Comparison of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to 1931 Film Adaption

“Comparison of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to the 1931 Film Adaptation”

Often when books, especially classics, are transformed into movies it creates significant differences between the text written by the author and the film. The film Frankenstein, produced by James Whale in 1931, is no exception to this trend. Not only were there many drastic changes to this story, but the film contained very few similarities to the classic book it is loosely based on. The changes were made to cause the audience to have a significantly different effect on its viewing audience. Whale most likely made the changes to the text for the movie due to its higher likelihood of becoming a successful motion picture. Due to cinematic effect most books which are converted to movies have major plot and detail changes, Frankenstein, once again is no exception. Whale changed quite a few details which made the story in to a successful motion picture; Whale’s changes also helped the book translate to film better. Many of the changes involved characters, and their relationships. There were also some changes made to the settings that varied from the novel. The most robust and clearly noticeable change made in by Whale was that of Frankenstein’s monster. The changes made to the monster were performed in order to make the movie a better piece of cinematography.

One of the most memorable and vivid scenes in the 1931 film is the scene where the scientist, Frankenstein uses the power of lightning in order to bring his monster to life. In the original text by Mary Shelley the scientist, Frankenstein, is given no help and is not observed by anyone. He completes the experiment in complete and total solitude. This varies greatly in the 1931 film to create a stronger cinematic effect of emotions that could not have been translated by the original text. In the cinema version of this classic book, professor Frankenstein is accompanied by his assistant, his fiancé, his friend, and his former professor. By adding these extra characters it adds external and reactions as well as the professors internal emotions and reaction. “By the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs” (Shelley 35). The addition of the extra characters adds to the dramatic cinematic effect of this climactic scene.

Another key difference from the book and the movie is the man plot. In the novel the monster was created original monster to be a science experiment. The professor also had created another monster to be the originals bride but at the last second before he brought her to life he decided to destroy the monster. He was afraid that much like the first the second would become an “abomination”. The monster views this horrific act as a betrayal by the professor.

Also different from the book, the monster was not viewed