Frankenstein

Edward van Sloan: How do you do? Mr. Carl Laemmle [the producer] feels it would be a little unkind to present this picture without just a word of friendly warning. We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation — life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even — horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance to — uh, well, we warned you. Elizabeth: The very day we announced our engagement, he told me of his experiments. He said he was on the verge of a discovery so terrific that he doubted his own sanity. There was a strange look in his eyes, some mystery. His words carried me right away. Of course I've never doubted him but still I worry. I can't help it. Dr. Waldman: Herr Frankenstein is a most brilliant

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Victor: [suggesting he see Dr. Waldman about Henry] Perhaps he can tell me more about all this. Elizabeth: Oh Victor, you're a dear. Victor: You know I'd go to the ends of the earth for you. Elizabeth: I shouldn't like that. I'm far too fond of you. Victor: I wish you were! Elizabeth: Victor. Victor: I'm sorry.

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Waldman: Herr Frankenstein is greatly changed. Victor: You mean changed as a result of his work? Waldman: Yes, his work, his insane ambition to create life. Elizabeth: How? How? Please tell us everything, whatever it is. Waldman: The bodies we use in our dissecting room for lecture purposes were not perfect enough for his experiments, he said. He wished us to supply him with other bodies and we were not to be too particular as to where and how we got them. I told him that his demands were unreasonable. And so he left the University to work unhampered. He found what he needed elsewhere. Victor: Oh! The bodies of animals. Well, what are the lives of a few rabbits and dogs? Waldman: You do not quite get what I mean. Herr Frankenstein was interested only in human life — first to destroy it, then recreate it. There you have his mad dream.

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Henry: Elizabeth, please, won't you go away? Won't you trust me, just for tonight? Elizabeth: You're ill. What's the matter? Henry: Nothing. I'm quite all right, truly I am. Oh, can't you see? I mustn't be disturbed. You'll ruin everything. My experiment is almost completed. Elizabeth: Wait a moment. I understand. I believe in you. But I cannot leave you tonight. Henry: You've got to leave! Victor: Henry, you're inhuman. You're crazy. Henry: Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not. Come on up...

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Henry: You're quite sure you want to come in? ...Very well. [locks door and pockets key] Forgive me, but I'm forced to take unusual precautions...A moment ago you said I was crazy. Tomorrow we'll see about that. [to Dr. Waldman] Don't touch that! Dr. Waldman. I learned a great deal from you at the University about the violet ray, the ultra-violet ray, which you said was the highest color in the spectrum. You were wrong. Here in this machinery I have gone beyond that. I have discovered the great ray that first brought life into the world. Waldman: Oh! And your proof? Henry: Tonight, you shall have your proof. At first, I experimented only with dead animals, and then a human heart which I kept beating for three weeks. But now, I'm going to turn that ray on that body and endow it with life. Waldman: And you really believe that you can bring life to the dead? Henry: That body is not dead. It has never lived. I created it. I made it with my own hands from the bodies I took from graves, from

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Henry: Look! It's moving. It's sha — it's... it's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive! It's alive, it's alive, it's alive! It's ALIVE! Victor: Henry — in the name of God! Henry: Oh in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!

Frankenstein (1931 film), CC BY-SA 4.0