I sincerely don’t remember when I first came across the Bride of Frankenstein, but ever since I learned of her, she’s been one of my favorite horror icons. Admittedly, my exposure to her was greatly through her minor role in the original Frankenstein novel, pop culture references and merchandise at places like Universal Studios – I went to an amazing Bride of Frankenstein-centered Horror Nights house a few years ago. But, since Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! is the latest of 2026 movie releases, I decided to go back to the OG by watching 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein. And, wow, was I surprised at what I watched.
I Was Very Disappointed By My Viewing Of The Bride Of Frankenstein
I’m talking about the 1935 classic starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, and Elsa Lanchester as The Bride. It served as the first sequel in a string of Frankenstein movies Universal Studios made in the 1930s and 1940s. The plot revolves around Henry Frankenstein attempting to desert his past experiments and live a normal life as his monster steps back into the picture, and another scientist named Dr. Pretorius coerces him into working with him to make his monster a mate.
The big surprise around my The Bride of Frankenstein viewing experience is just how little the titular character is in the movie. I couldn’t believe The Bride doesn’t make her appearance until 69 minutes into the feature, in a movie that is just 75 minutes long in total!
The finale is essentially The Bride being created and coming to life, but she doesn’t say a word, or have any character development whatsoever. Frankenstein’s monster becomes hurt by the screams she emits when he meets her, after being rejected by humankind, and decides to electrocute them both (along with Dr. Pretorius) as he declares “We belong dead!”
I Totally Get Why She’s Still Iconic, But I’m So Disappointed
So, The Bride is on screen for a total of four minutes and doesn’t have a single line (unless you count screams and hisses as lines). It’s really a bummer to me, especially when I thought her popularity would amount to her movie exploring her character, and her relationship with the monster. At the same time, though, it’s kind of amazing that such a small character is still so beloved all this time later. The makeup and costume design is definitely very memorable, and Elsa Lanchester makes a real impression in the short time she’s on screen.
I was also happy to realize that Lanchester does have more screen time at the beginning of the film when she plays Frankenstein author Mary Shelley as well. While I ultimately think the 1935 original is worth a watch, it’s more so to contextualize how far the horror genre has come over the years, and how the new iteration strengthens her presence in film. Here I thought the movie was going to be an ahead-of-its-time gem, and instead it underlines to me once again how underutilized female characters (with massive potential) have been in movies of the past.
Back in 1935, The Bride was more of a set piece than a character, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie has the character taking center stage after years of hearing about other iterations being in the works. You can check out our The Bride! review and see it yourself in theaters now.
