Frankenstein (1931 film)/Trivia


 * Banned In Kansas: In its initial release.
 * Dyeing for Your Art: Boris Karloff removed his partial bridgework to achieve the monster's creepy sunken-cheeked appearance. In Bride of Frankenstein the monster learned to speak, preventing Karloff from repeating the effect; as a result, the monster looks considerably less weird the second time around.
 * Evolving Credits: Opening credits list all the actors except the one playing the Creature, who is billed only with a question mark. Boris Karloff is only named in the closing credits.
 * Hey It's That Guy: Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye also appeared in Dracula.
 * I Am Not Spock: Boris Karloff subverted this by admitting that the Frankenstein movies are the only reason he became a successful actor.
 * Playing Against Type: James Whale chose to direct the film because he wanted to do something else than war films.
 * Prop Recycling: Some of the sets were remainers from Universal's 1927 film The Cat and The Canary.
 * Science equipment in the film were later reused in Young Frankenstein.
 * Stock Sound Effects: The "Castle Thunder" effect makes its first appearance here.
 * What Could Have Been: Bela Lugosi was originally set to play the Monster. He also created his own monster make-up, which is reported to have resembled the eponymous being from the 1920 film The Golem. 20 minutes of test footage was shot with him, but it is considered to be lost.
 * The role of the Monster was also offered to John Carradine, but he refused it because he felt that it was beneath him.