Frankenstein poster

Frankenstein

The man who made a monster.

7.5(1,875)19311h 10m7

Obsessed scientist Dr. Henry Frankenstein attempts to create life by assembling a creature from deceased body parts. Aided by his loyal misshapen assistant, Fritz, Frankenstein succeeds in animating his monster, but it flees into the countryside and begins to wreak havoc.

Share WhatsApp Telegram
Status
Released
Budget
$262K
Box office
$12M
Language
English
Part of Frankenstein (Universal) Collection · 5 films
  • fire
  • monster
  • experiment
  • based on novel or book
  • halloween
  • reanimation
  • laboratory
  • mad doctor
  • black and white
  • pre-code
  • body part
  • angry mob

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Director

James Whale

Produced in

United States of America

Where to watch

All options

Availability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.

Gallery

Still from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from FrankensteinStill from Frankenstein

Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • PremiereDetroit, Michigan19 Nov 1931
    • Theatrical21 Nov 1931
  • United KingdomGB

    • TheatricalPG24 Dec 1931
  • AustraliaAU

    • Theatrical1 Jul 1932
    • PhysicalMDVD16 Sept 2009
  • CzechiaCZ

    • PhysicalDVD24 May 2004
    • PhysicalDVD27 May 2004
  • FranceFR

    • Theatrical24 Jun 1932
  • GermanyDE

    • Theatrical1617 May 1932
  • HungaryHU

    • Theatrical1630 Apr 1936
  • IrelandIE

    • TheatricalPG25 Mar 1932
  • ItalyIT

    • TheatricalT2 Dec 1935
  • JapanJP

    • TheatricalG15 Apr 1932
  • NetherlandsNL

    • Physical16DVD3 Jun 2004
    • TV16Net 524 Jul 2004
  • PortugalPT

    • TheatricalM/1210 Jan 1933

Frequently asked questions

Frankenstein was released on 21 November 1931.

Audience reviews

6
  • D

    Dsnake1

    10/4/2018

    8/10

    Frankenstein, a movie primarily about how Doctor Henry Frankenstein deals with the fallout of his monster actually coming to life, holds up very well almost ninety years from its release. Starting with the monster itself, we find a fantastic character. Without any lines of dialogue, the filmmakers and Boris Karloff had to use actions and emotions to display the motivations of the monster, and they did a fantastic …

  • J

    John Chard

    10/26/2019

    9/10

    Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God! We will always see debates about which of the original wave of Universal Monster movies is the most important. With Dracula being released just under a year before Frankenstein, that tends to give the vampire crowd a sense of justifiable cause for a trumpet fanfare. Perhaps the more pertinent question is which is the better movie? Surely the most ha…

  • G

    Gimly

    12/22/2019

    5/10

    Not a totally faithful adaptation of the Mary Shelley book, still extremely important for not just horror movies, but movies as a whole. I thought about coming at this review from the perspective of what 1931's _Frankenstein_ meant for the future of cinema, and how it was still essentially in its infancy and doing anything even close to what _Frankenstein_ did, changing the culture forever and remaining in the zeitge…

  • J

    JPV852

    10/10/2021

    8/10

    Very well made monster movie featuring fine performances all around, even Boris Karloff as the Monster even though he only grunts throughout. Some good set pieces and just an all around entertaining flick. **4.25/5**

  • W

    Wuchak

    9/30/2023

    7/10

    **_Iconic Gothic horror tragedy_** This Universal classic from 1931 was based on the 1927 play by Peggy Webling rather than Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. For those interested in versions fairly faithful to the book, I suggest Kenneth Branagh's 1994 version with De Niro as the creature or the 2004 version with Luke Goss as the monster, the latter of which runs almost 3 hours. Of course, the gist of Shelley’s stor…

Member reviews

Sign in to rate and review. Browsing stays free and open.

Sign in

Member comments

0

Sign in to post a comment. Browsing stays free and open.

Sign in

More like this