Book Review: It's Alive
It's Alive!
By Julian David Stone
Greenleaf Book Group Press
May 17, 2022
$22.95
Buy It
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
At first glance, I thought It's Alive! by Julian David Stone was a
non-fiction book about the making of Frankenstein. It's actually a
novel, perhaps not the most masterly in terms of prose, but marvelously
entertaining and evocative. Through what I can only assume is a blend of
thorough research and imagination, Stone creates vivid characters out of
Carl "Junior" Laemmle, Jr., Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and others. And,
somehow, even though we know for certain that Frankenstein (1931) was
eventually made, the author manages to create a decent amount of
suspense around the fact that it might not be made. Junior is stuck in
the shadow of his powerful father, who built Universal Studios from the
ground up, but is stuck making what Junior sees as "old-fashioned"
pictures. Lugosi, currently a huge star after the success of Dracula, is
wanted for the role of the monster, but the actor prefers a part with
juicy dialogue. A down-on-his-luck Karloff dearly wants the role, and if
he doesn't get it, he'll likely have to give up on his dream of being an
actor. The casting shifts back and forth, as do directors Robert Florey
and James Whale, while Junior deals with is girlfriend Sidney Fox,
gossip columnist Louella Parsons, and his hoped-for, but elusive
promotion to Vice President. Stone is clearly a huge fan of the period
and this movie, and his passion shows.
