The Monster peers through a window at Elizabeth draped
across the bed in a faint. The image evokes the scene where Boris Karloff’s
Monster confronts Mae Clarke on her wedding day, staged by director James Whale
in emulation of the Fuseli painting called The Nightmare.
Summer of ’32, Frankenstein, already a massive hit, was deploying to cinemas in America and all
around the world. In Australia, the highly anticipated film demolished house
records in Sydney and Perth. Booked into Brisbane for a June 10 premiere, the
management of the Tivoli theatre turned on the ballyhoo. As a measure of the
film’s expected success, a newspaper ad published on Tuesday, June 7, announces
that “sessions” will begin at 9 AM, effectively adding a couple of lucrative
showings to the day’s schedule.
Just so there was no doubt about the film’s shocks, “trained
nurses”— as opposed, one imagines, to those
unreliable, unskilled ones — are promised to be in attendance throughout the
film’s run. And should nurses fail to save you, free insurance, taken out with
Lloyd’s of London, guaranteed ₤1000 cash paid out to next of kin if you were
the first patron to die “caused by, and during, the screening of
‘Frankenstein’.” Fortunately, there is no
record of anyone having collected.
All that’s missing now is for the Frankenstein Monster
himself to show up. But what’s that “Special Frankenstein Night” coming up at
the Carlton Cabaret two days hence? Stick around and find out as the Frankenstein
in Brisbane series continues through the
coming week.
3 comments:
their many types of free insurance and these compression are supported by some kind of organization like Govt or other private organization like NGO.
“trained nurses”— as opposed, one imagines, to those unreliable, unskilled ones....
Ha!! Perhaps trained specially for Post Monster Trauma.
I'll sure stick around for more Frankenstein in Brisbane.
By the way, I read your Frankenstein Alive Alive post. I've been a Wrightson fan since I was a kid, and now that I have the chance to appreciate his art in glorious black and white in Frankenstein Alive Alive I'm just thrilled. Obviously, I decided to review the first issue here:
www.artbyarion.blogspot.com
Feel free to stop by and leave a comment. I'd love to hear the opinion of a seasoned horror fan such as yourself.
Cheers.
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