first impression of the monster in The Book, causing her dream to become a reality. This render of the monster is seen with patchwork-colored skin, signifying his construction from various corpse parts. - In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games. It was originally broadcast via first-run syndication to mostly independent or Fox television stations from September 4, 1989, to December 1, 1989, with...
episode "Koopenstein," Bowser (under the guise of Dr. Koopenstein) plans to use Mario and Luigi's brains for a robotic Koopa Troopa he has made, but through the result of a horrific accident, he mutates into a Frankenstein's Monster-esque version of himself and proceeds to rampage through a nearby village. A live action segment from another episode features Mario and Luigi meeting Dr. Frankenstein (played by Jim WardJim Ward (voice actor)James Kevin "Jim" Ward is a voice actor who has contributed to a large number of video games and movies. He co-hosts The Stephanie Miller Show, a nationally-syndicated liberal radio talk show which features a number of his impersonations of political figures and other celebrities and newsmakers...
) and his monster, where a laboratory mishap causes Mario's brain to be switched with the monster's. - In a 15-minute episode of Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (TV series)Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series is an American animated series produced by DIC Entertainment with the partnership of Sega of America and was based on the Sonic the...
, Rotor the Walrus, assisted by Antione, creates a robot named Ro-Becca. Antoine accidentally activates Ro-Becca and she falls in love with him. - Two segments from BraingamesBraingamesBraingames was an educational program shown on HBO in the mid-1980s. It was a half-hour program consisting of brain-teasing animated skits designed to make the viewers think.-Episodes:...
showed Frankenstein. One was "Splatnarnt", in which two scientists assembling a Frankenstein-like monster using interior body parts whose names were scrambled; the idea was for the viewer to unscramble the names. The other was "Whosamawhatchamacallits", in which Frankenstein was the last character portrayed in the game. - An animated segment on Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
showed a mad doctor bringing to life a Frankenstein-like monster that was actually a capital letter HHH .) is the eighth letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The Semitic letter ⟨ח⟩ most likely represented the voiceless pharyngeal fricative . The form of the letter probably stood for a fence or posts....
. - The regeneration sequence of the seventh DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, Sylvester McCoySylvester McCoySylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
, into the eighth incarnation, Paul McGannPaul McGannPaul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
, in the 1996 TV movie Doctor Who is set in a hospital morgue. The night attendant at the morgue is watching the 1931 FrankensteinFrankenstein (1931 film)Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...
in the next room, and scenes in which the monster is brought to life are intercut with images of the Doctor's "resurrection", his appearance out of the storage room then causing the attendant to pass out. - Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster appeared in Mad Monster Party and Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinAlvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinAlvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein is a 1999 animated horror-themed direct-to-video film, produced by Bagdasarian Productions and Universal Animation Studios, distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and based on characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks...
. Frankenstein's Monster appeared in Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant WerewolfScooby-Doo and the Reluctant WerewolfScooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf is a 1988 animated movie for television produced by Hanna-Barbera. It was the last to air as part of the Superstars 10 series...
, Monster MashMonster Mash (1995 film)Monster Mash is a horror-themed musical film, based on the Bobby "Boris" Pickett song Monster Mash and the 1967 stage musical, I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night, also by Pickett and Sheldon Allman. The film starred Pickett himself as Dr...
, and WaxworkWaxwork (1988 film)Waxwork is a 1988 horror comedy film starring Zach Galligan and Deborah Foreman.-Plot:In a small suburban town a wax museum appears, seemingly overnight. The owner invites two college students, Sarah and China, to attend that night with four more guests of their choice...
. - An ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
modern adaptation simply titled FrankensteinFrankenstein (2007 film)Frankenstein is a 2007 British television film produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV. It was written and directed by Jed Mercurio, adapted from Mary Shelley's original novel to a present-day setting. Dr...
was aired on 24 October 2007, where a mother uses lab equipment to try to create a "body of organs" for her dying eight year old son. - The fifth season episode of Highlander: The SeriesHighlander: The SeriesHighlander: The Series is a fantasy-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the Highlander. It was an offshoot and another alternate sequel of the 1986 feature film with a twist: Connor MacLeod did not win the prize and Immortals still exist post-1985...
titled The Modern Prometheus has Mary Shelley draw her inspiration from two immortals battling during the long winter in the Swiss Alps. Upon seeing Byron (in the series secretly an Immortal) restored to life by lightning, she asks Methos why her child rots in her grave while Byron simply gets up and walks away. Methos admonishes her to pity their kind, for life can go on when it should not. The isolation he describes enables Shelley to write her classic. - Two animated segments from Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
teaching basic geography were hosted by Dr. Geo and his Frankenstein-like unnamed assistant who would mimic everything Geo said behind his back. One segment talked about the concept of a globe and the other about mountains. - In a season 3 episode of the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series ChuckChuck (TV series)Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
, Chuck refers to John Casey as "Trank-enstein," due to the NSA colonel's love of weaponry (in this case, tranquilizer darts) and typical brutish mannerisms. - In the Adult SwimAdult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
animated series MinoriteamMinoriteamMinoriteam is an animated television series on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The pilot episode premiered on November 6, 2005...
, the title characters frequently fought an opponent named Racist Frankenstein. - In the animated series "Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles" a boy scientist Buzz Conroy and his father Professor Conroy fight supervillains with the aid of a powerful heroic robot named "Frankenstein Jr." who is like a mix between "GigantorGigantorGigantor is an American adaptation of the anime version of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on U.S. television in 1964. As with Speed Racer, the characters' original names were altered and the original series' violence was toned down for American viewers...
" and Frankenstein. - Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein are the father and mother of Frankie Stein in Monster HighMonster HighMonster High is an American line of fashion dolls created by Garrett Sander with the illustrations done by Kellee Riley. They were officially released in July 2010 but made in 2007....
. - Frankenstein's WeddingFrankenstein's WeddingFrankenstein's Wedding is a live musical drama based on Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. The show was broadcast live on BBC Three on the 19 March 2011 from Kirkstall Abbey. -Summary:...
was a live television adaptation broadcast on BBC ThreeBBC ThreeBBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
on the 19th March 2011. - In an episode of the cartoon series The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their...
, entitled ¡Viva los Muertos!, Dr Veture reanimates the corpse of a Monarch henchman killed by Brock Samson, naming the creature "Venturestein".
Classical and modern music
- The 1962 novelty song "Monster MashMonster Mash"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes...
" is narrated by a Dr. Frankenstein-like character, who talks about his monster learning a new dance. - "FrankensteinFrankenstein (song)"Frankenstein" is a rock instrumental by The Edgar Winter Group from their album They Only Come Out at Night.In live performances of the song, Edgar Winter further pioneered the advancement of the synthesizer as a lead instrument by becoming the first person ever to strap a keyboard instrument...
" is a 1973 instrumental by the Edgar Winter Group - so named because it was constructed from bits and pieces of several different takes. - The video for Yazoo'sYazoo (band)Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
song "Don't Go" featured a Frankenstein theme. - In the video for her 1983 song "Telephone (Long Distance Love Affair)", Sheena EastonSheena EastonSheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...
is pursued through a haunted house by Frankenstein's monster. - In The Dead Milkmen video "Big Time Operator" lead singer Rodney is depicted as FrankenElvis.
- For their 1987 single, "Doin' It All for My Baby", Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
used a Frankenstein theme in a video performance. - The lyrics of T'PauT'Pau (band)T'Pau was a 1980s British Rock group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe...
's 1987 song "China in Your HandChina in Your Hand"China in Your Hand" is a song by British band T'Pau, released from their album Bridge of Spies. A re-recorded version was released as a single in October 1987, spending five weeks at number 1 in the UK and is arguably the song for which the group is best known in their native Britain, though...
" reference Frankenstein. - "Frankenstein" is a song by funk metal band ClutchClutch (band)Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
from Pure Rock FuryPure Rock Fury- Personnel :* Neil Fallon – Vocals, Guitars on "Brazenhead", Organ on "Careful With That Mic..."* Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums* Dan Maines – Bass* Tim Sult – Guitar-Charting Positions:AlbumsSingles...
. - "Dr. SteinDr. Stein"Dr. Stein" is a song by the German power metal band Helloween.The song is from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2. It remains one of the band's most popular songs, and is played live at virtually every Helloween concert....
", a song produced by the power metal band HelloweenHelloweenHelloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt...
for their 1988 album Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2, is based on Victor Frankenstein and his monster. - Rock musician Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
recorded a song titled "Teenage Frankenstein" for his 1986 album ConstrictorConstrictor (album)Constrictor is the 16th studio album by rock musician Alice Cooper released on September 22 1986. After retiring from the music industry after the release of DaDa, Cooper remained in seclusion for three years. He starred in Monster Dog, a horror film for which he wrote two songs. He also guest...
, and recorded "Feed My Frankenstein" for his 1991 album Hey StoopidHey StoopidHey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper...
. The latter song was also featured in the 1992 film Wayne's WorldWayne's World (film)Wayne's World is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Mike Myers in his film debut as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, hosts of the Aurora, Illinois-based Public-access television cable TV show Wayne's World...
. - Electric FrankensteinElectric FrankensteinElectric Frankenstein is an American band from Whippany, Clifton, and other areas of New Jersey. Their music is generally considered punk rock, but includes elements of hard rock and Heavy Metal as well...
is an American punk rock band from New Jersey. - Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 are a horror punk band from North Carolina. The band was formed in 1996 by Wednesday 13, who recruited friends and former Maniac Spider Trash bandmates Seaweed and Sicko Zero...
, a horror punk band formed in North Carolina in 1996. - How I Made This, the multimediaMultimediaMultimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
musical compositionMusical compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
of UkrainianUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
born RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Evgeni Kostitsyn, won first place at the First International Competition for Composers in the UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in 1998. - In Sam CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
's song "Another Saturday NightAnother Saturday Night"Another Saturday Night" is the title of a 1963 hit single by Sam Cooke from the album Ain't That Good News. It reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and was number one on the R&B chart for a single week...
," there is a line that goes:
Another fellow told me
He had a sister who looked just fine.
Instead of being my deliverance, she had a strange resemblance
To a cat [guy] named Frankenstein.
- "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely SexyFrankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely SexyFrankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy is the second album by New York City band Mindless Self Indulgence released in 2000. The album is the follow-up to the album Tight...
" is the title of a 2000 album by the band Mindless Self IndulgenceMindless Self IndulgenceMindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...
. - "Frankenstein" is a song by American Metal band Iced EarthIced EarthIced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
from their 2001 album Horror ShowHorror Show (album)Horror Show is the debut EP by Springfield, IL rock band The Graduate. The album was self-produced and released independently in May 2006. After the CD's release, The Graduate were signed to Icon MES Records.- Track listing :# "Sit & Sink" - 3:34...
, which features songs themed after classic movie monsters. - "Some Kind of MonsterSome Kind of Monster (song)"Some Kind of Monster" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in June 2004 through Elektra Records. The song is featured on their eighth album, St. Anger. It was also released on an EP of the same title, which may be considered as the fourth and final single from the...
" is a 2004 song by MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
which uses themes from Frankenstein. - "Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter" is a song by American Folk musician Space MandinoSpace Mandino“Space” Mandino is an American singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois, known for his overtone singing, five-string banjo and harmonium. His music is experimental and contains folk, rockabilly, and bluegrass elements...
. - The RammsteinRammsteinRammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
song "MutterMutter (song)"Mutter" is a song by Rammstein on the album of the same name.-Overview:The song was confirmed by Till Lindemann and Richard Kruspe to be a reference to their unhappy childhood relationships with their own mothers. The lyrics tell the story of a child not born from a womb but in an experiment,...
" is about a monster that kills its creator or mom in this case. - The musicalMusical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
"The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
" includes a song called "There's A Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)" - The punk band CrassCrassCrass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
referenced Frankenstein in the song "Reject of Society". - "Dr. Frankenstein" a concept album/rock opera written by cuban/mexican musician Jose Fors was based on both the original novel and James Whale's films. It was released in 2009.
- Toy LoveToy LoveToy Love was a New Zealand New Wave/punk rock band fronted by Chris Knox. Other members were guitarist Alec Bathgate, bass player Paul Kean, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker...
released a 1980 single, "Bride of Frankenstein". - The German band Oomph!'sOomph!Oomph! is a German rock band that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered to be the original Neue Deutsche Härte musical group. In the 22-year history of the band, there have been no line-up changes.-Early years :...
song "Brennende LiebeBrennende Liebe"Brennende Liebe" is the second single from German industrial metal group Oomph! from Wahrheit oder Pflicht . At first, the single had been released as a B-side single like Niemand previously was, but later the song appeared on the re-edition of Wahrheit oder Pflicht...
" details a sort of Frankenstein scenario, and the video features Frankenstein, his wife, and the scientist and his associates. - The rock band Glass WaveGlass WaveGlass Wave is a Bay Area cerebral rock band formed in 2008 by Robert Pogue Harrison and Dan Edelstein, both professors of literature at Stanford University. The band was conceived originally as a literary musical collaboration for their team-taught Introduction to the Humanities course entitled...
included a song about Frankenstein's monster (entitled "Creature") on their 2010 album. The lyrics are sung through the creature's voice. - Kevin MaxKevin MaxKevin Max Smith is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk...
's song "Jumpstart Your Electric Heart," from his 2005 album The Imposter is a modern-day retelling of Shelley's Frankenstein.
Radio
On August 3, 1931, Alonzo Dean Cole adapted the novel as a 30-minute episode of his program The Witch's TaleThe Witch's Tale
For the video game with a similar name, see A Witch's Tale.The Witch's Tale was a horror-fantasy radio series which aired from 1931 to 1938 on WOR and Mutual and in syndication. The program was created, written and directed by Alonzo Deen Cole, who was born February 22, 1897 in St...
. It was redone on March 7, 1932 and July 17, 1935.
In 1938, George Edwards
George Edwards (Actor)
George Edwards was an Australian actor and producer.Edwards was a pioneer of the radio serial in Australia. Prior to that he was a comedian, vaudeville artist, acrobatic dancer and stage performer...
produced a 13-part, 3-hour series for radio. It follows the structure and spirit of the novel closely.
Two other versions were made in both 1944 and 1955.
In 1945 it was adapted as a 30-minute drama on the syndicated program The Weird Circle.
In 1946 it was adapated as a 30-minute drama on the program Favorite Story.
Another 30-minute drama version was used on Suspense
Suspense (radio program)
-Production background:One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era...
on November 3, 1952 starring Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
and was used again on June 7, 1955 starring Stacy Harris.
In 1999, the Radio Tales
Radio Tales
Radio Tales is an American series of radio dramas produced by Generations Productions. This series adapted classic works of American and world literature such as The War of the Worlds, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Beowulf, Gulliver's Travels, and the One Thousand and One Nights...
drama series presented an adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel for National Public Radio.
Stage
Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, written by Richard Brinsley PeakeRichard Brinsley Peake
Richard Brinsley Peake was a dramatist of the early nineteenth century best remembered today for his 1823 play Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, a work based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley....
, was produced at the English Opera House in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1823.
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim is a musical burlesque written by Richard Henry . The music was composed by Meyer Lutz...
is an 1887 musical burlesque composed by Meyer Lutz
Meyer Lutz
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz was a German-born English composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works....
and written by Richard Henry
Richard Henry (pseudonym)
Richard Henry is a pseudonym credited on collaborative works of authors Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton.Works attributed to Richard Henry include Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim, a parody of the Mary Shelly novel Frankenstein, presented at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in 1887.-Selected...
.
A Broadway adaptation of the story by Victor Gialanella
Victor Gialanella
Victor Gialanella is an American television soap opera writer. Besides his work in daytime, he wrote the Broadway play Frankenstein in 1981, and served as a story editor for Wavelength in 1997.-Positions held:...
played for one performance on January 4, 1981 (after 29 previews) and was considered the most expensive flop ever produced to that date. It is noteworthy for John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
's playing the part of the blind "DeLacey". Also starring were David Dukes
David Dukes
David Coleman Dukes was an American character actor.-Life:Dukes was born in San Francisco, California, the son of a highway patrolman...
as "Victor Frankenstein", Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest
Dianne Wiest is an American actress. She has had a successful career on stage, television, and film, and has won two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Wiest has also been nominated for a BAFTA Award.-Early life:...
as "Elizabeth", John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
as "Henry Clervel", and Keith Joachim as "The Creature".
A musical adaptation entitled "Day of Wrath", (composed by Eric Sirota, with lyrics by E. Sirota & S. Sudol), was first produced in 1990, in Clinton, NJ.
Joined At The Heart
Joined At The Heart
Joined At The Heart is a new musical with music & lyrics by Graham Brown & Geoff Meads, book by Frances Anne Bartam and directed by Frances Brownlie. It is an evocative story of love, morals, relationships and ethics...
is a musical with music & lyrics by Graham Brown & Geoff Meads, book by Frances Anne Bartam and directed by Frances Brownlie. It tells the love story of Victor Frankenstein and his step sister Elizabeth, a young orphan girl taken in by Victor's parents and cared for as if she were their own daughter. When Victor's mother dies, he vows to end the suffering that death brings by pursuing eternal life. Joined At The Heart reached the final of the Worldwide Search for Musicals competition. The show was produced at The Junction 2 in Cambridge, UK from 1–4 August 2007 and at the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
in Scotland from 12–18 August 2007.
Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (musical)
Young Frankenstein, officially known as The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. It is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Brooks and Gene Wilder and directed by Brooks, who has...
, a musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
adaptation of Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
' Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard...
, opened in November 2007 and closed in January 2009.
"Frankenstein - A New Musical
Frankenstein - A New Musical
Frankenstein — A New Musical is a musical with music by Mark Baron, lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson, and a book by Jackson and Gary P. Cohen, based on the Mary Shelley novel of the same name...
", a pop-opera adaptation which adhered closely to the original novel,opened at 37 Arts Theatre, New York, in Autumn 2007 and closed in December 2007. The first UK performance was at The Stables Theatre Hastings in May 2009. Music was by Mark Baron, book by Jefferey Jackson and Gary P Cohen.
A performance storytelling production of Frankenstein is currently touring both in the UK and internationally. It is performed by storyteller Ben Haggarty and the composer, singer and musician Sianed Jones. http://www.crickcrackclub.com/CRICRACK/TOURFR.HTM
Frankenstein
Frankenstein (2011 play)
Frankenstein is a stage adaptation by Nick Dear of the novel of the same name.-Production:Its world premiere was at the Royal National Theatre on 5 February 2011, where it officially opened on 22 February...
, a play adapted by Nick Dear from the original novel, premieres at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 2011.
Novels
The story of Frankenstein, or to be precise, "Frankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
", has formed the basis of many original novels over the years, some of which were considered sequels to Shelley's original work, and some of which were based more upon the character as portrayed in the Universal films. Yet others were completely new tales inspired by Frankenstein.
- 1957: FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
screenwriterScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Jean-Claude CarrièreJean-Claude CarrièreJean-Claude Carrière is a screenwriter and actor. Alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud, he was a frequent collaborator with Luis Buñuel...
wrote six Frankenstein novels in 1957 and 1958 for Angoisse, the horror imprint of publisher Fleuve Noir, under the house pseudonym of Benoît Becker (with plotting assistance from Guy Bechtel for the first novel). - 1. La Tour de Frankenstein [The Tower of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 30, 1957)
- 2. Le Pas de Frankenstein [The Step of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 32, 1957)
- 3. La Nuit de Frankenstein [The Night of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 34, 1957)
- 4. Le Sceau de Frankenstein [The Seal of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 36, 1957)
- 5. Frankenstein Rôde [Frankenstein Prowls] (FNA No. 41, 1958)
- 6. La Cave de Frankenstein [The Cellar of Frankenstein] (FNA No. 50, 1959)
- Carrière followed the footsteps of the Monster, christened Gouroull, as he made his way back from Iceland, to Scotland, and then Germany and Switzerland, from the late 1800s to the 1920s. The plots have the Monster pursuing his own, evil agenda, unafraid of the weaker humans. Even people who try to help or reason with him are just as likely to be killed by the inhuman fiend.
- 1973: Frankenstein Unbound, by Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
, combining the titles of Mary Shelley's novel with Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound (1820), sends a time traveller from the twenty-first century back to Geneva in 1816 when Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (as she was then) was engaged in writing the original Frankenstein story.
- 1973: Frankenstein Unbound, by Brian Aldiss
- 1978: Allan Rune PetterssonAllan Rune PetterssonAllan Rune Pettersson is a Swedish writer.After a varied career as producer of children's programmes on Swedish radio and later as inkeeper in Portugal, he became a freelance writer on his return to Sweden in 1965....
wrote two novels in 1978 and 1989 - Frankenstein's AuntFrankenstein's Aunt (novel)Frankenstein's Aunt is a novel by Allan Rune Pettersson that was first published in Sweden in 1978.The story is about Hannah Frankenstein, the Baron's aunt who comes to Frankenstein's Castle to put it back in order, following the chaos caused by her nephew's experiments...
- Frankenstein's Aunt ReturnsFrankenstein's Aunt ReturnsFrankenstein's Aunt Returns is a novel by Allan Rune Pettersson that was first published in Sweden in 1989. The book is a sequel to the first book Frankenstein's Aunt. The story is about Franklin a child created by Doctor Frankenstein with the help of Doctor Pretorius for the monster and his bride...
- 1980: The Frankenstein Diaries. Translated and Edited by the Reverend Hubert Venables. Purports to be the actual diary of Victor Frankenstein. Written in a diary style with accompanying illustrations.
- 1986: In The Frankenstein Papers, Fred SaberhagenFred SaberhagenFred Thomas Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his Berserker series of science fiction short stories and S.F...
retells Shelley's story (with significant modifications) from the creature's point of view. It is revealed that the novel had actually taken place during the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and Benjamin Franklin and his son play a major role in the novel. It is revealed through a series of letters as well as the monster's diary that the monster is actually an amnesiac humanoid alien who was disfigured by the electric explosion used in Victor's experiments, and that the creature that Victor had stitched together never in fact came to life. It is also revealed that Victor had performed the experiments under the behest of the sinister British nobleman Roger Saville, who had wished to create a race of super-men so as to form a colony of slaves and to defeat the American rebels. It is also implied that Saville and his hunchbacked assistant Small had murdered Victor's family in order to blackmail him, and that the novel was actually written by Robert Walton (who wanted to profit from the slave business) as a means to spread distrust to the monster. However, Benjamin rescues the Alien and helps him regain his memory with the help of CagliostroAlessandro CagliostroCount Alessandro di Cagliostro was the alias of the occultist Giuseppe Balsamo , an Italian adventurer.-Origin:The history of Cagliostro is shrouded in rumour, propaganda and mysticism...
, the book ends with the alien departing Earth, and deciding that despite the cruelty men like Saville are capable of, men like Benjamin Freeman are the true examples of the human race. - 1986: In Stephen King's ItIt (novel)It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by the eponymous inter-dimensional predatory life-form that exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It"...
, the monster "It" took the form of Frankenstein's monster. - 1997: Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan is one of a series of parody novels by Spike MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
. In this, Milligan crafts a bizarre story, with many gags based on specific moments and instances from the text of the novel, such as "I am self-educated: for the first fourteen years of my life I ran wild on the common. At the end of that time I fell exhausted to the ground." - 2004: Dean KoontzDean KoontzDean Ray Koontz is a prolific American author best known for his novels which could be described broadly as suspense thrillers. He also frequently incorporates elements of horror, science fiction, mystery, and satire. A number of his books have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with...
has written a series of Frankenstein novels: Dean Koontz's FrankensteinDean Koontz's FrankensteinDean Koontz's Frankenstein is the collective title of five novels co-written by Dean Koontz. Though technically of the mystery or thriller genres, the novels also feature the trappings of horror, fantasy, and science fiction....
. These reimagine Frankenstein in the setting of modern-day New Orleans. - 2005: Joseph Covino Jr has written an epic derivative novel faithful to Mary Shelley's original classic titled, Frankenstein Resurrected.
- 2008: Kathlyn Bradshaw's The Frankenstein Murders (Cormorant BooksCormorant BooksCormorant Books Inc is a Canadian book publishing company.Cormorant Books specializes in fiction by new and emerging Canadian writers, reissues of out-of-print classics of Canadian literature, and English translations of works by Quebec writers.- History :...
) is a psychological horror/murder mystery that takes place after the events of the original novel and deconstructs its most important elements. ISBN 978-1-897151-16-7
Comics
(Main article: Frankenstein (comics)Frankenstein (comics)
Frankenstein, in comics, may refer to:*Frankenstein , from DC Comics' Seven Soldiers*Frankenstein , the star of a short-lived series by Dell Comics...
)
The Monster has also been the subject of many comic book adaptations, ranging from the ridiculous (a 1960s
1960s in comics
See also:1950s in comics,other events of the 1960s,1970s in comics and thelist of years in comics-1961:See also: 1961 in comics*Amazing Adventures #1 - Marvel Comics*Fantastic Four #1 - Marvel Comics-1962:...
series portraying The Monster as a superhero; see below), to more straightforward interpretations of Shelley's work.
Dick Briefer's Frankenstein (1940-1954)
(Main article: Frankenstein (Prize Comics)Frankenstein (Prize Comics)
There have been many comic book adaptations of the Frankenstein monster story created by Mary Shelley in her 1818 novel Frankenstein. Writer-artist Dick Briefer presented two loose adaptations of the story in the Prize Comics series Prize Comics and Frankenstein from 1940 to 1954...
)
In 1940
1940 in comics
-Year overall:* Another boom year for the burgeoning American comic book industry, as Ace Comics, Columbia Comics, Farrell Publications, Holyoke Publishing, Novelty Press, and Street & Smith Comics all begin publishing.-January:...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Dick Briefer
Dick Briefer
Richard "Dick" Briefer was an American comic-book artist best known for his various adaptations, including humorous ones, of the Frankenstein monster...
wrote and drew a Frankenstein's-monster comic book title for Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein"...
's Prize Comics, beginning with a standard horrific
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
version, updated to contemporary America, but then in 1945
1945 in comics
-European publications:* March 30: first appearance of Suske en Wiske by Willy Vandersteen, in De Nieuwe Standaard, mistitled Rikki en Wiske.-January:* All-Winners Comics #14 - Timely Comics...
crafting an acclaimed and well-remembered comedic version that spun off into his own title, Frankenstein Comics. The series ended with issue #17 (Jan.-Feb. 1949
1949 in comics
-Events and publications:Publishers Star Publications, Toby Press, and Youthful make their debuts; conversely, Columbia Comics, Novelty Press, and Street & Smith Comics all fold.-January:* Captain America Comics #70 - Timely Comics...
, but was revived as a horror title from #18-33 (March 1952
1952 in comics
See also:1951 in comics,other events of 1952,1953 in comics,1950s in comics and thelist of years in comics1952 saw, among other things, the launch of Mad Magazine.-May:*Sensation Comics issue 109 final issue — DC Comics...
- Oct.-Nov. 1954
1954 in comics
-Events and publications:* Publication of Seduction of the Innocent, by American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. The book warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency...
). The original Prize version served as catalyst for an intra-company crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
, where all characters starring in Prize Comics at the time teamed up to fight Frankenstein.
DC Comics
(Main article: Frankenstein (DC Comics)Frankenstein (DC Comics)
Frankenstein is a DC Comics character who is based on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's original Frankenstein's monster, but is physically and mentally more reminiscent of the classic Universal representation of the character...
)
DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Movie Comics #1 (April 1939
1939 in comics
-Year overall:* A boom year for the burgeoning American comic book industry, as Archie Comics, Fawcett Comics, Fox Feature Syndicate, Lev Gleason Publications, Marvel Comics, Nedor Comics, Quality Comics, and Timely Comics all begin publishing.-January:...
) featured an eight-page fumetti
Fumetti
Fumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels or photographic comics, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
adaptation of the film Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
.
The Monster appeared in Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
No. 143 (February 1961
1961 in comics
See also:1960 in comics,other events of 1961,1962 in comics,1960s in comics and thelist of years in comicsPublications: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December-January:...
), in a story entitled "Bizarro Meets Frankenstein!"
In 1973
1973 in comics
-Year overall:* Dell Comics, after 44 years in the comics business, ceases publication; a few of the company's former titles moving to Gold Key Comics....
the "Spawn of Frankenstein" appeared in the Phantom Stranger
Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a fictional character of unspecified paranormal origins who battles mysterious and occult forces in various titles published by DC Comics, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.-Publication history:...
comic, written by Len Wein
Len Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
. The portrayal of the monster was as a reclusive, sympathetic character who had been living alone in the Arctic since the death of his creator.
A 1995
1995 in comics
-January:*After Xavier: The Age of Apocalypse is launched. All X-titles change to different names for the next four months.* Thor marks his 400th appearance in Marvel Comics with issue #482....
Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
special called Batman: Castle of the Bat
Batman: Castle of the Bat
Batman Castle of the Bat is a DC Comics Elseworlds special published in 1994. Written by Jack C. Harris with art by Bo Hampton as the artist and Tracy Hampton-Munsey as the letterer.In 1819 a troubled Bruce Wayne revives his father from the dead...
by Jack C. Harris and Bo Hampton
Bo Hampton
Bo Hampton is a noted comic book and cartoon artist.He graduated from the School of Visual Arts, New York City. He drew, wrote and painted comics and graphic novels for 15 years, always with a bent toward realism that was fairly uncommon in the medium...
amalgamates Batman and Frankenstein. Bruce Wayne fills the role of Victor Frankenstein, wishing to revive his deceased father. Having successfully done so, his creation becomes the monstrous "Bat-Man", a hulking figure in a rough analogue of the Batman costume who preys upon highwaymen, similar to the one who took the lives of the (this story's) parents of Bruce Wayne. Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
is changed to a hunchbacked dwarf named Alfredo, filling the "Igor" role.
In The Superman Monster
The Superman Monster
The Superman Monster is an Elseworlds tale, combining the elements of the Superman mythos with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, was pencilled by Anthony Williams, and was published by DC Comics in 1999.-Plot:At the Gotham City Iceberg Lounge in 1888,...
(1999
1999 in comics
-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...
), Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
is Viktor Luther, the creator. He discovers the spacecraft that would have carried the infant Superman to Earth. Inside, however, is only the skeleton of a child. Using the Kryptonian
Krypton (comics)
Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
technology, he is able to animate his (unintentionally) super-powered creature, which initially resembles Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
. The creature flees and is raised by the kindly couple Johann and Marta Kant. They name the creature Klaus, after their dead son. The story features the Lois Lane character becoming "The Bride" to Superman's Creature.
DC Comics and Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
revived the character "The Spawn of Frankenstein" in Young All-Stars
Young All-Stars
The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in Young All-Stars #1, dated June 1987.-Publication history:...
; he then appeared in Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's Seven Soldiers of Victory
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
. Here, Frankenstein is a Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
-quoting, gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
-toting warrior battling to prevent the end of the world. In addition, DC's team of movie monster-esque soldiers known as the Creature Commandos
Creature Commandos
The Creature Commandos are a fictional DC Comics team of military superhumans originally set in World War II. The original team, created by J. M...
featured a character that resembled the Universal Pictures version of Frankenstein's monster; Private Elliot "Lucky" Taylor was nearly killed after stepping on a land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
, but was grotesquely reconstructed into a "Patchwork Creature" (as designated by the Who's Who in the DC Universe
Who's Who in the DC Universe
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional characters in their imaginary universe, the DC Universe.-History:Who's Who was the creation of Len Wein, Marv...
entry on the Creature Commandos), and later rendered mute by a failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempt
Failed suicide attempts comprise a large portion of suicide attempts. Some are regarded as not true attempts at all, but rather parasuicide. The usual attempt may be a wish to affect another person by the behaviour. Consequently, it occurs in a social context and may represent a request for help....
. Later, DC Comics debuted an unrelated superhero (and member of the Teen Titans) called "Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (comics)
Young Frankenstein is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appears in Teen Titans vol. 3 #38 , and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel.-Fictional character biography:...
."
In Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary
Planetary (comics)
Planetary is an American comic book limited series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics...
, the protagonist, Elijah Snow, discovers an abandoned laboratory, filled with patchwork undead monsters. It is heavily implied that the lab belonged to Victor Frankenstein, and that, alongside Count Dracula, the Invisible Man
Griffin (The Invisible Man)
Griffin is a fictional character, the eponym and antagonist of H. G. Wells's science fiction novel The Invisible Man, first published in 1897. Griffin is a young scientist who wants to create the ultimate humanoid by creating a race of invisible people....
, and Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, Frankenstein had been part of a covert, 19th century conspiracy to shape the direction of the future.
In the comic book Major Bummer
Major Bummer
Major Bummer is a humorous comic book produced by DC Comics in the late 1990s. It was created by writer John Arcudi and artist Doug Mahnke.-Plot synopsis:...
, Louie defends the common misnaming of the monster as "Frankenstein": Dr. Frankenstein is, so to speak, the monster's "father," and it is only right that a son should have his father's family name.
Marvel Comics
(Main article: Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics)Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics)
Frankenstein's Monster is a fictional character based on the character in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The character has been adapted often in the comic book medium...
)
The monster appeared as a foe to Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
in issue #40 of their eponymous series (January 1968
1968 in comics
See also:1968 in comics,other events of 1968,1969 in comics,1960s in comics and thelist of years in comics- Year overall :* With Kinney National Company's acquisition of Warner Bros., DC Comics becomes part of what eventually will be known as Warner Communications.* DC Comics art director Carmine...
). In the story, written by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, the monster had various powers, including incredible strength, optic beams, and magnetized feet. He was an ambassador sent to Earth by aliens in the 1850s, but upon arrival, he went berserk. His fellow aliens followed him to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
, where he was frozen. In the present, he was discovered by scientists and thawed. According to Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
, this android was the inspiration for Shelley's novel.
The Monster of Frankenstein, the first five issues of which (Jan.-Sept. 1973) contained a faithful (in spirit at least) retelling of Shelley's tale before transferring The Monster
Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics)
Frankenstein's Monster is a fictional character based on the character in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The character has been adapted often in the comic book medium...
into the present day and pitting him against James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
-inspired evil organizations. The artist, Mike Ploog
Mike Ploog
Michael G. Ploog is an American storyboard and comic book artist, and a visual designer for movies....
, recalled, "I really enjoyed doing Frankenstein because I related to that naive monster wandering around a world he had no knowledge of — an outsider seeing everything through the eyes of a child."
Other publishers
Classic Comics #27 (December 19451945 in comics
-European publications:* March 30: first appearance of Suske en Wiske by Willy Vandersteen, in De Nieuwe Standaard, mistitled Rikki en Wiske.-January:* All-Winners Comics #14 - Timely Comics...
), reprinted in Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
#26, had versions of the Shelley novel.
Dell Comics
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
published a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
version of the character in the comic book series Frankenstein #2-4 (Sept. 1966 - March 1967; issue #1, published Oct. 1964, featured a very loose adaptation/update of the 1931 Universal Pictures movie).
In 1972
1972 in comics
-Events:* Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK .* Phil Seuling founds East Coast Seagate Distribution, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine...
, French comics publisher Aredit devoted seven issues of its digest-sized Hallucinations horror comic magazine to adapt Jean-Claude Carrière's Frankenstein novels.
In 1991
1991 in comics
-January:* Checkmate is canceled by DC Comics with issue #33.* El Diablo vol. 2 is canceled by DC with issue #16.* Count Duckula is canceled by the Marvel Comics imprint Star Comics with issue #15....
, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
issued an adaptation of the 1931 Universal film.
The Monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
is Monster in My Pocket
Monster in My Pocket
Monster in my Pocket is a media franchise developed by Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems ....
#13. He appears among the good monsters in the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
(1991), the video game (1991), the animated special (1992), and the 2003 animated series. In the comics, he was relatively inarticulate, represented by hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
s between each syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
he spoke, but possessed of simple wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
and strong moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
s. This characterization was essentially characterized in the video game, where he was a playable character, and his only line of dialogue in the cut scenes was "Yeah..." In the animated special, he was known as "Big Ed" and was essentially a comic simpleton.
2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
saw the debut of Doc Frankenstein
Doc Frankenstein
Doc Frankenstein is an American comic book series created by Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce, written by the Wachowski Brothers , drawn by Steve Skroce, and published by Burlyman Entertainment...
, written by the Wachowski brothers, the writer-director team of The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
), and drawn by Steve Skroce
Steve Skroce
Steve Skroce is a Canadian comic book and movie storyboard artist. He is of Croatian origin.-Biography:Skroce broke into comics in 1993 on the Clive Barker series Ectokid for Marvel Comics' Razorline imprint. He went to work on the Marvel series Cable and X-Man before moving onto The Amazing...
. The book tells the continuing adventures of Frankenstein's monster, who has since adopted his creator's name and became a hero through the ages.
In 2005
2005 in comics
- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
, Dead Dog Comics produced a sequel to the Frankenstein mythos with Frankenstein: Monster Mayhem, written by R. D. Hall with art by Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
. In Dead Dog's version, the monster sets out to create his own Necropolis.
Also in 2005, Speakeasy Comics
Speakeasy Comics
Speakeasy Comics was a Canadian publishing company of comic books and graphic novels. It was founded in August 2004 by Adam Fortier, and ceased operations on February 27, 2006.-History:...
put out their sequel, The Living and the Dead, written by Todd Livingston
Todd Livingston
-Biography:Livingston began his career as a comedian in the critically acclaimed trio Open Season. The group toured the U.S. and Canada, headlining clubs and colleges and becoming regulars at L.A’s Comedy Store, New York’s Comic Strip and Improv, where they would often share the stage with Jerry...
and Robert Tinnell
Robert Tinnell
Robert Tinnell is a motion picture screenwriter, director, and producer. He is also the author of several comic books and graphic novels, notably with a horror slant.-Biography:...
, with art by Micah Farritor. In it, Victor, now calling himself Hans, must create a new body for his first cousin who wants her syphilitic son to remain alive after a vicious beating, and she coerces him to do so under fear of exposing him for who he really is. Half-crazed due to the disease, the newly born monster proceeds to start a Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
theater in Ingolstadt until Victor puts him down with the help of the first monster he ever created. As thanks, Victor begins work on the last attempt he will make at playing God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and begins to build the original creature a mate.
In 2005, Puffin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
released a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
adaptation adapted by Gary Reed with art from Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving
Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
.
The 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
Beckett Entertainment/Image comics graphic novel The Cobbler's Monster: A Tale of Gepetto's Frankenstein features an amalgamation between Gepetto and Victor Frankenstein, who reanimates his dead son.
In 2006, Eros Comix
Eros Comix
Eros Comix is an adult-oriented imprint of Fantagraphics Books, established in 1990 to publish pornographic comic books. Eros Comix sells anime videos, DVDs, adult comic books, and books of erotic art and photography...
published Adult Frankenstein, a comic book with Frankenstein x-rated stories (featuring also other classic monsters) all written by Enrico Teodorani (creator of Djustine
Djustine
Djustine is an Italian comic book series written by Enrico Teodorani.The Djustine character was created from a fusion of Sergio Corbucci's film character Django, and the Marquis de Sade's titular "Justine".- Publication history :...
), with cover by Joe Vigil and interior art by some of the best Italian authors in the erotic comics field.
Also in 2006, Big Bang Comics
Big Bang Comics
Big Bang Comics first appeared in 1994, with five issue mini-series , published by Caliber Comics. Their second series was published by Image Comics. Currently their titles are self-published.-Publication history:...
published an issue of Big Bang Presents featuring a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
incarnation of the monster called Super Frankenstein.
In 2009 Papercutz published a Classics Illustrated Deluxe Graphic Novel adaptation of Frankenstein by French cartoonist Marion Mousse. His adaptation was originally published in French in three volumes, and was all collected and translated into English for the Papercutz version. Of all the comic book adaptations this one is probably the most faithful to the original book.
Toys and games
Frankenstein's monster appears in the KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
video game series Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
, numerous times, with its name being "The Monster" or "The Creature", often as a major boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, but sometimes as a regular enemy. His presence is technically an anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
since he appears several hundred years before his date of creation in the 18th century. The monster usually has the appearance of the Karloff/Universal version; however, the 2010 series reboot Castlevania: Lords of Shadow features a completely different-looking boss known as the "Mechanical Monstrosity", created some time prior to 1047 by "Friedrich von Frankenstein".
Several other video game version are also available, including Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster
Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster
Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster is a graphic adventure computer game that stars Tim Curry as Dr. Frankenstein, and has the player controlling the newly created Frankenstein monster. The game was developed by Amazing Media and published by Interplay Entertainment Corp for the PC in...
- A Cinematic Adventure Starring Tim Curry (PC) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (video game)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a video game for multiple platforms that is based on the 1994 movie of the same name.-Plot:The player controls Frankenstein's monster as he stomps through the streets of Ingolstadt, Bavaria in the year 1793 seeking revenge against a certain man named Victor for...
, (Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
, Sega CD
Sega Mega-CD
The is an add-on device for the Mega Drive video game console, designed and produced by Sega and released in Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The device was also released in North America under the name Sega CD, for the Sega Genesis...
) based on the 1994 film of the same name. The original Nintendo
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES) has Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
Frankenstein: The Monster Returns is a NES action video game developed by Bandai and released in 1990.-Summary:The plot involves the Frankenstein monster returning from the dead and kidnapping a girl, Emily. The hero , a young adventurer, has to go rescue her...
and for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, Frankenstein's Monster.
In the 1995 Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is a platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo and was the third and final installment in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy until Nintendo announced Retro Studios would be developing the next installment, Donkey Kong Country Returns...
, Kong's archenemy, King K. Rool, assumes the persona of Baron K. Roolenstein.
A Frankenstein-like monster called Victor von Gerdenheim is a playable character in the fighting game series Darkstalkers, along with many other monsters from popular culture.
Frankenstein's monster also appears in the videogame adaptation
Van Helsing (video game)
Van Helsing is a third-person shooter for the Play Station 2 and Xbox which is based on the 2004 action/horror film of the same name by Stephen Sommers. Starting off with the killing of Mr. Hyde in Paris, one must use the character of Van Helsing to hunt down Dracula in Transylvania...
of the film Van Helsing. He only appears as a non-playable character.
Frankenstein's monster also appears in Warriors of Primetime, where he is the final boss (this monster is inaccurate as Frankenstein claims to be 'brought back to life').
The role-playing game Promethean: The Created
Promethean: The Created
Promethean: The Created is a role-playing game published by White Wolf, set in the new World of Darkness.The game is inspired by the classic tales of Frankenstein's monster, the Golem and other such simulacra. The characters are individuals created by first dismembering and reassembling human...
, published by White Wolf
White Wolf
White Wolf is a publisher of role-playing games, notably the World of Darkness.White Wolf may also refer to:*White Wolf , a location in Yosemite National Park*White Wolf , a Canadian heavy metal band...
, focuses on beings created from human remains and animated by "the Divine Fire" who seek to attain humanity. One of the "Lineages" (groupings) of said creatures is that of the Frankensteins, who, like their namesake, are crafted from the best parts of multiple corpses and brought to life by lightning. The monster himself, going by the name John Verney, appears in some of the book's fiction and illustrations.
Many role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, allow the creation of Flesh Golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
s, similar creatures created through the use of magic.
In 2002, LEGO
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
released a Dr. Frankenstein and monster set as part of the LEGO Studios toy line. In 2011, a new green skined Minifigure
Lego Minifigures (Theme)
Minifigures is a 2010 Lego theme based on a set of collectible Lego minifigures. Each figure is an original character with new clothing and facial designs, and most contain previously unseen accessories. Between the current five series, 80 unique minifigure characters have been released...
called Monster resembles the creature.
In Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
's 2004 PC game, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is a construction and management simulation computer game. It is the third installment in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, first released on October 26, 2004 in North America...
, a "monster animatronic" appears as part of a set of scenery included in the "Spooky" park theme.
The 2008
2008 in video gaming
Notable events of 2008 in video gaming. See also history of video games. The release dates listed in this article are the games' original release dates.-Events:...
video game Fable II contains a quest in which a man named Victor is attempting to reanimate the body of a deceased woman, both homages to the book. Upon completion of the quest, if the player buys the house, it unlocks an area known as "The Shelley Tomb", a reference to the author of the novel.
In the 2009 Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game MadWorld
MadWorld
is a video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega. It was released for the Wii on March 10, 2009 in North America, on March 20 in Europe, March 26 in Australia, and February 10 in Japan...
, Frankenstein's monster appears as a boss battle at the base of a dungeon, and is simply called "Frank" with bolts in his back, rather than his neck as common stereotypes depict. He is also shown as being regenerative when connected to an electric chair, and his size well exceeds the usually large 7'0" to go as much as 20'0".
In the 2011 iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app game Tiny Tower
Tiny Tower
Tiny Tower is a game developed by NimbleBit in June 2011 for iOS devices. It requires iOS 3.0 or later to run. The main aim of the game is to build a tower, and manage all of the establishments on different floors, and the residents who live within the tower...
, one of the businesses is a laboratory, which sells "Love Potion," "Mystery Goo," and "Monster."
Other usages
Science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
coined the term Frankenstein complex
Frankenstein complex
In Isaac Asimov's robot novels, the Frankenstein complex is a term that he coined for the fear of mechanical men.-History:Some of Asimov's S.F...
for the fear of robots.
Frankenstein or Franken- is sometimes used as a prefix to imply artificial monstrosity as in "frankenfood", a politically charged name for genetically manipulated
Genetically modified organism
A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...
foodstuffs. The Franken- prefix can also mean anything assembled haphazardly from originally disparate elements, especially if those parts were previously discarded by others—for example, a car built from parts salvaged from many other cars. For many years Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
played a guitar built in such a manner which he called the "Frankenstrat
Frankenstrat
Frankenstrat is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen.-Overview of the Frankenstrat:The Frankenstrat represented Van Halen's attempt to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender. It was originally made from an ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing that...
".
In 1971, General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
introduced "Franken Berry
General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals
General Mills monster-themed breakfast cereals are five current and formerly distributed breakfast cereal brands in North America. The series includes Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry, and the discontinued Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy.-History:In 1971, the first two cereals in the...
", a strawberry-flavored corn cereal whose mascot is a variation of the monster from the 1931 movie.
"Frankenstein" is the name of a character in the 1975 movie Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
and its 2008 remake Death Race
Death Race (film)
Death Race is a 2008 action film produced, written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Jason Statham. Though referred to as a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 in reviews and marketing materials, director Paul W.S. Anderson stated in an interview and the DVD commentary that he...
. The first incarnation was portrayed by recently deceased veteran actor David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
and the second by Jason Statham.
George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's 1985 film Day of the Dead features a scientist conducting experiments on zombies nicknamed "Frankenstein."
The hit song China in Your Hand
China in Your Hand
"China in Your Hand" is a song by British band T'Pau, released from their album Bridge of Spies. A re-recorded version was released as a single in October 1987, spending five weeks at number 1 in the UK and is arguably the song for which the group is best known in their native Britain, though...
by the British rock band T'Pau
T'Pau (band)
T'Pau was a 1980s British Rock group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK, and several hits in the United States and Europe...
employs the story of Frankenstein, and Mary Shelley's writing of it, in its role as a classic cautionary tale.
In David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
's science fiction novel Kiln People
Kiln People
Kiln People is a 2002 science fiction novel by David Brin. It was published in the UK under the title Kil'n People. It has the distinction of finishing second in four different awards for best SF/fantasy novel of 2002 -- the Hugo, the Locus, the John W. Campbell Award, and the Arthur C...
, defective golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
s that become autonomous are called "frankies".
Mewtwo
Mewtwo
is a fictional creature in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and their sequels, and later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles, as well as animation adaptations of the franchise...
of the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise has been likened to Frankenstein's monster in regards to being born through an artificial means and discontent with the fact.
Stitch, the main character of Disney's Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
franchise, was somewhat influenced by the monster, as he was created by a scientist from miscellaneous alien DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. Unlike Shelley's monster, however, his intentions were initially evil until he discovered an inner loneliness, causing him, and eventually his creator, to turn from crime to justice. Throughout the franchise, Stitch also demonstrates the monster's herculean
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
strength and childlike curiosity.
In season 3 of Beast Wars Megatron clones Dinobot, making a Frankenstein's monster out of the clone by transmetallizing him with the Transmetal Driver and adding the half of Rampage's mutant spark
Spark (Transformers)
Spark can refer to several objects in the fictional Transformers universe. A spark is usually the "soul" of a Transformer. It is also the name of several Transformers characters. An AllSpark is a term for two different objects within the Transformers media franchise. In the Beast Machines...
he cut out earlier. The result was an extremely mutated Transmetal II minion under the influence of his "half-brother's" evil.
In 2006, the book The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived listed Dr. Frankenstein's Monster (sic) at #6.
The California Medical Association
California Medical Association
The California Medical Association is a professional organization representing more than 35,000 physicians in the state of California. The organization was founded in 1856 and is a member of the American Medical Association.-Audio-Digest Foundation:...
, in a rather humorous gesture, chose Halloween 2006 to announce that Dr. Richard Frankenstein had been elected president of the organization. He had previously been president of the Orange County Medical Association in 1995-1996.
Frankenstain is a character in the Korean web-comic manhwa named "Noblesse
Noblesse
In Scotland, the name used for the titled and untitled nobility. The term, derived from the French, remains in use in grants of arms from the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Scottish king of arms...
". He, like that of the actual character Frankenstein, is a scientist, but the similarities end there. Through his research he has gained immortality and immense power. He now serves the most powerful of all vampires known as the "Noblesse
Noblesse
In Scotland, the name used for the titled and untitled nobility. The term, derived from the French, remains in use in grants of arms from the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Scottish king of arms...
"
Further reading
- Hitchcock, Susan Tyler. Frankenstein: A Cultural History. W. W. Norton. 2007. ISBN 978-0-393-06144-4.
- Glut, Donald F. The Frankenstein Legend: A Tribute to Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff. Scarecrow Press, 1973. ISBN 978-0-8108-0589-7
External links
- Frankensteinfilms.com - Comprehensive site on Frankenstein movies, comic books, theatre plays and the original novel
- Frankenstein in Popular Culture, from the Pennsylvania Electronic Edition.
- Frankensteinia: A blog "tracking Frankenstein and all things related in the arts, media and popular culture."
- Frankenstein Castle - site devoted to the Frankenstein films.
- Frankenstein: A New Reality - examination of the book and its influences.
- Toonopedia entry on the early Frankenstein comic books.
- From book to blockbuster - a comparison of the book and 1931 movie.
- Marvel Comics Frankenstein Monster - Comprehensive review of Marvel's 1970s comic book adaptation.