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SYFY WIRE Vinyl

The Bride of Frankenstein's original 1935 score hits vinyl for first time ever with spooky cool set

By Jeff Spry
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Directed by Frankenstein's legendary filmmaker James Whale and released in 1935 by Universal Pictures, The Bride of Frankenstein is considered by film scholars and cinephiles to represent the pinnacle of Golden Age Hollywood horror, with chilling performances by Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, and a haunting, majestic musical score composed by the masterful Franz Waxman.

It was chosen by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1998, having been deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

Now just in time to spice up your Halloween season, New Orleans-based Waxwork Records is presenting The Bride of Frankenstein Original 1935 Motion Picture Soundtrack by Franz Waxman for pre-order on the occasion of its 85th birthday. This marks the very first time the entire score has been delivered onto vinyl, sourced from the original 1935 acetates and masters provided to Waxwork by the Waxman estate and Universal Pictures. 

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This historic remastering features prestige packaging containing eerie, 180-gram Black & White swirled colored vinyl, old-style tip-on gatefold jackets with satin coating, a deluxe 12"x12" informational booklet complete with liner notes by album producer and restoration engineer Mike Matessino, original scoring session photos, and bold new artwork created especially for this release by Phantom City Creative.

"Given the titles in our discography, it's clear that everyone at Waxwork is a big horror fan," Waxwork CEO Kevin Bergeron tells SYFY WIRE. "There are some titles that we've had at the top of our wishlist to release for years, and often you know that it's highly improbable that the music even exists for that soundtrack anymore. Sometimes, things work out.

"In 2018, the original acetates to The Bride of Frankenstein soundtrack were unearthed from composer Franz Waxman's archive at Syracuse University. This led to some further detective work, and even more masters were then found at Universal Pictures."

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Taken from these actual master acetates, The Bride of Frankenstein Original 1935 Motion Picture Soundtrack has been lovingly restored and re-mastered to capture this iconic sci-fi horror score.

A previous 2014 release from Sony Music was simply a re-recording of the score by an orchestra in the '90s, and was not created using the original 1935 masters as is this rare offering from Waxwork. So if you want the OG horror tunes, this is it.

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"Through a lot of restorative work and both studio and estate approvals, we are so excited to finally release the original soundtrack to The Bride of Frankenstein as heard in the classic, and now historic, horror movie just in time for its 85th Anniversary," Bergeron adds. "She's Alive, indeed!"

It's available now for pre-order for $27 plus shipping and expects to be sent out in January of 2021.

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