"Love all God's creation... every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light."
There were guns in Bride of Frankenstein which took place right after.
shareOf course guns existed back then, but that doesn't mean the sort of dirt-farming peasants who'd form pitchfork mobs were allowed to own them, or could afford them.
I think it's set in the 1890s and yes, they had guns then--really good ones, big ones, powerful ones. I'm pretty sure they even had machine guns by then, not to mention accurate, rifled artillery. But if the cops or army just showed up and blasted the monster to pieces there wouldn't be much of a story left to tell.
shareI would agree with 1880's or 1890's. Bride took place almost immediately after the original but seemed anachronistic with later influences such as telephones seeping in. Son seemed to take place in 1939 which was the year it was filmed.
shareI always preferred Ghost of Frankenstein to Son but both seem to ignore both Bride and the end of the first one. Son of Frankenstein feels like it ignores a lot of the first film yet Ghost does a flashback with scenes of the original movie. I like them but continuity doesn't show right.
shareTelephones were not uncommon in the 1880s, and were fairly common by the 1890s, especially among well-off people like Frankenstein.
shareThe body of the Bride said on her tombstone that she died in 1899. So Bride has to take place after that
shareSure they did but I don't think guns at that time could kill someone who stood almost 7 feet tall
shareMore to the point a peasant would have something like a 22 rifle which would not kill much more than a rabbit or squirrel. Certainly not a being that had other worldly influences and heavy clothes. But if you kill the monster in short order then you don't have much of a movie or any sequel. Being old Europe where royalty lived in fear of uprisings the peasants most likely were not allowed any firearms.
shareThe movie is meant to be set outside of time. James Whale purposely blended details from several different times-- the 1930s, the middle ages, the 19th century-- to create a fairy tale atmosphere. He's not going for strict realism.
As for "why burn the windmill," two reasons:
1) It's a more exciting climax and features striking imagery.
2) Burning the monster to death evokes witch burnings, cementing the idea that the monster is a wrongfully persecuted outsider.
TL;DR: Rule of cool.