Bride of Frankenstein
Published by Midnight Movie Monographs, 2023. 184 pages.
Edited by Emma Westwood

This is a rather small volume, priced at a little more than I would have liked to have paid for it, but that being said, there is a lot of wisdom and information packed into these 184 pages. The thing that I really enjoyed about this is that it contains 12 essays by 12 different writers, all covering a variety of subjects that have to do with James Whale’s 1935 sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein. While some are not specifically on the movie, there is that connection.

There is one on Franz Waxman and the incredible music he created for it, written by Dr. Dan Golding. Remember, there was a time in the early day of sound films that the studios didn’t want musical scores, feeling they would interfere with the voices and other sounds in the film. Then there is Scott Essman’s essay on the makeup for the Bride and the makeup artist Jack Pierce. Lots of good stuff in here.

But my absolute favorite is Jon Towlson’s Whale, Breen and The Bride, which really goes into details on how they were working with the Production Code Administration (PCA) and their Chief Censor, Joseph Breen, trying to make sure they wouldn’t run into trouble with the censors. Even though Whale was doing his best to still get what he wanted. It is amazing how much control the Catholic Church had over the studios, that they were willing to bow down to them. Just a great and very informative essay.

Each of the essays run from 10-20 pages, so it’s an easy book to knock off a chapter or two with each sitting if you don’t have a lot of time. If you’re a fan of this film, then I think you’ll find it pretty engaging.