The last 25 seconds, where that one scene of henry recovering, almost completely ruined the film for me. I know its silly, but it really just took so much out of the dramatic weight that the windmill scene had given us.
Yeah the studio insisted they tack that on. I thought it sucked too, but without it we wouldn't have had Bride of Frankenstein, so it's not all bad.
Exactly. Boo.share
Why would we not have Bride of Frankenstein? The opening of BoF effectively negates the tacked-on ending of Frankenstein anyway with the old he's-not-quite-dead-yet trick.
shareI suppose, but it's easier to explain how the superstrong monster survived the fiasco on the windmill than the mortal Henry.
Exactly. Boo.share
Before that closing scene - one of the villagers state that Frankenstein is alive. I’m not sure there was any reason for that added scene - except for the Baron to raise a toast. However, that raises a different question - what happened to the Baron in BoF? It is implied that somehow, Henry Frankenstein’s experiences at the windmill somehow caused the Baron’s death, but, at the end of Frankenstein, the Baron seems in decent health (except for the growth behind his right ear).
shareNever knew the studio insisted on tacking that ending on but that makes so much sense.
share[deleted]
Agreed. Whenever I watch it, I stop the DVD when the scene at the windmill fades out and go right to Bride of Frankenstein.
shareSo guys, its been a couple of years now, and I decided to revisit the ending just to see how I really feel. While it still isn't the strongest ending, it does work fine now. I guess its more about what I wanted to see than anything, because it really was supposed to be epic. Think about it, there were many shots of both the monster and his creator staring at one another, which really suggests some sort of deep connection between the two. If it had ended with both of them dying rather than simply burning the creature, it would have been a perfect story. However, I do like the movie better than I did before, and I actually like it more than the Dracula film, mainly because it didn't have as much annoying actors/characters. So I'm kind of over the ending now, but I will definitely agree that it could have been better.
shareWell, I can tell you of ONE person who didn't like it at all. Mr. Clive! He loathed the Genre, and originally only did the film as a favour to James Whale. He also felt that Henry Frankenstein should have been punished for his crimes.
Clive apparently didn't find out about the "Happy Ending" until he was on the boat going Home. Possibly, he felt that "Jimmy" had pulled a fast one on him.
Well then it's a miracle he decided to do Bride of Frankenstein.
"Time to die! Like a man!" Venom Spider-Man Web of Shadows
[deleted]
Before the Universal Collection dvd release, I only knew the film ended with the burning mill, very dramatic and sad. I still think that is the strongest ending of this gruesome old tale.
"I don't discriminate between entertainment
and arthouse. A film is a goddam film."
Has the film been released with the windmill ending? I've only seen the movie twice, but both versions I watched had the happy ending, and both times I was left slightly disappointed. I was hoping that the blu-ray version would have an option to watch it with the original ending, but unfortunately it doesn't.
I guess for future viewings I'll just have to turn off the movie immediately after the burning windmill scene. It's such a haunting and perfect scene.
Welcome to Fright Night....for real.
I've seen this film more times than I can remember in the past 50-odd years, in theaters, on broadcast, videocassette, LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-ray, but never in all of those viewings have I seen it end at the windmill scene.
To the best of my knowledge, Victor's bedside "recovery" was added before its initial release. If there's a version around somewhere without it, I've somehow managed to miss it.
Having said that, I'll note that back in the '60s, there was at least one local broadcast station in the L.A. market that would sometimes run it with the first several scenes omitted, opening on the laboratory the night of the "creation" (presumably to allow for more ads). Perhaps there have been stations in other markets that have lopped off the final scene.
Poe! You are...avenged!
They added the "Bedside Recovery" scene AFTER the Preview, and BEFORE the Public Release. People disliked the violence of the windmill fight, so Whale cobbled together the "Bedside Recovery" scene using Stand-ins for Colin Clive and Mae Clarke. The fight may have been edited a bit as well: I have a still of the shot where the villagers examine Henry after his fall from the mill. In the still, his face looks a bit battered. In the final cut of the film, it doesn't.
Colin Clive didn't see the final release of FRANKENSTEIN until the London Premiere in early 1932. I'm sure the version he saw was even tamer than what we saw, due to additional British Censorship.
I can tell you, that in Fifty Plus years of viewing, I've seen FRANKENSTEIN chopped on INDIE TV Stations from Coast to Coast.
The "Hearts and Flowers" Recovery has always been there. (g)
Hope this Helps.
JS
I do hope he won't upset Henry...
Yup, that's pretty much the way I've always heard it. As I understand it, the only preview without the bedside scene was a press screening at the studio, and that there were never any public exhibitions of any prints without it.
But as you hint, there doesn't seem to be any limit to the ways in which independent broadcasters will edit a film.
Poe! You are...avenged!
I live in Europe.
And the TV broadcast of Frankenstein in the 1970s and 1980s, in the Netherlands and in Germany, was always without the bedscene. I had the burning windmill ending taped on VHS video, until I bought my dvd.
-I don't discriminate between entertainment
and arthouse. A film is a goddam film.-
Quite interesting that broadcasts in those European markets were edited in that way. I appreciate the info.
Before the DVD release, had you known about the bedside scene, either from books or anecdotally, or did it come as a complete surprise to you?
Poe! You are...avenged!
I'm not sure if I knew about the bedside ending before I read about the dvd. Possibly yes.
I have to say, I'm still not quite used to it. When you know the film by heart as a child, the downbeat burning windmill ending is as dark as the woods of the Big Bad Wolf, sort of the perfect ending chord of a sad symphony.
-I don't discriminate between entertainment
and arthouse. A film is a goddam film.-
Even without having seen it edited as you describe, it's easy enough to envision, and the effect equally easy to imagine, so I'm inclined to agree. And it's significant, isn't it, that the film makers chose to pick up the story in Bride just at the same point, proceeding as though the earlier epilogue had never existed?
Poe! You are...avenged!
The ending is crap, but still far better than the tacked-on ending to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.
shareAccording to Greg Mank in his book It's Alive!, the bedside ending was cut for later reissues so that this film would flow better for the sequel, and wasn't restored until the film was released to television in 1957.
shareThats my favorite part of the movie. I enjoyed seeing the Baron seeing his son get his well rest laying in bed
By the way, its not necessary to put the word spoiler in your headline for a movie thats over 90 years old