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4.0 out of 5 stars
Donald Glut's essays on the Frankenstein phenomenon, May 10, 2003
This review is from: The Frankenstein Archive: Essays on the Monster, the Myth, the Movies, and More (Paperback)
Donald F. Glut is the author of "The Frankenstein Legend: A Tribute to Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff" (1973) and "The Frankenstein Catalog: Being a Comprehensive Listing of Novels, Translations, Adaptations, Stories, Critical Works, Popular Articles, Series, Fumetti, Verse, Stage Plays, Films, Cartoons, Puppetry, Radio & Television Programs, Comics, Satire & Humor, Spoken & Musical Recordings, Tape, and Sheet Music Featuring Frankenstein's Monster and/or Descended from Mary Shelley's Novel" (1984). Consequently, there is every reason to believe that he knows the subject matter of "The Frankenstein Archive: Essays on the Monster, the Myth, the Movies, and More."
The topic of these essays is not so much Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel "Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus," but the phenomenon that was started by the 1818 novel. The 15 essays collected here cover a diverse range of topics from the pop culture perspective: (1) "Frankenstein: The (Untold) True Story" sets the tone by following up on the mistakes and inconsistencies in the Universal films; (2) "The 'Strange' Frankenstein Monster" is a celebration of Glenn Strange, who surpassed Boris Karloff as the most exploited and recognizable movie Frankenstein Monster of them all; (3) "A Forgotten Frankenstein?" is an obituary for the stuntman Dale Van Sickle; (4) "Peter Cushing: 'Dr. Frankenstein, I Presume,'" is a profile of the English actors roles as Baron/Dr. Frankenstein in the Hammer film; (5) "'Young Frankenstein'--Classic in the Making" is an enjoyable look at the wonderful film by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder; (6) "Super Heroes vs. Frankenstein (and Company)" is about the battles between the Mexican superhero Santo and the Monster in a series of Sixties films and similar examples; (7) "'What's Up, Doc Frankenstein (Jekyll and Fu Manchu)?'" is about the Monster and other such characters appearing in animated cartoons; (8) "The Beatles Meet Frankenstein" is about the encounters of the cartoon Fab Four with various monsters; (9) "A Score of Frankenstein Misconceptions" is exactly what the title promises (e.g., whether the seen of the Monster drowning the child Maria in the original "Frankenstein" movie ever shown in prints released theatrically in the U.S.); (10) "Frankenstein on the Home-Movie Screen" is actually about amateur back yard productions, including one made by Glut with Glenn Strange; (11) "'This is your Life, Frankenstein's Monster" is about Boris Karloff's 1957 appearance on the famous surprise biography show; (12) "Frankenstein Sings--And Dances, Too" is about the musical "I'm Sorry, the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night"; "Frankenstein in Four Colors" covers comic book appearances by the Monster; (13) "'The Monster of Frankenstein' (Almost) Returns" continues in a similar vein regarding comic book; and (14) "The New Adventures of Frankenstein" is the history of a series of novels written by Glut.
As Glut observes in his Preface, this book is assembled and stitched together from various places they had been published. There is no clear argumentative structure to the arrangement, just the common denominator of the Frankenstein phenomenon. However, Glut is clearly knowledgeable about that subject and able to bring a critical eye to the discussions even though he is obviously a fan of all things Frankenstein. The first and ninth essays are the one that will be of most interest to "scholars" interested in this topic area. My only complaint is that there was not more about the "Frankenstein" comic books that Mike Ploog drew for Marvel in 1972. But I still have all of those, so that is a minor issue. Consequently, "The Frankenstein Archive" might not be on the level of academic scholarship, but from a fanzine perspective it is solid journalism.
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