telegonus wrote:
In the case of Dracula the book wasn't that old, the story, though written in the late Victorian era wasn't really tied to it. In 1931 it was less than forty years old, which made it nearly contemporary ...
Plus, Bram Stoker's window was still alive. (She wouldn't die until 1937.)
telegonus wrote:
... as close to the early 30's as we are to when Stephen King's Carrie and Salem's Lot first appeared.
Thanks for making me feel old.image
telegonus wrote:
... It's tough to know what historical era the 1931 Frankenstein is set in. Universal-time, it seems. Some of the characters seem to be wearing contemporary clothing, others look more 19th century. I don't recall any cars or radios in the film, nor any mention of current events, so I guess it could be the previous century...
In Bride of Frankenstein, during the scene where Pretorious robs the girl's grave with two henchmen while the hidden Monster looks on, one of the henchmen reads the inscription (after having to first clean dust off of it), which revealed she died in 1899. It's not clear how far after her death this is, but when they open the coffin we get a very oblique look partially inside it -- the remains, what we see of them, look skeletal to me, but I'm not sure. The henchman looks in and says "pretty little thing in her way, wasn't she?" and Pretorious says, "I hope her bones are firm."

Gadfly