When Frankenstein first hit screens in 1931, audiences fainted, critics raved, and Universal Pictures accidentally sparked an empire of cinematic monsters. Yet beneath the lightning flashes and laboratory gadgets lies a story as layered as Mary Shelley’s original novel — one of obsession, morality, and mankind’s uneasy dance with science.
In this week’s podcast episode, we trace the Monster’s journey from Shelley’s candlelit imagination to Boris Karloff’s unforgettable portrayal under James Whale’s direction. We’ll explore how Universal’s production team built its world from scratch — borrowing from German Expressionism, early 20th-century medical experiments, and the dark fascination with grave robbing that haunted the era’s scientific ambitions.
We also uncover how censorship, religious objections, and studio politics reshaped the film’s ending and even dictated its most famous line: “Now I know what it feels like to be God!” From Bela Lugosi’s near miss to Jack Pierce’s legendary makeup design, this is the story of how a modest horror film became a cornerstone of pop culture — and a mirror for our own uneasy faith in progress.
Listen now to the full episode:
Filmtrospective 
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