The 1931 movie Frankenstein was not the first film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel (that was in 1910), but it was the first to become a blockbuster hit. It starred Boris Karloff as the monster, and Colin Clive as Dr. Henry Frankenstein. It differed from the original novel by making the monster ugly and non-verbal, which was great for making the movie terrifying to audiences. There isn't enough time in a feature film to flesh out the psychological horror of the novel, anyway. This is the movie that cemented the pop culture appearance of the monster character in the mind of the public forever.
I thought this film's copyright didn't expire until 2026, thanks to our easily-bought congress and Disney. How about the 1931 Dracula?
ReplyDeleteIt disgruntles me to see just how much 'old' media is still under copyright, including many of the old Fleischer Popeye cartoons. Fifty-six years was long enough, but now it's ninety-five years. Ridiculous!
Well, WTM, we will find out when YouTube's algorithms pick up your comment. It may be a "limited time only" video.
ReplyDeleteAge-restricted ?
ReplyDeleteAnd not only does that not need a hyphen, but it is scandalous that in these modern days of the WORLD WIDE web, the YT video is geo-blocked and hence, not available in my country.
They're just trying to make me pay for a VPN.
Geo-blocked needs a hyphen as it is affixing a prefix to a word.
Age restricted does not as it is just two words.
Kicked out of school at 14 and never went back, wouldn't trust the veracity of anything I write.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was in the public domain when Universal made the movie. So the movie is in the public domain. But. What Universal did was copyright the image of Frankenstein (there was no description in the book). So. Anyone can make a Frankenstein movie, but the monster can't look like Boris Karloff's portrayal or Universal will definitely sue your arse. And before you ask, "What about Herman Munster?", well, Universal owns him too so permission granted.
ReplyDeleteUniversal copyrighted Dracula (1931) and renewed that copyright in 1958.