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with director James Whale

“Cable information received from Universal City states that James Whale, the British director, has completed camerawork on ‘The Bride of Frankenstein,” Karloff’s latest thriller, which has a number of novel and sensational production effects - even for pictures in the ‘spine-chiller’ class.  Besides Karloff - who plays his old role of the Monster - there are in the all-British cast of this picture Colin Clive, again cast as Dr. Frankenstein; Valerie Hobson, in the leading feminine role; Elsa Lanchester, as the mate of the monster; Ernest Thesiger in the important role of Dr. Pretorius, a mad scientist; and Una O’Connor,

contributing another of her delightful Cockney characterizations.”  

Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, March 16, 1935

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“Again I went to Hollywood to do another picture for James Whale - ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ and again worked with Boris Karloff, who is a very different person without his horrific makeup - kind and surprisingly gentle.  On the screen he is definitely ‘Karloff’ but in private life his real name of Pratt suits him better.  My makeup in ‘The Bride’ took long enough to put on - about an hour and a half, but poor Boris had to be worked upon for nearly three hours, by which time his face had been so much overlaid with chicken skin and rubber solution that I didn’t dare make him laugh in case the whole elaborate creation of the makeup man [Jack Pierce] (as conceited an artist as ever I came across) should be ruined.  Boris couldn’t sit down; so heavily padded was he that he had to have a special seat made for him - more like a back-board with a ledge on which he put the part that most people sit upon.  How I disliked that makeup man!  But he certainly knew his business.”

Ernest Thesiger, from his unpublished memoir, I Was

With Una O’Connor

With Valerie Hobson

With Boris Karloff

With Colin Clive

With Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, and Boris Karloff