*Here is something even many hardcore vintage horror movie buffs do not
know! After the great success of Dracula in 1931, Universal Pictures rushed
FRANKENSTEIN into production.Bela Lugosi, who had played Dracula was signed
to play the monster, and young actress Bette Davis (under contract to
Universal) was signed to play the female lead and Robert Florey wrote the
first screenplay and was slated to direct.There are differing stories about
what occurred next and why, but it is certain that Florey was replaced by
James Whale and that Bela Lugosi was replaced by Boris Karloff (reportedly
Karloff didn't like the heavy makeup or the fact that he had virtually no
speaking lines, but no one knows for certain). What IS for certain is that
the great still of Lugosi was created in 1931 after Dracula was made, but
before the above replacements occurred, because the printing on the back
says "PREPARING FOR 'FRANKENSTEIN'", and under it, it says that a friend of
Bela Lugosi "who is now at Universal City getting ready for his next big
role" gave him a ring in the shape of a bat, and you can see that ring on
his finger. Of course, soon after the still was released, Lugosi was
replaced, so this is surely one of the only artifacts remaining from that
brief time when Lugosi was going to be the monster in Frankenstein! And not
only that, but our consignor not only had this wonderful still, but also
another one that was surely released at the exact same time, which shows
Bette Davis, and it says on the back that she has been just cast in
Frankenstein!Why was Bette Davis replaced as well? Apparently, when James
Whale came on board, he did not think that Bette Davis, who had been in
three lesser roles in Universal movies before this, was right for the lead
role in this movie, and he convinced them to replace Bette Davis with Mae
Clarke. No doubt, Davis felt terrible, and she left Universal at this time
and then made one movie for RKO, but then landed at Warner Bros., where she
became one of their greatest stars of the 1930s, so it certainly worked out
OK for her in the long run! Of course, there is no telling what kind of
career Bette Davis might have had at Universal if she HAD starred in
Frankenstein, and maybe her future would have led to many more horror
roles!We have both these wonderful stills in separate auctions that just
started, at https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7287962
<https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7287962> and at
https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7287964
<https://auctions.emovieposter.com/item/7287964>*
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