Rant Review: Spooky Portraits 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Galison, art by Anne Bentley)

I never got around to grabbing this one last year, and now it's risen from the grave and staggered across my puzzle board! It's a simple, fun piece of art with clearly delineated sections that made it a breeze to assemble. The toughest part was the edge, and it was still quite easy. My favorite portraits are the Bride primping her epic coif, the friendly reaper, the very Margaret Hamiltonian witch, and the Gill Man showing off his new manicure. Happily, the  pieces have the matte soft touch texture I liked so much on my last Galison. The foil adds some nice extra visual flair, but it's difficult to capture in a photo. There was more dust than usual, but the fit is as good as usual, and the completed puzzle can be picked up without crumbling.

 

Rant Review: Thriller Movie Classics 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Seesaw, Art by Lewis Johnson)

I always enjoy a good collage, and this one is right up my alley! I've seen all but a few of these movies, many of them courtesy of MST3K. There are some bonafide classics here, and even the schlocky flicks represented here are generally a fun watch. In case anyone is looking over these movies and feeling inspired to watch some, my picks for the five best are The Mummy, The Body Snatcher, The Haunting, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. (King Kong and The Birds get honorable mentions because everyone knows damn well that those are all-timers!) 

I quite like most of the poster art, but I'm not thrilled by the Kong art used here. The actual art is not the issue, but it's odd that this is the only movie represented for which new art was created. Why not use any of the numerous movie posters? Licensing issue, perhaps? The poster used for The Black Cat is for the 1966 version from Hemisphere, not the 1935 all-timer that first teamed Lugosi and Karloff, or even the tepid 1940 version, both of which had far more interesting posters. Just FYI in case anyone is looking at this and wondering why they chose to feature that poster! 

I've had a pair of Seesaws in my pile for a while, and selected this one as my first foray into the brand. The pieces are on the thin side, but sturdy, and have a pretty nice feel. The fit is a bit loose, and while the art generally made it easy to avoid false fits, they were certainly possible. There wasn't a whole lot of dust to deal with. Overall, this is a decent quality puzzle, about in line with what I expect for $12. My other Seesaw is Xmas themed, so I'll (presumably) be tackling it once we've made it to the end of the year.

Rant Review: Welcome to Spooky Town 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Mudpuppy/Galison, art by Stephanie Birdsong)

I chose another cute Halloween-themed Galison puzzle to serve as a palette cleanser between 1,000 piecers, and I enjoyed this one even more than the last one! The art is vibrant and very cute. The themed colors for each zone made for a very easy puzzling experience, as it became a series of mini puzzles tied together by the road. I nearly completed this in one sitting, but I made myself stop and wait until the next day to complete the final third so I wouldn't blow through it too quickly. I like the art enough that I was tempted to keep it intact for framing later to put with some of my Halloween stuff, but I'd rather have it available to put together again next year!

The quality is typical of Galison, with their usual thin, sturdy pieces with white paper backing. There was little dust, and I had no false fits. Pieces fit together snugly, and the completed puzzle passed the lift test! In my experience, Galison is one of the more reliable brands out there. 

Frankenstein Friday: Bride of Frankenstein art by comic book greats

Previously on this date: Horror of Dracula and House of Leaves!

Today we'll be taking a look at some awesome renditions of the Bride by a variety of comic artists! Enjoy!

Here's a pair by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola:

This one is by DC Animated Universe mastermind Bruce Timm:

Kevin Nowlan:

Bill Sienkiewicz: (And yes, I was able to spell that without checking.)

Art Adams:

Sadly, I don't know the artists responsible for the rest of these, but they're too great not to share! I definitely recognize the art style on some, but just can't quite put a name with it.

Frankenstein Friday: Karloff in and out of the Monster makeup

Previously on this date: The Comedy of Terrors and The Rattle of Bones

Here's your weekly dose of Frankenstein goodness! Today we'll be looking at some photos I've come across over the years that haven't yet been featured here, all from the first two Universal Frankenstein films. Enjoy!

As a bonus, here's a shot of Karloff playing the part of the mad scientist alongside Glen Strange's Monster in 1944's House of Frankenstein!

31 Days of Halloween: Halloween wallpaper

One year ago: Son of Frankenstein

In all of the Halloween decorating this year, there's one thing some of you may have forgotten: your computer! There's no reason you can't snazz up your PC/laptop/Mac/what have you for Halloween as well! To that end, today I'll be sharing some of the Halloween-friendly wallpapers I have. 

(Stupid photobucket resizes them, so they're smaller than the actual pics; if any of these strike your fancy, you can email me to get it in a larger size. Even with them shrunk a bit, the larger-than usual size of these will play havoc on the blog's formatting, but I think we can let that slide just for today, eh?)

31 Days of Halloween: The Bride of Frankenstein

 It's Frankenstein Friday, and today we'll be looking at what is widely considered the greatest horror movie of all time: The Bride of Frankenstein!

After the runaway success of the original Frankenstein, Universal immediately began considering a sequel. James Whale was initially uninterested, but studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. had decided he was the only man for the job, and Whale eventually acquiesced. (He was able to use this as a bargaining chip to get Universal to agree to fund One More River.)

Originally titled The Return of Frankenstein, the project was held up until a satisfactory script could be written. After several drafts that Whale deemed unusable, he tapped John L. Balderston to write a new script. It was Balderston who took the idea of the Monster's mate from the novel and worked it into the screenplay. He also came up with the prologue featuring Mary Shelly and friends discussing the Frankenstein story.

Once the prologue is over, The film beings immediately where the previous film ended, with the Monster (Karloff) trapped in the burning windmill. As the angry mob leaves, satisfied that "justice" has been served, it becomes clear that the Monster has survived, falling into the reservoir.

Meanwhile, Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his new bride Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) are intruded upon by Dr. Pretorious(Ernest Thesiger). Pretorious convinces Frankenstein that the two of them should create a mate for the Monster.

The Monster has a series of misadventures in the meantime, eventually befriending a blind hermit(O. P. Heggie). The Monster learns to speak(although he does not progress to the point of the articulate, expressive Monster of the novel). After this idyllic existence is ruined by intruders(one of which is a young John Carradine), the Monster encounters Pretorious. Treating the Monster as a fellow human being, Pretorious enlists the aid of the Monster in his plans. the Monster is able to coerce the wavering Frankenstein to commence creation of the Monster's mate!

Karloff is a marvel in this film. He did not want the Monster to speak, but the rudimentary speech imbues the Monster with a whole new dimension that the previous film's mute Monster necessarily lacked. Karloff is able to bring even more pathos and humanity to the role. However, a speaking Monster meant that Karloff could not remove his dental plate as he did in the first film, so the Monster does not have the deeply sunken right cheek he had in the previous film.

The rest of the performances are excellent across the board.Colin Clive brings all of the manic energy to the Frankenstein role that he had in the first film. Hobson is more than adequate as Elizabeth, replacing Mae Clarke, who was reportedly ill at the time. Dwight Frye, delightful as always, plays Karl, the requisite lab assistant. Ernest Thesiger is fantastic as Pretorious, bringing to the role every bit of charm and sardonic wit he could muster, and that's quite a lot. Wonderful as Horace Femm in Whale's The Old Dark House, Thesiger is given more time to shine in Bride, and the film is the better for it. Elsa Lanchester pulls double duty as Mary Shelley in the film's prologue and as the titular Bride. She doesn't get a lot of screen time, but she makes the most of what she is given, and stands as the only iconic female monster that is in the same class as the rest of the Universal pantheon.

Makeup artist extraordinaire Jack Pierce went above and beyond in this film, creating several different versions of the Monster's makeup so that his hair re-grows and his wounds actually heal over the course of the film! The design of the Bride was reportedly a collaborative effort with Whale; the hairstyle, based on Egyptian queen Nefertiti, was achieved with the use of a wire frame.

Kenneth Strickfaden again contributed the marvelous lab equipment. Franz Waxman's excellent score contributes a great deal to the effectiveness of the film, giving it a decided edge over its predecessor.

The Bride of Frankenstein had only grown in stature in the decades since its release. Today, it is almost universally regarded as the crown jewel in the classic cycle of horror films, and I find myself in complete agreement with that. It remains one of the greatest films from Hollywood's golden age, and is absolutely required viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in classic horror films.