Doctor Septimus Pretorius
Encyclopedia
Septimus Pretorius is a fictional character
who appears in the Universal
film Bride of Frankenstein
(1935). He is played by British
stage and film actor Ernest Thesiger
. Some sources claim he was originally to have been played by Bela Lugosi
or Claude Rains
. Others indicate that the part was conceived specifically for Thesiger.
who persuades Henry Frankenstein to resume his experiments with bringing dead flesh to life. An amoral egomaniac, he has no regard for human life or ethics and cares only for his own prestige as a scientist.
Along with his sinister qualities, Pretorius is responsible for a large share of the film's dark humor. He eats a picnic dinner in a crypt, trades prissy banter with the Monster
and laments that the tiny ballerina he created "will only dance to Mendelssohn
's 'Spring Song.'" He claims that gin
is his only weakness. Then later in the film, he claims his cigars are his only weakness when he first meets the Monster, and the Monster says his first word to him: "Smoke". Pretorius also delivers the famous toast "To a new world of gods and monsters!" midway through the film.
, Pretorius first points young Henry on the path toward his unwholesome experiment
s in giving life to the dead. He himself is "booted out" from his teaching post "for knowing too much." Pretorius seeks his former student out after learning that the Monster has survived being trapped in the burning windmill
in the climax
of the first film. Pretorius himself acknowledges that he may be insane in a conversation with Frankenstein ("You think I'm mad? Perhaps I am!").
Pretorius performs experiments creating life similar to Henry's. He unveils to Henry a group of various homunculi
—miniature living humans which he has kept in bottle
s, and claims to have grown from "seed
" like cultures. Each figure represents a different character: a queen
, which he claims was his first experiment, a king
which is madly in love with the Queen and has a resemblance to Henry VIII, an archbishop which disapproves of what the King is doing, the Devil
(a man in a black suit), a dancer, a mermaid (grown from "an experiment with seaweed") which lives in water. Pretorious gleefully compares his own visage to that of the Devil: "Rather a resemblance to me, don't you think? Or do I flatter myself?", a possible allusion to his role as the evil villain. He says sometimes he thinks life would be more interesting if they were all devils. He has been unsuccessful, however, in creating a full-sized human. He proposes to Henry that together they create a mate for his monster
, with Henry building the body and Pretorius supplying an artificially-grown brain
. Henry initially balks at the idea, but Pretorius reminds him that he is capable of exposing him to the authorities as the creator of the Monster who has done so much damage. Later, he meets the Monster in a crypt where he has gone to steal bodies and is dinging on a coffin. When the Monster asks him 'Friend?' he gives him the remains of his chicken. He tells the Monster of his plans to create a mate for him.
The Monster, eager for companionship of any kind, considers Pretorius his friend, and from then on is willing to do anything that the impish scientist desires, such as kidnapping
Henry's wife, Elizabeth, in order to force him to help Pretorius. Henry agrees, and together the two scientists create the Bride of Frankenstein. Unfortunately, even the Bride finds her would-be husband repulsive, and the heartbroken Monster decides to end his life by blowing up the laboratory. He instructs Henry and Elizabeth to run but barks at Pretorius to stay, saying that they "belong dead", possibly because he has realised that Pretorius is evil. Before Pretorius can move, the Monster pulls the lever, blowing up the laboratory and thus the castle. Frankenstein and Elizabeth escape but Pretorius's fate is not revealed. Presumably he was destroyed along with the Monster and the Bride when the tower exploded. The Monster later returned though.
was openly gay
and frequently included camp
elements in his films. He directed Thesiger (himself identified in some sources as more or less openly gay) to play the part as an "over the top caricature of a bitchy and aging homosexual." Gay film historian Vito Russo
stops short of identifying Pretorius as gay, calling him instead "sissified" ("sissy" itself being Hollywood code for "homosexual"). Pretorius serves as a figure of seduction and temptation, pulling Frankenstein away from his bride on their wedding night to engage in the unnatural act of non-procreative life. The Breen Office
, responsible for enforcing Hollywood's Production Code
, let Pretorius' behavior pass unchallenged. A novelisation of the film published in England made the implication even more clear, having Pretorius say to Frankenstein, "'Be fruitful and multiply.' Let us obey the Biblical
injunction: you of course, have the choice of natural means; but as for me, I am afraid that there is no course open to me but the scientific way."
's crossover novel Dracula Cha Cha Cha, as a colleague of H. P. Lovecraft
's Herbert West
. He appears as one of the horror movie spoofs in Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
and also appears in Allan Rune Pettersson
's novel Frankenstein's Aunt Returns
.
In the 1973 NBC-TV miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story, James Mason portrays a Pretorius-like figure named Dr. Polidori (named for Lord Byron's real-life physician who was part of the 1816 gathering that produced Mary Shelley's novel & also the author of the story "The Vampyre"). Mason's Dr. Polidori enlists Victor to assist in creating The Bride "Prima" (Jane Seymour).
The 1986 film of H. P. Lovecraft
's From Beyond
adds a Dr Edward Pretorius at Miskatonic University (played by Ted Sorel
) as an dark mentor for Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs
). This Pretorius is a impotent sadist (with a room full of bondage gear) who is assimilated by the 'Beyond' and attempts to drag others into it, boasting that the pineal gland
growth brought on by the resonator is like "an orgasm of the mind".
In the 1998 Gods and Monsters
(1998) Indie film, Directed by Bill Condon, about the last days of the ailing Director James Whale, the character of Dr. Pretorius is played by Arthur Dignam
in a flashback reminiscence of the filming of the scene. An earlier scene shows Brendan Fraser as Whale's gardener in a bar watching televised reruns of the 1935 Bride of Frankenstein featuring the climatic scene of Ernest Thesiger as Pretorius and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein unveiling Elsa Lanchester as the Bride.
In the 2007 Frankenstein
TV movie that was made in England, the character of Professor Jane Pretorius is based of Septimus Pretorius and served as Victoria Frankenstein's boss.
The same naming gimmick is used in the Cartoon Network puppet production "Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
" except that the "Dr. Polidori" puppet is clearly Thesiger's Pretorius in appearance, voice and mannerisms.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who appears in the Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
film Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to Frankenstein...
(1935). He is played by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stage and film actor Ernest Thesiger
Ernest Thesiger
Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is best known for his performance as Dr...
. Some sources claim he was originally to have been played by Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
or Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
. Others indicate that the part was conceived specifically for Thesiger.
Character overview
Doctor Pretorius is a renegade mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
who persuades Henry Frankenstein to resume his experiments with bringing dead flesh to life. An amoral egomaniac, he has no regard for human life or ethics and cares only for his own prestige as a scientist.
Along with his sinister qualities, Pretorius is responsible for a large share of the film's dark humor. He eats a picnic dinner in a crypt, trades prissy banter with the Monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
and laments that the tiny ballerina he created "will only dance to Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's 'Spring Song.'" He claims that gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
is his only weakness. Then later in the film, he claims his cigars are his only weakness when he first meets the Monster, and the Monster says his first word to him: "Smoke". Pretorius also delivers the famous toast "To a new world of gods and monsters!" midway through the film.
In the film
Septimus Pretorius, Frankenstein's former teacher, is a tall, emaciated-looking man with an unusually large nose and devilish pointed ears. A professor of philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Pretorius first points young Henry on the path toward his unwholesome experiment
Experiment
An experiment is a methodical procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, falsifying, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments vary greatly in their goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results...
s in giving life to the dead. He himself is "booted out" from his teaching post "for knowing too much." Pretorius seeks his former student out after learning that the Monster has survived being trapped in the burning windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in the climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
of the first film. Pretorius himself acknowledges that he may be insane in a conversation with Frankenstein ("You think I'm mad? Perhaps I am!").
Pretorius performs experiments creating life similar to Henry's. He unveils to Henry a group of various homunculi
Homunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
—miniature living humans which he has kept in bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
s, and claims to have grown from "seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
" like cultures. Each figure represents a different character: a queen
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
, which he claims was his first experiment, a king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
which is madly in love with the Queen and has a resemblance to Henry VIII, an archbishop which disapproves of what the King is doing, the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
(a man in a black suit), a dancer, a mermaid (grown from "an experiment with seaweed") which lives in water. Pretorious gleefully compares his own visage to that of the Devil: "Rather a resemblance to me, don't you think? Or do I flatter myself?", a possible allusion to his role as the evil villain. He says sometimes he thinks life would be more interesting if they were all devils. He has been unsuccessful, however, in creating a full-sized human. He proposes to Henry that together they create a mate for his monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
, with Henry building the body and Pretorius supplying an artificially-grown brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. Henry initially balks at the idea, but Pretorius reminds him that he is capable of exposing him to the authorities as the creator of the Monster who has done so much damage. Later, he meets the Monster in a crypt where he has gone to steal bodies and is dinging on a coffin. When the Monster asks him 'Friend?' he gives him the remains of his chicken. He tells the Monster of his plans to create a mate for him.
The Monster, eager for companionship of any kind, considers Pretorius his friend, and from then on is willing to do anything that the impish scientist desires, such as kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
Henry's wife, Elizabeth, in order to force him to help Pretorius. Henry agrees, and together the two scientists create the Bride of Frankenstein. Unfortunately, even the Bride finds her would-be husband repulsive, and the heartbroken Monster decides to end his life by blowing up the laboratory. He instructs Henry and Elizabeth to run but barks at Pretorius to stay, saying that they "belong dead", possibly because he has realised that Pretorius is evil. Before Pretorius can move, the Monster pulls the lever, blowing up the laboratory and thus the castle. Frankenstein and Elizabeth escape but Pretorius's fate is not revealed. Presumably he was destroyed along with the Monster and the Bride when the tower exploded. The Monster later returned though.
Psychosexual aspects of the character
Dr. Pretorius is frequently identified as homosexual, or as near to homosexual as could be presented on-screen in 1935. (There is, of course, no direct reference to homosexuality in the film.) Bride of Frankenstein director James WhaleJames Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
was openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and frequently included camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
elements in his films. He directed Thesiger (himself identified in some sources as more or less openly gay) to play the part as an "over the top caricature of a bitchy and aging homosexual." Gay film historian Vito Russo
Vito Russo
Vito Russo was an American LGBT activist, film historian and author who is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet ....
stops short of identifying Pretorius as gay, calling him instead "sissified" ("sissy" itself being Hollywood code for "homosexual"). Pretorius serves as a figure of seduction and temptation, pulling Frankenstein away from his bride on their wedding night to engage in the unnatural act of non-procreative life. The Breen Office
Joseph Breen
Joseph Breen is an American soap opera actor.He played contract parts on both Guiding Light and Loving before being offered his most front-burner role to date: that of Lisa’s long-lost son, Scott Eldridge, on As the World Turns...
, responsible for enforcing Hollywood's Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
, let Pretorius' behavior pass unchallenged. A novelisation of the film published in England made the implication even more clear, having Pretorius say to Frankenstein, "'Be fruitful and multiply.' Let us obey the Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
injunction: you of course, have the choice of natural means; but as for me, I am afraid that there is no course open to me but the scientific way."
Other appearances
Pretorius appears in Kim NewmanKim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
's crossover novel Dracula Cha Cha Cha, as a colleague of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's Herbert West
Herbert West
Herbert West is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft for his short story "Herbert West—Reanimator", first published in 1922. There have been several adaptations of the story including Herbert West as played by Jeffrey Combs in the 1985 Re-Animator movie and its two sequels, Bride...
. He appears as one of the horror movie spoofs in Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a 2001 cult film from Odessa Filmworks which deals with Jesus' modern-day struggle to protect the lesbians of Ottawa, Canada, from vampires with the help of Mexican wrestler El Santo .This film earned an...
and also appears in Allan Rune Pettersson
Allan Rune Pettersson
Allan Rune Pettersson is a Swedish writer.After a varied career as producer of children's programmes on Swedish radio and later as inkeeper in Portugal, he became a freelance writer on his return to Sweden in 1965....
's novel Frankenstein's Aunt Returns
Frankenstein's Aunt Returns
Frankenstein's Aunt Returns is a novel by Allan Rune Pettersson that was first published in Sweden in 1989. The book is a sequel to the first book Frankenstein's Aunt. The story is about Franklin a child created by Doctor Frankenstein with the help of Doctor Pretorius for the monster and his bride...
.
In the 1973 NBC-TV miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story, James Mason portrays a Pretorius-like figure named Dr. Polidori (named for Lord Byron's real-life physician who was part of the 1816 gathering that produced Mary Shelley's novel & also the author of the story "The Vampyre"). Mason's Dr. Polidori enlists Victor to assist in creating The Bride "Prima" (Jane Seymour).
The 1986 film of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's From Beyond
From Beyond (film)
From Beyond is a 1986 American science fiction/ body horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, loosely based on the short story of the same title by H. P. Lovecraft, and was written by Dennis Paoli, Gordon and Brian Yuzna...
adds a Dr Edward Pretorius at Miskatonic University (played by Ted Sorel
Ted Sorel
Ted Sorel was an American actor whose numerous credits included Guiding Light, Law & Order and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appeared in film and Broadway productions.-Biography:...
) as an dark mentor for Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
). This Pretorius is a impotent sadist (with a room full of bondage gear) who is assimilated by the 'Beyond' and attempts to drag others into it, boasting that the pineal gland
Pineal gland
The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland in the vertebrate brain. It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and seasonal functions...
growth brought on by the resonator is like "an orgasm of the mind".
In the 1998 Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters
Gods and Monsters is a 1998 drama film that recounts the last days of the life of troubled film director James Whale, whose homosexuality is a central theme. It stars Ian McKellen as Whale, along with Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes...
(1998) Indie film, Directed by Bill Condon, about the last days of the ailing Director James Whale, the character of Dr. Pretorius is played by Arthur Dignam
Arthur Dignam
Arthur Dignam is an Australian character actor.Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder 1955–1956....
in a flashback reminiscence of the filming of the scene. An earlier scene shows Brendan Fraser as Whale's gardener in a bar watching televised reruns of the 1935 Bride of Frankenstein featuring the climatic scene of Ernest Thesiger as Pretorius and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein unveiling Elsa Lanchester as the Bride.
In the 2007 Frankenstein
Frankenstein (2007 film)
Frankenstein is a 2007 British television film produced by Impossible Pictures for ITV. It was written and directed by Jed Mercurio, adapted from Mary Shelley's original novel to a present-day setting. Dr...
TV movie that was made in England, the character of Professor Jane Pretorius is based of Septimus Pretorius and served as Victoria Frankenstein's boss.
The same naming gimmick is used in the Cartoon Network puppet production "Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole is a stop-motion animated TV series by Dino Stamatopoulos, creator of Moral Orel. Nine of ten 15-minute episodes have aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. Frankenhole premiered on June 27, 2010.-Premise:Dr...
" except that the "Dr. Polidori" puppet is clearly Thesiger's Pretorius in appearance, voice and mannerisms.