Mad Scientists Movie Review
Both madness and genius are defined somewhat by the fact that both involve a radically different viewpoint than that of the vast majority. Madmen were probably running about declaring that the Earth orbits the Sun for thousands of years before anybody developed the tools necessary to prove them right. After all, Einstein was once laughed at. Of course, he may have had toilet paper stuck on his shoe at the time.
Science is a powerful thing. So, too, is insanity. They are both also somewhat frightening. Somewhere along the line, some mad genius got the brilliant notion that it would be awfully entertaining to get the two together. Just as geniuses often become scientists, they also sometimes become madmen. Why shouldn't a madman become a scientist? All it takes is a crazy idea that just might work.
The first authentic literary mad scientist was no doubt Frankenstein himself, who set the format that's been a surefire hit ever since. A mad scientist; an equally mad laboratory, with bubbling vials of colorful liquids, crackling arcs of electricity, and plenty of big dials and switches; a demented, deformed assistant to do all the dirty work; and the large, destructive monster. Sure, it's all symbolic of mankind's loss of innocence, the dangers of dabbling in the unknown without a license, and a reminder of our own humility in the face of awesome nature. It's also a symbol of purely obnoxious adolescent fun. Give a kid a magnifying glass and what does he do? Does he use it to examine the wonders of nature in all their fascinating detail? Heck no – he starts melting plastic army men in the back yard.
It is a little known fact that the men and women who first began to dabble with nuclear fission were not hoping to find a new source of energy, or even create a horrifying new weapon. They just wanted to see giant grasshoppers try to eat Chicago.
The first authentic cinematic mad scientist was not Frankenstein, but Thomas Edison himself, who stepped before the monster he had created to expose a few frames. Little did he know how much purely obnoxious adolescent fun he was unleashing upon the world.
When Frankenstein did make it to the screen, he came equipped with more flashy, noisy gizmos than anyone could have imagined – so impressive were these devices that they became stars in their own right. Kenneth Strickfaden, the mad scientist who provided the laboratory pyrotechnics for the film (and many others) even took them on the road for live shows.
Ever since the movies began, audiences have thrilled to the sight of Colin Clive, Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Lionel Atwill, Peter Cushing, Jeffrey Combs, Vincent Price, George Zucco, Whit Bissell, Donald Pleasence, and a host of lesser lights as they toiled away in dank basement laboratories, hoping to invent some kind of really big magnifying glass to burn real soldiers. And usually they think they'll get the girl, too.
VideoHound salutes these brave individuals, who sacrifice so much time and effort just to keep us supplied with plenty of quivering masses of living gelatin and giant hairy beast men to threaten leggy starlets around the world.