Sunday, October 19, 2025
On Friday night Dale and I watched Frankenstein on TCM and I was surprised to find out Dale didn't think he had ever seen it before. He said he didn't realize how much overlap there was with Young Frankenstein and that this seemed all new to him. Huh. I coulda sworn we've watched it together.
Ben Mankiewicz was hosting and his guest was director John Carpenter. I learned "Bette Davis was considered for the role of Elizabeth in James Whale's 1931 film, but the part ultimately went to Mae Clarke. The casting decision was made by director Whale, who reportedly felt that Davis's strong, aggressive screen presence was not suitable for the delicate, ethereal nature of the character. Instead, Whale cast Mae Clarke, with whom he had previously worked on Waterloo Bridge (1931). Clarke's portrayal cemented her place in horror history. " (from an AI Overview on Google).
I can see how Bette Davis might come across as too tough in the role. Imagine the scene where Dr. Frankenstein locks his fiance Elizabeth in a room when he fears the monster is in the house but is actually outside. The monster crawls in the window of the room Elizabeth is in and proceeds to terrorize her. Instead of screaming bloody murder as Mae Clark did in the role I can imagine Bette marching right up to the monster, kicking him in the shins, and proclaiming, "I'd kiss ya but I just washed my hair!"
Anyway, it was fun to see the movie again as it's been a few years.
