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The Cutting Edge of Creation: Frankenstein and May
By Staff Writer Jim Cohn
September quiz question:
Perhaps Patricia Highsmith's most enduring literary creation is Tom Ripley who premiered in her 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley. The story was recently made into a film of that name, starring Matt Damon in the title role.
Correctly name the books that used Tom Ripley as their main character and tell the year of publication for each.
This was a stumper-no one provided the correct answer to last month's quiz. So, for those suffering with sleep deprivation from the strain of wondering, here is the answer. There are five Ripley books. Including The Talented Mr. Ripley, mentioned above, Tom Ripley was the protagonist in Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley's Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980), and Ripley Under Water (1991).
Sources: Amazon.com and Patricia Highsmith
Frankenstein's Mother
The story of the writing of Frankenstein seems to have nearly as many incarnations as Hollywood has devised for the monster. The version I heard was related, many years ago, by one of my college lit instructors. It goes something like this: Mary Shelley (At that time she was not married and retained her maiden name of Godwin) was vacationing in Switzerland with close friend Lord Byron, lover Percy Shelley, and other, less notable friends. Bored one night, Lord Byron challenged the group to write a ghost story. Inspired, Ms. Godwin retired to her chamber and wrote furiously, appearing the next morning with a completed first draft of what was to be the novel, Frankenstein.
The real story is somewhat less dramatic, but the result is no less profound. On June 16, 1816, the group described above was spending the summer in Switzerland. That much is true. Mary and Percy were staying at the Chapuis, in Geneva, while Lord Byron had rented a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva for himself and his entourage. One night, while Mary and Percy were visiting Byron, a violent storm blew up preventing them from returning to the Chapuis. To pass the evening, Byron had the group read aloud from a German collection of ghost stories titled, The Fantasmagoriana. One of the stories involved travelers telling each other ghost stories. Byron adopted the idea and challenged each member of his party write a ghost story.
Nearly a week passed and Mary had still not come up with a story. The rest of the group, including Byron and Shelley, had ceased their efforts, but Mary was unable to drop the challenge. On the night of June 22nd, Byron's guests discussed whether the principle of life could be discovered and whether a human corpse could be brought to life, a subject mentioned in a book of the time, De Stael's De l'Allemagne. The conversation had a profound effect on Mary. She later wrote that, when she went to her bedroom she had a vision:
I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life...His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away...hope that...this thing...would subside into dead matter...he opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains...
Mary completed the novel nearly a year later, in May, 1817. It was published on January 1, 1818.
Grateful thanks to Kim W. Woodbridge for her scholarly essays on the life and works of Mary Shelley, and for the other excellent sources available on her website. Visit at: Kim W. Woodbridge
October Quiz Question: Far and away, Frankenstein is Mary Shelley's best-known novel. But, the Gothic-Victorian author wrote six other, lesser known novels.
Name just one of them and receive a Tip of the Black Fedora from Critical Jim, The Hit Man in next month's column. Send your answers to Critical Jim at ReadersRoom2@aol.com.
Frankenstein
(1931)
Based on the novel, Frankenstein: or the modern Prometheus by Mary Shelly
Screenplay: Francis Edwards Faragoh, Robert Florey, Garrett Fort, John Balderston
Director: James Whale
Cast: The Monster: Boris Karloff; Henry Frankenstein: Colin Clive; Elizabeth: Mae Clarke; Victor Moritz: John Boles; Dr. Waldman: Edward Van Sloan; Fritz: Dwight Frye
The Movie
To those of you who shun old horror movies with the same vehemence the villagers shunned Dr. Frankenstein's monster--because of their dated appearance and soap opera acting -- I say, "Get past it! You are depriving yourself of some excellent film fare." A visit to the original Frankenstein is well worth the 73 minutes you'll spend with this film.
Yes, the style is off-putting for those of us weaned on modern cinema techniques. But get past the hammy acting, the sometimes amateurish camera shots, the overdrawn melodrama, the hokey music, and you're in for a treat. This story contains more literary themes than all of Wes Craven's movies combined. Within its brief run time you'll find: life and death, religion and science, royalty and peasantry, career versus love and marriage, mob psychology, and the consequences of ignorance-driven fear.
Whew! That's a lot to cram into a short movie. But, it's all done smoothly and with no extraneous elements by director James Whale, the man credited as the guiding force behind the success of Frankenstein. Undoubtedly, this is the most influential horror film ever made. It has set the pattern for nearly every monster movie since its release and brought the image of Dr. Frankenstein's creation into every part of our culture, even adorning clothing and breakfast cereal boxes.
If all of that isn't enough to convince you it's worth a viewing, remember: Frankenstein is the movie that gave Boris Karloff stardom. Bela Lugosi was originally cast to play the monster but backed out, claiming the part wasn't suitable. Whale remembered Karloff--a forty-four year old bit player for Universal Studios--and knew he'd be perfect for the role.
He was right. Karloff's talent enabled him to put a human face on the monster, to make him a sympathetic victim despite the grisly make-up, undersized clothes, and oversized boots. This is seen most clearly when he encounters a little girl by a lake. She is unafraid and invites him to play with her. Together they pick flowers and toss them into the lake. The monster smiles with delight, clearly enjoying the attention of his new friend -- his first -- as they watch the flowers float like tiny boats. When there are no more flowers he picks up the child and throws her into the lake, expecting her also to float. But, she sinks and he runs away, horror and confusion apparent on his grotesque face.
It is an extraordinary moment that turns the point of view from outrage at the monster's action to pity for his plight. And, it is quite possibly the moment that changed horror films forever.
There are reasons that some movies become classics. View Frankenstein with a fresh eye and you'll understand why this one has withstood the test of time.
May
(2002)
Screenplay: Lucky McKee
Director: Lucky McKee
Cast: May Canady: Angela Bettis; Adam Stubbs: Jeremy Sisto; Polly: Anna Faris
The Movie
Go to the Internet Movie Database ( IMDB ), type "Frankenstein" in the search box, and you'll come up with an astounding 82 big-screen movies that use the famous name in the title. That doesn't include TV movies, video movies, TV series, and even video games. It also doesn't include movies that strongly rely on some or all of the themes presented by Mary Shelley in her classic novel, but don't contain "Frankenstein" in the title.
Among the recent best of these is May, a film by Lucky McKee. May takes the theme of creating life from death and spins it into a modern horror-slasher film. Before you say, "That's not for me!" consider that May is more than a mere blood and guts movie. Sprinkled throughout are some wonderful lines in the dark comedy vein, as when a young man May is infatuated with shows her a film he made in college about two cannibals courting. When it's over he asks for her opinion and she replies, with perfect sincerity, "I don't think that she could have gotten his whole finger in one bite, though. That part was kind of far-fetched."
Writer-director McKee also pays respectful homage to the films of Dario Argento, dotting the film with references to the legendary horror director. And, as events propel the story to its inexorable conclusion, we see McKee's tribute to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as May, far past the edge of insanity, fashions a "friend" from the body parts of those she feels have wronged her.
But, putting all of the cleverness aside, what makes this movie work is the performance of Angela Bettis in the title role. May Canady is a young lady with a deformity--a lazy eye--that causes her to be shunned by other children as she grows up. To compensate, her mother gives her a doll named Susie and tells May, "If you can't find a friend, make one." Now, as a young lady, May wants to move beyond Susie to find "…a real friend. Someone I can hold."
But, it's not easy. May has no social skills--she doesn't know how to meet or to talk to people, and she doesn't understand that being serious about someone doesn't make the feeling mutual. It is here--May's inability to cope with disappointment--that the movie turns from dark comedy to dark psychosis.
It would have been easy for Bettis to take the easy way and portray an eccentric May destined for insanity. Instead, Bettis employs great skill and control of voice, body language and facial expression to show us a May who is vulnerable, optimistic, forward, shy, endearing, obsessive, sexy and quirky all at the same time. In so doing, we are captivated in a way that urges us, against all reasoning, to sympathize with her character.
Actors in horror films are never nominated for Academy Awards--the genre just isn't taken that seriously. But, Bettis' performance is of that caliber.
Supporting actors Jeremy Sisto (Adam Stubbs, the boy May yearns for) and Anna Faris (Polly, the lesbian receptionist at May's job) earn honorable mention for bringing seriousness and humor to their roles in a way that makes plausible the May who is striving to be "normal" and, later, the outcast May hell-bent on revenge.
May is Lucky McKee's first solo attempt at writing and directing a movie (He co-wrote and co-directed 2001's All Cheerleaders Die). But, this is not a film dragged down by inexperience. Rather, it is a mature work by someone who respects the art of film and loves the genre he's chosen to convey his vision.
May is a worthy first effort by a talent who just may have the potential to become this century's Hitchcock.
Do you have comments about Jim's reviews? He'd love to hear from you. Contact him at:
ReadersRoom2@aol.com
Copyright 2003 by ReadersRoom, LLC. All rights reserved.
