Friday, November 30, 2012

You want Frye with that?



Digging holes, and then raising the buried,
Frye to trolls, crooks and crazies was married
For once cast, he was typed
And his nastiness hyped,
So the roles that he played weren't varied.

Dwight Frye as Karl in Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935). We dig up Dwight Frye-Days every week.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Wedding Bell Boos



As his bride from the slab was unstrapped,
The groom eyed her, romantic'lly rapt
But his chances grew slim
When she glanced toward him
And, inside of her bandages, crapped.

Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Mummy's Hand...in Marriage?



Once his bride was unwound he grew chummy
There beside her, he found the view yummy
But excitement proved hasty,
And his sight not too tasty
Though she'd died, above ground she's no dummy.


Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Bother of the Bride



Hank presided -- the loon had consented!
And the bride to the groom he presented
With her lightning bolt streak
She's a frightening freak
But the pride of a goon who's demented.

Elsa Lanchester and Colin Clive, in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Monday, November 26, 2012

Child Rearing Its Ugly Head



The monster now faced his creator,
His papa, and pasty-faced pater
His demand wasn't great:
Just the hand of a date
To fondle, embrace and then mate her.

Boris Karloff and Colin Clive in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Master of the Louse



While Drac on a dame nightly binged,
His lackey became quite unhinged
With the master's seduction
Some poor lass suffered suction
And the crack-pot, off-frame, rightly cringed.

Helen Chandler was Mina, Dwight Frye was Renfield, and Béla Lugosi was Dracula. Title by not-at-all louse-y David Cairns.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

He's Just a Jugular-o



To Count Drac, all you young 'uns are prey
Just a snack to keep hunger at bay
Don't expect him to nuzzle
From your necks he will guzzle
Till, lips smacking, he's flung you away.

Béla Lugosi was Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931). Title by nekkid Norm Knott for Vampire Weekends.

Friday, November 23, 2012

BOLD TYPE-Casting



Poor Dwight, as an oddball was typed
Cast as nightmarish clods, the guy griped
But the fact's undisputed
Frye to "cracked" was well-suited
Looked just right when dead bodies were swiped.

Dwight Frye in Bride of Frankenstein. Here's Frye in the early 1930s on his typecasting in Hollywood: "If God is good, I will be able to play comedy, in which I was featured on Broadway for eight seasons and in which no producer of motion pictures will give me a chance! And please God, may it be before I go screwy playing idiots, half-wits and lunatics on the talking screen!"

Ham on Writhe



Dwight Frye will go over the top
He tries not to but No! he can't stop
With his weakness for hamming
Acting chic he's just shamming
It's the cry of a showboating fop.

David Cairns and Surly Hack



Dwight Frye brought his mad antics to Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Dracula (1931).

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Stiff That Keeps On Giving



This poor bastard and dunce, forced to roam,
Had at last found a wonderful home
Before long though, he fled,
'Cause he's wrong in the head:
There's a platform where once was a dome.


Boris Karloff and O. P. Heggie in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at LimerWrecks. This season let's all give thanks for our friends, family and homes, and let's also remember those who've lost theirs.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Unchained Malady



The monster, out-manned, had been chained
But in bondage he can't be restrained
At escape and survival
The big ape has no rival,
Off he'll wander, though scantily brained.



Boris Karloff as a Christ figure in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Hobson is Choice



Henry's bride seemed a prim, proper pip
Roped and tied by this grim little drip
Just a trifle too formal
For a life so abnormal
But she tried for a stiff upper lip.

David Cairns

Bride of Frankenstein: Dwight Frye is cretinous Karl, and his hostage is lovely Valerie Hobson, Mrs. Henry Frankenstein.

Monday, November 19, 2012

After Dinner Drunk



From heaven he thought it a sign:
A new friend, who he's taught to drink wine
But the chop-shop-made hunk
Just gets sloppily drunk
And his benders are never divine.



O. P. Heggie and Boris Karloff as hermit and monster, in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Title by sober-as-a-drudge Norm Knott.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

In the Realm of the Censors



His staking's entirely off-screen
They're faking dire actions unseen
His fangs are forbidden
All angst remains hidden
Forsaking the ire of Joe Breen.

David Cairns

Lugosi is a fang-free Dracula (1931). Says David: In fact Breen didn't become censor until 1934, but I'm sure they forsook his ire anyway.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Charmed to the Teeth



Here's a gent who's demented yet dashing
He's both bent and presentably smashing
He's a fink in nice threads
And he drinks bloody reds
When prevented, his dentia he's gnashing.

Béla Lugosi makes a dapper Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931). Title by clothes-horsey David Cairns. Vampire Weekends is dressed to chill.

Friday, November 16, 2012

A Dwight For Sore Eyes



Frye could trade on his cave-dweller looks,
Ply a spade to play grave robbing crooks
Though he'd plead for good parts --
For the lead with the smarts --
He portrayed the depraved little schnooks.

Dwight Frye as 'Karl' in Bride of Frankenstein, (1935). One twist on Frye's type-casting was The Crime of Doctor Crespi.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Frankensteinski



Foregoin' his aftermeal stogie
he lowers and squats like a yogi
The monster's not prayin',
it's the onset of pa-in
that's owin' to lots of pierogi.

Norm Knott

What if the blind hermit and the monster were Polish? O.P. Heggie and Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Sing it with me: "Roll out the per-il...

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Goood, the Baaaad and the Butt-Ugly



This fellow's a generous host
His welcome, more gentle than most
He's kind as can be
But so blind he can't see
That his dwelling will end up as toast.


The blind hermit and the monster: O.P. Hegge and Boris Karloff share a brief respite from the horrors of Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Bride Stripped Baron



Once more, he will take from the storm
To restore a forsaken dead form
He was pushed and was prodded,
Then he finally nodded...
It's a chore, but a break from the norm.

Ernest Theisinger and Colin Clive, Dr. Pretorius and Baron Henry Frankenstein in Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935).

Monday, November 12, 2012

Baron Essentials



Though to bury the morbid he's sworn,
The poor Baron is tortured and torn
This alliance could kill him,
But the science would thrill him...
Should he marry two corpses, reborn?

Dwight Frye, Ernest Theisinger and Colin Clive in Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935).

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Cape Cad



In he glides with an air of suspense
His eyes widen, his stare is intense
While his manse falls apart,
He looks handsome and smart,
But his sidekick seems terribly dense.


A commanding Béla Lugosi and a cowering Dwight Frye, in Dracula (1931). Title by post-cad Norm Knott for Vampire Weekends. You'll find the latest essay by Norm (Jim) for The Third City blog, here.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Accent Grave



Rascal Drac can persuade any chick
Has the knack, like some playboy Old Nick
But this leech on the loose
Can't use speech to seduce
'Cause his accent is laid on too thick.

Helen Chandler and Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931). Vampire Weekends is putting on the moves. Title by lady driller David Cairns. 

Friday, November 9, 2012

Schnook-Ends



Fritz was fractured, spine bent, all a-gnarl
And his actions were met with a snarl
By the neck he was hanged,
But by heck, I'll be danged!
Frye came back, as demented, as Karl!



Dwight Frye played both Fritz and Karl, the twisted assistants in Frankenstein and its sequel, Bride of Frankenstein. Enjoy a double-dose of Dwight, here on Dwight Frye-Days.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Quack of Doom



He's a snide sort of snake and he's snooty
And the dried up old flake's a bit fruity
His ex-student he curses,
And quite rudely coerces
Though the bride that they make is a beauty.

Ernest Theisinger is Dr Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Title by ducky David Cairns.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Medico-Conspirators



Seems this bonehead's been willed many lives
He was thrown from the mill, yet survives
One might think he would learn,
And his tinkering spurn...
With a crony he's building new wives!



Dr. Pretorius pulls Henry F back into the monster-making biz: Ernest Theisinger and Colin Clive in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Title by doctor of limerickology, David Cairns.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Cad-avarice



He is meddlesome, irksome and rude
And in medical circles is booed
Call him Doctor Pretorius,
An old crock who's notorious
Into bedrooms the jerk will intrude.

Valerie Hobson and Colin Clive are the Frankensteins, and Ernest Theisinger is Dr. Septimus Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Title by sleep-deprived David Cairns.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Chip Off the Old Doc



Henry's mad, but insanely impassioned,
And plays dad to his bane, which he fashioned
He empowered this spawn
And endowed it with brawn,
But it's addled by brains being rationed.

Colin Clive and Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931). Next up is Bride of Frankenstein. Title by abnormal Norm Knott.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Screw Louche



Looking chic, that's no hick in the tux
He's a freak -- virgin victims he plucks
In the white of their necks
The guy bites and he pecks
In their knees they go weak when he sucks.



Bela Lugosi sinks his teeth into Vampire Weekends. With Helen Chandler and Francis Dade in Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931). Title by screwballer David Cairns.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Bey Watch



Such characters Turhan would play...
Savvy Arab, suave sir from Bombay
In a tassel draped fez
He would wrassle Montez
While preparing some verbal cliché.

R.I. P. Turhan Bey, March 30, 1922 - Sept. 30, 2012. In his Hollywood heyday in the 1940s, Bey was dubbed the "The Turkish Delight." Of course it was usually Jon Hall who got to manhandle Maria Montez.

Broken Window Dressing



Do beware of this dude in the cape
It has flair but gets used as a drape
He's the dapper undead
And likes lapping up red,
Though it's rarely the juice of the grape.

Helen Chandler and Bela Lugosi in Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931). Wrap yourself around Vampire Weekends.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Fritz the Rat



The hunchback (he's there on the left),
Fritz bungled the daring brain-theft
This goniff and fool
To the monster was cruel,
And was hung in the dungeon, bereft.


Karma catches up to hunchback Fritz in Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931). Top: Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, John Boles, Mae Clarke and Colin Clive. Relax, Dwight Frye-Days will be hanging around.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Meat, Your Maker



I'm a schmuck and a bubblehead chump,
And I'm stuck with a troublesome hump
But if not for fair Fritz
Then your various bits
Would be yucky old rubbery stumps.

David Cairns

Addressing his captive audience, Fritz speaks of himself in the third person:  Dwight Frye and Boris Karloff  in Frankenstein (1931).