History Trivia / BrideOfFrankenstein

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/JamesWhale was so set on having O.P. Heggie play the blind hermit that he shut down production from February 19 to March 2, 1935 while waiting for Heggie to finish a production at Creator/{{RKO}}.

* DeletedRole: As revealed on ''Series/{{Svengoolie}}'', the late midget actor Billy Barty played a baby in Pretorius' collection of little people. His role was cut from the final film, but he can be seen from behind in a wide shot of the collection of little people in jars.

* TheOtherDarrin: The actors for Elizabeth, the Burgomaster, and Hans are replaced.[[note]]Elizabeth was played by Creator/MaeClarke in the original ''Frankenstein'' and by Valerie Hobson in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' due in part to Clarke recovering from an automobile accident. This is a bit jarring since Bride picks up right where the original leaves off and Elizabeth's hair changes from blonde to brunette and the new actress is also considerably younger than Clarke.[[/note]] Made additionally confusing by the fact Hans was named Ludwig in the first film.

** Elsa Lanchester plays both Mary Shelley and the Bride. The opening credits play cute by crediting "?" as the Monster's Bride.

** Dwight Frye plays two roles, Karl and Fritz, though most of the scenes with Karl were cut.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/JamesWhale were no longer on speaking terms during film, due to a personal dispute on the set of ''Film/TheOldDarkHouse'', where they ended up speaking via other actors serving as their messengers. This was so monumental, Whale refused to ever work with Karloff again, and Creator/ClaudeRains was instead hired for Whale's next venture, ''Film/TheInvisibleMan1933''. Karloff had been announced in the title role. However, the studio system forced them to work this one last time, and the rest is history.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: This is the last Universal Monsters film a living Henry Frankenstein appears in, due to actor Colin Clive's untimely death from alcoholism two years after it was released; the later ''Frankenstein'' films are set after the character's in-universe death. However, Frankenstein's ghost appears in the fourth Universal ''Frankenstein'' film, ''Film/TheGhostOfFrankenstein'', played by a different actor.

* RefittedForSequel: Frankenstein building the monster a bride is taken from the orginal novel.

** Creator/DavidNiven was considered for Creator/LordByron.

* YouLookFamiliar: Creator/DwightFrye, who played Frankenstein's [[TheIgor hunchbacked assistant]] Fritz in the original film, appears here as Karl, a non-hunchbacked toady to Pretorius. The Monster ''also'' kills him.

** Elsa Lanchester plays both Mary Shelley and the Bride.

* TroubledProduction: The response to ''Frankenstein'' during its original preview screenings had been so favorable that Universal [[SequelHook shot a new ending in which the monster lived]]. Director James Whale followed it up with ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'', which convinced ''Frankenstein'' producer Carl Daemmle that only Whale could direct a sequel. But Whale didn't want to, feeling that the original had exhausted the story's potential. Eventually, after Universal let him direct ''One More River'', he gave in.

** As revealed on Series/{{Svengoolie}}, the late midget actor Billy Barty played a baby in Pretorius' collection of little people. His role was cut from the final film, but he can be seen from behind in a wide shot of the collection of little people in jars.

* NotNamedInOpeningCredits: The opening credits bill "The Monster's Mate" with a question mark, and only gives Elsa Lanchester credit for playing Mary Shelley in the prologue. This also acts as a sort of CallBack to how Karloff was credited in the first movie.

* TagLine: "The Monster demands a Mate!"
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The original trailer promised that the movie would be two hours long.

** This included a re-shot ending where Dr. Frankenstein survives (he was originally meant to die in the laboratory explosion) and some bits that were excised at the behest of the censors, like a scene where Dwight Frye's character murders his uncle and blames it on the monster, or some shots of Elsa Lanchester that were deemed too revealing. Unlike some of the deleted moments from the first film that survived and were reintegrated into the film decades later,[[MissingEpisode don't expect to ever see these scenes.]]

** This included a re-shot ending where Dr. Frankenstein survives (he was originally meant to die in the laboratory explosion) and some bits that were excised at the behest of the censors, like a scene where Dwight Frye's character murders his uncle and blames it on the monster, or some shots of Elsa Lanchester that were deemed too revealing. [[MissingEpisode Don't expect to ever see these scenes.]]

* TheOtherDarrin: The actors for Elizabeth, the Burgomaster, and Hans are replaced.[[note]]Elizabeth was played by Creator/MaeClarke in the original ''Frankenstein'' and by Valerie Hobson in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' due in part to Clarke recovering from an automobile accident. This is a bit jarring since Bride picks up right where the original leaves off and Elizabeth's hair changes from blonde to brunette and the new actress is also considerably younger than Clarke.[[/note]]

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: This is the last Universal Monsters film a living Henry Frankenstein appears in, due to actor Colin Clive's untimely death from alcoholism two years after it was released. However, Frankenstein's ghost appears in the fourth Universal ''Frankenstein'' film, ''Film/TheGhostOfFrankenstein'', played by a different actor.

* TheOtherDarrin: The actors for Elizabeth, the Burgomaster, and Hans are replaced.[[note]]Elizabeth was played by Mae Clarke in the original ''Frankenstein'' and by Valerie Hobson in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' due in part to Clarke recovering from an automobile accident. This is a bit jarring since Bride picks up right where the original leaves off and Elizabeth's hair changes from blonde to brunette and the new actress is also considerably younger than Clarke.[[/note]]

* DeletedScene: James Whale cut out a few scenes before release, trimming the movie down from 90 minutes to 75.

** The sequel would have the monster actually talk. Although his vocabulary would be limited to 43 words, Creator/BorisKarloff thought this was a stupid decision that robbed the monster of his charm. He and Whale were clashing over this as filming began. Colin Clive, who rreturned as Frankenstein, was for his part plagued by his alcoholism having become worse in the intervening four years. Whale declined to rrecast the part as he felt that it gave Clive's performance the right over-the-top quality.

* TheOtherDarrin: The actors for Elizabeth, the Burgomaster, and Hans are replaced.[[note]]Elizabeth was played by Mae Clarke in the original ''Frankenstein'' and by Valerie Hobson in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' due to Clarke's illness at the time. This is a bit jarring since Bride picks up right where the original leaves off and Elizabeth's hair changes from blonde to brunette.[[/note]]

* StockFootage: Footage from the first film is shown while Lord Byron is remembering the story.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The final note of the musical score, played just as the laboratory explodes, is a very powerful dissonant chord, made to be so loud that it would slightly shake the seats in the movie theater. Whale came up with this idea, and meant for it to suggest that the explosion was so massive that it even affected the real world. This element is, unfortunately, mostly lost when watching it on home video.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Original plans for a sequel to ''Frankenstein'' were very different. Two other possible plots were conceived, one being the Monster continuing Dr. Frankenstein's research and the other one being Dr. Frankenstein inventing a death ray in the eve of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** The role of Dr. Pretorius was offered to Creator/ClaudeRains, but he was attached to another project at the time and couldn't participate. They also offered it to Creator/BelaLugosi, but he turned it down.
** The film's WorkingTitle was ''[[RevengeOfTheSequel The Return of]] Frankenstein''.

* RevisedEnding: The well-known goof of Henry being present as the tower explodes was a simple matter of studio interference and budget constraints. As originally shot, Henry was to die at the end along with Pretorius, the monster, and the bride. But Universal demanded a happy ending, so Whale reshot the ending to show Henry escaping with Elizabeth. Notice that the contradictory scene where Henry is briefly seen is the one with the explosions and pyrotechnics going off. This was an expensive scene to shoot, and Whale wasn't given an adequate budget to reshoot it, so the original shot was retained.

* RevisedEnding: As originally shot, Henry was to die at the end along with Pretorius, the monster, and the bride. But Universal demanded a happy ending, so Whale reshot the ending to show Henry escaping with Elizabeth.