Original artwork, not a still
It's alive! It's alive!
— Frankenstein · 1931
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Henry's joy is the real horror of the scene: the scream is a man who has crossed a line and is too happy to notice. Clive's hysterical delivery set the template for every mad scientist who followed, from cartoons to Young Frankenstein, and the words became the standard cry for any machine that finally starts, any experiment that works, or any lazy lab coat joke.
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In context
Spoilers for FrankensteinShow the scene
In James Whale's 1931 Universal horror film, the obsessed scientist Henry Frankenstein, played by Colin Clive, has stitched a body together from corpses and invites his fiancee Elizabeth, his friend Victor and his old professor Dr. Waldman to his remote tower laboratory. As a storm rages, Henry and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz raise the operating table through an opening in the roof so that lightning can strike the equipment. When the creature's hand moves, Henry is ecstatic, has to be held back by Victor and Waldman, and cries out the line over and over. He goes on to say he now knows what it is to be God.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Frankenstein (1931 film)Dialogue: Henry and VictorReference checked
- Wikipedia: Frankenstein (1931 film)Plot summary; infoboxReference checked
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