: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."