Editing Bride of Frankenstein (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Bride gip.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, and Ernest Thesiger.]]
The film premiered on April 19 in San Francisco, California, at the Orpheum Theater.<ref>{{cite book|last=Towlson|first=Jon|title=The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931-1936|location=Jefferson, N.C.|publisher=McFarland|date=2016|isbn=9780786494743|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vsUWDQAAQBAJ|page=117|postscript=none}}; {{cite book|last=Mank|first=Gregory W.|title=The Very Witching Time of Night: Dark Alleys of Classic Horror Cinema|location=Jefferson, N.C.|publisher=McFarland|date=2014|isbn=9780786449552|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-TDAwAAQBAJ|page=143|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=This Day in History: April 19|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=March 31, 2017|accessdate=April 21, 2022|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/retro-baltimore/bal-this-day-in-history-april-19-20170331-story.html|postscript=none|archive-date=April 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422115849/https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/retro-baltimore/bal-this-day-in-history-april-19-20170331-story.html|url-status=live}}; {{cite news|title='Bride of Frankenstein' at Orpheum Tomorrow|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=April 18, 1935|page=12|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|last=Hanifin|first=Ada|title='Bride of Frankenstein' Seen at Orpheum Today|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=April 19, 1935|page=14}}</ref>{{Efn|Film historian Martin F. Norden says the film had its world premiere in Chicago, Illinois.<ref name=norden>{{cite book|last=Norden|first=Martin F.|chapter='We're Not All Dead Yet': Humor Amid the Horror in James Whale's 'Bride of Frankenstein'|title=The Laughing Dead: The Horror-Comedy Film from "Bride of Frankenstein" to "Zombieland"|editor-last1=Miller|editor-first1=Cynthia J.|editor-last2=Van Riper|editor-first2=Anthony Bowdoin|location=Lanham, Md.|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=2016|isbn=9781442268326|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GconDAAAQBAJ|page=119, fn. 31}}</ref>}} The film went into general release on April 20.<ref name=norden /><ref>{{cite news|title=Monster to Appear Again|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 19, 1935|page=Part I-1}}</ref>

''Bride of Frankenstein'' was profitable for Universal, with a 1943 report showing that the film had by then earned approximately $2 million (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|2000000|1943|r=-4}}|0}} in {{CURRENTISOYEAR}} money) for the studio, a profit of about $950,000 (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|950000|1943|r=-4}}|0}} as of {{CURRENTISOYEAR}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}}<ref>Curtis p. 251</ref> Contemporary reviews were mostly positive, though the film's reputation has grown over time. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|98|9|51|An eccentric, campy, technically impressive, and frightening picture, James Whale's ''Bride of Frankenstein'' has aged remarkably well.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bride_of_frankenstein|title=Bride of Frankenstein|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128123207/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bride_of_frankenstein|url-status=live}}</ref> {{MC film|95|16}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-bride-of-frankenstein|title=The Bride of Frankenstein Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[Fandom (website)#Fandom, Inc.|Fandom, Inc.]]|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704123501/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-bride-of-frankenstein|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was critically praised upon its release, although some reviewers did qualify their opinions based on the film's being in the horror genre. The ''[[New York World-Telegram]]'' called the film "good entertainment of its kind".<ref name = curtis2501 /> The ''[[New York Post]]'' described it as "a grotesque, gruesome tale which, of its kind, is swell".<ref name = curtis2501 /> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' similarly called the film "a joy for those who can appreciate it".<ref name = curtis2501>Curtis, pp. 250–51</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' did not so qualify its review: "[It is] one of those rare instances where none can review it, or talk about it, without mentioning the cameraman, art director, and score composer in the same breath as the actors and director". ''Variety'' also praised the cast, writing that "Karloff manages to invest the character with some subtleties of emotion that are surprisingly real and touching ... Thesiger as Dr. Pretorious [is] a diabolic characterization if ever there was one ... Lanchester handles two assignments, being first in a preamble as author Mary Shelley and then the created woman. In latter assignment she impresses quite highly".<ref name = variety>{{cite news | last =Variety staff | title =Bride of Frankenstein | work =[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date =January 1, 1935 | url =https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789526.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 | access-date =January 6, 2008 | archive-date =December 6, 2008 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081206032106/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789526.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 | url-status =live }}</ref>

In another unqualified review, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' wrote that the film had "a vitality that makes their efforts fully the equal of the original picture ... Screenwriters Hurlbut & Balderston and Director James Whale have given it the macabre intensity proper to all good horror pieces, but have substituted a queer kind of mechanistic pathos for the sheer evil that was ''Frankenstein''".<ref>{{cite magazine | title = The New Pictures | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date = April 29, 1935 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,754638-2,00.html | access-date = January 6, 2008 | archive-date = December 4, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081204075835/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,754638-2,00.html | url-status = dead}}</ref> The ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'' concurred it was "a fantasy produced on a rather magnificent scale, with excellent stagecraft and fine photographic effects".<ref>{{cite news | last =Soanes | first =Wood | title = Frankenstein stalks again in Roxie play | work = [[Oakland Tribune]] | date =1935-05-25}}</ref> While the ''[[Winnipeg Free Press]]'' thought that the electrical equipment might have been better suited to [[Buck Rogers]], nonetheless the reviewer praised the film as "exciting and sometimes morbidly gruesome", declaring that "all who enjoyed ''Frankenstein'' will welcome his ''Bride'' as a worthy successor".<ref>{{cite news | title = Lyceum screens "Monster" sequel | work = [[Winnipeg Free Press]] | date =1935-05-24}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' called Karloff "so splendid in the role that all one can say is 'he is the Monster'".<ref name = nytreview>{{cite news
| last = F.S.N.
| title = Bride of Frankenstein At the Roxy
| work = [[The New York Times]]
| date = May 11, 1935
| quote = Mr. Karloff is so splendid in the role that all one can say is 'he is the Monster'. Mr. Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester, O. P. Heggie, Ernest Thesiger, E. E. Clive, and Una O'Connor fit snugly into the human background before which Karloff moves.
| url = https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9807EEDA1139E33ABC4952DFB366838E629EDE
| access-date = February 1, 2009
| archive-date = June 19, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120619233705/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9807EEDA1139E33ABC4952DFB366838E629EDE
| url-status = live
}}</ref> The ''Times'' praised the entire principal cast and Whale's direction in concluding that ''Bride'' is "a first-rate horror film",<ref name = nytreview /> and presciently suggested that "the Monster should become an institution, like [[Charlie Chan]]".<ref name = nytreview /> ''Bride'' was nominated for one [[Academy Award]], for [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Sound Recording]] ([[Gilbert Kurland]]).<ref name="Oscars1936">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1936 |title=The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2011-08-07 |work=oscars.org |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093707/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/8th-winners.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bride of Frankenstein Awards |website=[[Allmovie]] |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-bride-of-frankenstein-v7091/awards |access-date=January 9, 2008 |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111654/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-bride-of-frankenstein-v7091/awards |url-status=live }}</ref>

The film's reputation has persisted and grown in the decades since its release. In 1998, the film was added to the United States [[National Film Registry]], having been deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite news | title ='Easy Rider' now listed on National Film Registry | publisher =[[CNN]] | date =November 17, 1998 | url =http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/News/9811/17/showbuzz/ | access-date =January 6, 2008 | archive-date =March 19, 2007 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070319081141/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/News/9811/17/showbuzz/ | url-status =live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nat'l Film Registry adds 25 pix|url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/nat-l-film-registry-adds-25-pix-1117488578/|last=Klady|first=Leonard|date=1998-11-17|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28|archive-date=March 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312040406/https://variety.com/1998/film/news/nat-l-film-registry-adds-25-pix-1117488578/|url-status=live}}</ref> Frequently identified as James Whale's masterpiece,<ref>{{cite news | last =Graham | first =Bob | title ='Bride' Is as Lovely as Ever | work =[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date =October 9, 1998 | url =http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1998/10/09/DD32378.DTL&type=printable | access-date =January 8, 2008 | archive-date =February 9, 2009 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090209000148/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1998/10/09/DD32378.DTL&type=printable | url-status =live }}</ref> the film is lauded as "the finest of all [[gothic horror]] movies".<ref>{{cite news | last =French | first =Philip | title = Films of the Day: The Bride of Frankenstein | work =[[The Observer]] | date =December 2, 2007}}</ref> ''Time'' rated ''Bride of Frankenstein'' in its "[[Time's All-Time 100 Movies|All-Time 100 Movies]]", in which critics [[Richard Corliss]] and [[Richard Schickel]] overruled the magazine's original review to declare the film "one of those rare sequels that is infinitely superior to its source".<ref>{{cite magazine | last1 =Corliss | first1 =Richard | author-link =Richard Corliss | first2 =Richard | last2 =Schickel | author2-link =Richard Schickel | title =All-Time 100 Movies | magazine =[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | url =http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,bride_of_frankenstein,00.html | access-date =January 6, 2008 | date =February 12, 2005 | archive-date =December 26, 2007 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071226182127/http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,bride_of_frankenstein,00.html | url-status =dead}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' added ''Bride of Frankenstein'' to his list of [[The Great Movies]] in 1999. He described it as "the best of the Frankenstein movies--a sly, subversive work that smuggled shocking material past the censors by disguising it in the trappings of horror. Some movies age; others ripen." Ebert also added how Lanchester's character provided "one of the immortal images of the cinema with lightning-like streaks of silver in her weirdly towering hair".<ref>{{cite web|title=Bride of Frankenstein movie review |first=Roger |last=Ebert |date=January 3, 1999 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-bride-of-frankenstein |publisher=rogerebert.com |access-date=August 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315091536/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-bride-of-frankenstein |archive-date=March 15, 2024 }}</ref>

In 2008, ''Bride'' was selected by ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine as one of ''The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/58.asp |title=''Empire's'' The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=July 8, 2010 |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324023416/http://www.empireonline.com/500/58.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Also that year, the ''[[Boston Herald]]'' named it the second greatest horror film after ''[[Nosferatu]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view.bg?articleid=1127105|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522022443/http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view.bg?articleid=1127105|archive-date=2011-05-22|url-status=dead|title=Creepy countdown: The Herald ranks the 10 scariest flicks in film history|work=[[Boston Herald]]|first=James |last=Verniere|date=October 27, 2008|access-date=October 28, 2008}}</ref> In 2016, James Charisma of ''[[Playboy]]'' ranked the film #7 on a list of ''15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals''.<ref name="Playboy">{{cite magazine | title = Revenge of the Movie: 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals | magazine = [[Playboy]] | url = http://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original | author = Charisma, James | date = March 15, 2016 | access-date = July 19, 2016 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160726093750/http://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original | archive-date = July 26, 2016 | df = mdy-all}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' considers the film superior to ''Frankenstein''.<ref name="Entertainment">{{cite book
|title= The Entertainment Weekly Guide to the Greatest Movies Ever Made|year=1996|publisher=Warner Books|location=New York |pages=99–100}}</ref>