Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1931)

18 mistakes

(6 votes)

Revealing mistake: There is a large painted hanging cloth backdrop of clouds in the mountain scenes near the end of the film. Vertical streaks can be seen in the backdrop that are the pleats in the fabric. These streaks really stand out in the restored versions of the film.

Continuity mistake: When Fritz is trying to steal a brain, he gets scared by a skeleton, which he grabs down, causing it to bounce up and down (since it is hanging from a hook up on the ceiling). But in the next shot, the skeleton is hardly moving. Yet when Fritz realizes he has dropped the brain, the skeleton is bouncing up and down again. (00:08:40)

Continuity mistake: When the sedative (which Dr. Waldman gives the monster in the back) kicks in, the Monster collapses to the ground, onto his back. But when Henry opens the door for Victor, the Monster is now lying facedown. (00:37:55)

Continuity mistake: During a lesson on brains, there are two jars with type-written labels ('Cerebrum - Normal Brain' and 'Disfunctio Cerebri - Abnormal). But when Fritz approaches the containers to steal the brain, the labels (Normal and Abnormal) are handwritten. (00:07:15 - 00:08:45)

Continuity mistake: The monster's coat and shirt are pulled over his chest by Dr Waldman to perform a dissection. In the following shot, after the monster has just killed the doctor, he has tucked his shirt and buttoned his coat.

Dr Wilson

Continuity mistake: After the experiment with the light, the Monster sits down on a chair, waving his hands as if he was asking for more. But in the next shot, the Monster is as still as a statue. (00:33:30)

Continuity mistake: When Henry is looking for the Monster, he finds one of the villagers, Hans, lying on the ground (after getting beat up by the Monster). Henry kneels down holding his torch with his right hand, but as he stands up, the torch is now in his left hand. (01:01:20)

Continuity mistake: Just before Victor enters Elizabeth's room, there is a shot of a picture of Henry Frankenstein, which is at the same height as a lit candle. But in the next shot, when Victor and Elizabeth walk by the table (the one on the far right of the screen) where the picture stands, the candle now appears to be much higher than the picture. (00:09:20)

Continuity mistake: When Elizabeth and Baron Frankenstein visit Henry's castle, Henry, who is exhausted from fighting the Monster, falls flat onto the floor facedown. But in the next shot, when his father reaches him, Henry is now lying on his back. (00:40:35)

Continuity mistake: When Baron Frankenstein asks Victor and Elizabeth what's wrong with Henry, the Baron is holding his pipe by the stem. But in the next shot he is holding it by the bowl. (00:25:20)

Continuity mistake: At the Goldstalt Medical College, two lab assistants cover a corpse's feet with a white cloth, but in the next shot they cover the feet again. (00:06:50)

Visible crew/equipment: When Dr Frankenstein asks to the monster to enter the room so that Dr Waldman can see him, you can see the shadow of the crew moving on a pillar as the camera follows them. (00:31:20)

Dr Wilson

Continuity mistake: While Dr. Waldman is about to examine the monster he has his eyes open but in the next shot they're closed.

oswal13

Doctor Waldman: You have created a monster, and it will destroy you.

More quotes from Frankenstein

Trivia: Universal Pictures originally wanted Bela Lugosi to play Frankenstein's monster since he had done such a great job playing Count Dracula earlier that year. But Bela turned the role down because he did not want to be 'hidden' under all that make-up. Yet 12 years later, Bela would play Frankenstein's monster in 1943 film 'Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man'.

More trivia for Frankenstein

Answer: By the third film, the original "Baron Frankenstein," played by Frederick Kerr is supposed to have died. Therefore, his son Henry had inherited the title of "Baron Frankenstein," and as part of Germanic aristocratic inheritance this automatically places a "von" between the Christian name and Surname of the holder. This in turn has happened when Henry died and Wolf took up the Baronetcy.

David Mercier

More questions & answers from Frankenstein

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.