No sign of Elsa on this ad… This Bride is Valerie Hobson’s Elizabeth!
When BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN came to Australia in mid-1935,
exhibitors turned on the ballyhoo. Theaters were festooned with posters,
cutouts and eerie lights. Stand-ins for The Monster and his Bride patrolled
lobbies and neighborhood streets, and went shopping for a trousseau.
This early ad for Sydney's Hoyt's Plaza ran in The Truth on Sunday, July 14, setting the stage for the film’s much anticipated
arrival on Friday the 19th. “Public interest in “The Bride of
Frankenstein” is already unprecedented. AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT BY BOOKING NOW!”
The effective art is a composite of promotional stills. Note
how Hobson’s Elizabeth is lifted from a photo with Karloff’s Monster…
The dress is retouched as a bridal gown and a bridal veil is
painted in. The forlorn Frankenstein head looming over Elizabeth was also used as decoration, painted
giant-size and wrapping around the box-office over at the palatial 1,650-seat
Plaza.
“THE MONSTER DEMANDS A MATE! But what heart, what soul,
what flesh so brave would dare be his bride…?”
In an era of adrenalized ad copy, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
inspired writer to new heights of lyricism and hype. The small print copy down
the side of this ad reads as follows:
SYDNEY IS THRILLING WITH EXCITEMENT!
First it was a murmur! Now it’s roar — an incessant
clamour for information about this strange bride. The public pulse is
quickening to the vision thrill of her romance with the monster. What will the
bride look like? What manner of woman could be mated with the strangest and
most terrifying figure in the whole literature of the screen?
And When You Actually See Her!!
You’ll marvel… You’ll wonder… is she human, monster or
devil? But you’ll be entirely enthralled at the weirdest honeymoon ever
conceived!
SUCH A WOMAN AS THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN HAS NEVER
BEFORE EXISTED IN THE FURTHEST REACHES OF HUMAN IMAGINING. A NEW KIND OF WOMAN…
GLAMOROUS… TERRIFYING… EERIE!
5 comments:
Great pictures. The Bride of Frankenstein is a great movie, my only gripe with it, and it has nothing to do with its quality, is that it started having people confuse the monster with Frankenstein himself.
Pas vraient, Guillaume. Referring to The Monster as Frankenstein has been fairly common, going all the way back to Mary Shelley’s time. In the Webling/Balderston play of the late 1920s, The Monster is specifically referred to as Frankenstein because he was made by Frankenstein and therefore earned the right to use his father’s name.
The fact that Valerie Hobson was -- what? -- 17 at the time?... just makes it creepier.
As for calling the Monster "Frankenstein", check out Stephen Colbert's take on the subject.
It's all funny, but the pertinent comment is at about the 4 minute mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRMnJDgStTw
Guillaume: Vous aurez compris que je voulais écrire "pas vraiment".
Rick: THE HAT HAS SPOKEN!
Well, I'm afraid the HAT will just have to "bolt and chase" me. I can't help myself. You say "Frankenstein" when you mean the Monster -- my mouth automatically spits out the correction. Very Pavlovian.
Post a Comment