Bride of Frankenstein
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:24:01
It's done in a very metric fashion,
:24:03
recalling the Danse Macabre
of Saint-Saëns.

:24:06
In fact Waxman called the cue
Danse Macabre.

:24:10
Bride of Frankenstein attracted
censorship, during and after production.

:24:14
The prologue was shortened,
:24:16
in part to eliminate all close-ups
of Elsa Lanchester's décolletage.

:24:20
That was just the beginning.
:24:22
The film had about 15 minutes of cuts
made before it was nationally released.

:24:27
I think again Universal
was trying to play it safe.

:24:30
The film was incredibly outrageous
and in some ways almost subversive.

:24:35
I think they wanted to make sure
it didn't get them in too much trouble.

:24:39
Like all Hollywood scripts,
the script for the Bride

:24:42
had to be presented to the Breen office,
the censorship board within Hollywood,

:24:46
to have approval and discussion
of any objectionable issues.

:24:50
The script contained
many religious references,

:24:52
some of which could be intended or
construed as bordering on blasphemy.

:24:57
It may be that I'm intended
to know the secret of life.

:25:01
It may be part of the divine plan.
:25:04
Henry, don't say those things.
Don't think them.

:25:07
It's blasphemous and wicked.
We are not meant to know those things.

:25:11
The monster is man-made, not God-made,
:25:13
but he goes through a Christ-like orbit of
misunderstanding and ultimate betrayal.

:25:18
The original script had the monster
mistaking the figure on a crucifix

:25:22
for a suffering, persecuted creature
like himself.

:25:25
The censors would have none of that,
so now the Christus is a background prop

:25:31
and he instead - more blasphemously -
topples the statue of a bishop,

:25:35
as though he's assaulting
organised religion.

:25:37
That's a visual cue
that was not in the script

:25:40
and therefore didn't receive objection.
:25:43
When Henry and Dr Pretorius
speak about the possible mad plan

:25:48
to create new female life,
:25:50
the blasphemous Dr Pretorius
invokes religious iconography

:25:55
and says "Follow the lead of nature,
or of God..."

:25:59
It was scripted
"...if you like your fairytales."


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