'German Expressionism In Bride Of Frankenstein'

The camera angle in addition to the shadows and lighting creates a claustrophobic atmosphere, almost making the viewer feel as if they are trapped in the room with the two characters. In this scene, Weine additionally intended to paint the floor and parts of the wall of the setting in high-hued tone to distinguish the accentuated light from the normal one on which the main character may stand in scene. He did so to keep the audience fascinated as well as making them concentrate on the highlighted position.
In years to come, distinctive sorts of German Expressionist settings were introduced that affected later artistic advancements. With the release of the last Expressionist film Metropolis, the Expressionist movement came to an end. The two
elements that played a key part in the downfall of Expressionism were the excessive budgets of the later films and the departure of Expressionist directors to Hollywood (Bordwell and Thompson, 1994). After The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was premiered in the United States in 1921, leading eventually to the introduction of many conventions in horror films as found in classic horror films of the 1930s Hollywood studios developed their cinema by obtaining or purchasing what they appreciated universally, including on-screen characters, directors, producers, and cinematographers (Welsch, 1999 pp. 98). According to Welsch (1999) there were two different movements which made these skilled workers from Germany available to the American film industry. The first came with the trade agreement of the mid-1920s, when Paramount, MGM, and Universal exploited the German currency crisis to guarantee favorable terms for film exhibition and talent exchange whereas, the second wave of German emigrants to Hollywood came in the 1930s after Hitler's rise to power (Welsch, 1999 pp. 98). In the first wave, while silent films were at its prime, Hollywood attained internationally known filmmakers who had minimal need to speak English; “in the second wave, these filmmakers were now refugees, their value and cachet sadly lowered by the (new) language barrier and their own sudden, permanent availability” (Welsch, 1999 pp. 98) German Expressionism had developed out of a desire to channel the loathing and suffering of post war Germany into a rational medium. Expressionism created a whole 'other world' in which individuals could view and practice the regular problems bestowed upon them. "This 'other world' frequently works as a feedback of common society." (Cook & Bernink, 1999, p. 67). While Expressionism came to an end in Germany, it managed to make its way to Hollywood. “Exchanged to an American audience, the Expressionist style similarly had a societal impact. Dejection groups of onlookers needed the dreamer stimulation which ghastliness gave." (Pendo, 1975, p. 161)
James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein exhibits its impacts through its set structure. "Similarly as the German Expressionists did 10 years prior, whale makes another world on the soundstage." (Weaver, 1990, p. 126). The gothic architecture and the inclined graves at the cemetery are all enhanced by Chiaroscuro lighting, canted framings and a mixture of bizarrely high or low edges. (Worland, 2006, p. 160). The great stylization of mise-en-scene through Chiaroscuro lighting and surrealistic sets in combination with the acting style and the gothic theme are some of the few devices found in German Expressionist films. (Cook & Bernink, 1999, p. 67). Immediate illustrations of this can clearly be found in Bride of Frankenstein. "In the breathtaking, two-moment creation grouping, comprising of in excess of 80 shots, she springs up in the midst of the bursting electrical contraption of Frankenstein's mountaintop lab." (Weaver, 1990, p. 125). Stepping away from the usual cinematography methods, the canted framing within the scene creates an atmosphere of discomfort and unease. The Compelling low points expose the scale and twisted building design of the laboratory with its conflicting lines reflecting the variations from the norm of the scene's substance. ( Nollen, 1991)

The Expressionist Chiaroscuro lighting engulfs the scene with mystery at the same time as enhancing the dark nature of Pretorious and Frankenstein as the light casts distorting shadows on to their bodies. (Perry, 2006, p. 57) "The style of German Expressionism permitted the producers to explore different avenues regarding filmic engineering and embellishments and to investigate the bent domain of quelled goals, oblivious reasons for alarm, and disturbed obsessions." (Perry, 2006, p. 57).

Whilst German Expressionism simply educated the 'brilliant age' of awfulness by method for tasteful similitudes, it could likewise be said that the deeper implications and messages anticipated through Expressionism additionally succeeded in illuminating Universal's methodology to film generation.
German Expressionism diverted through movies, for example, Bride of Frankenstein reflected numerous parts of society clear amid the Depression.
"The creatures were really animals with souls and human longings, that underneath the equation plots, these characters spoke to society's rejects who were attempting to assert some authority in a world in which they had no spot." (Weaver, 1990, p. 4). Indeed the crowd in Bride of Frankenstein could be compared to "an irritated masses lashing out in dissatisfaction against the Depression – and the man they saw as not interested in their predicament, Herbert Hoover." (Matthews, 2009, p. 33). In spite of the stylish and topical similarities, Universal succeeded in making an arrangement of remarkable silver screen classics that whilst unmistakably educated by German Expressionism, remained all alone as a headway of Hollywood class film and as an impression of a country rising up out of money related
battle.
The film makes great use of light, for instance during the scene when Frankenstein enters the tomb, he is struck from a side light which “creates the illusion of a beam of moonlight steaming down the stairwell, as if heaven sees him even within the tomb.
After he lurches onto the casket, he is still splashed in overhead light streaming from some obscure overhead light source.”( James Whale's Use of Lighting in Bride of Frankenstein 02.23.2011). It seems as if though the light is entering through some sort of a window but there is none visible in the scene. This inability to place the actual light source is an alternate marker that Frankenstein is associated with the divine. “The top of the tomb, which is only revealed through shadows, splits the light into beams reminiscent of the clouds opening to shine on God’s chosen follower. The following cuts place a heavy side light on the monster while he interacts with the enshrouded female corpse.”( James Whale's Use of Lighting in Bride of Frankenstein, 02.23.2011) The overhead lighting throws shadows from Frankenstein’s fingers over the shrouded face of the deceased woman, whose cover takes after a wedding veil. The utilization of lighting connotes a kind of marriage for Frankenstein, who is in the vicinity of God as he reinforces his motives of
companionship.
In conclusion the influence of German Expressionism on early Hollywood is profound and readily evident. Most directors truly concerned about film art knew of the German Expressionistic films and learned from them. Upon close examination of the classic horror films of the thirties, it is discovered that these films were indeed influenced by the German Expressionism movement and applied the key techniques from the movement into their films. Barry Langford states that Expressionism's influence may “lay in the foundation to a lesser degree a particular complex model than of a nonexclusive vocabulary that communicated compelling mental states." (Langford, 2005, p. 161).