Where to watch Frankenstein 1931
Rent, buy or stream it
A young scientist, Henry Frankenstein, shuts himself away in a watchtower to build a man from body parts and bring him to life with lightning. It works, but the creature he has made is given a criminal's brain, rejected and chained up, and his escape ends in tragedy for everyone. James Whale's film is short and moves fast, and Boris Karloff, under heavy make-up, makes the monster frightening and pitiful at once without a word of dialogue. The story comes from Peggy Webling's 1927 stage play based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, all of which are now in the public domain.
Free to watch here from 1 January 2027
Frankenstein (1931) enters the public domain in the United States on 1 January 2027. From that day the full film plays free on this page for US visitors. Bookmark it, or browse the free classic movies you can watch today.
Frankenstein: your questions
How long is Frankenstein?
1h 10m: a short one, easy for a weeknight.
When can I watch Frankenstein free?
From 1 January 2027, when it enters the public domain in the United States. It will play in full on this page from that day.
Where can I stream Frankenstein?
You can rent or buy it on Prime Video in the US (button above). For subscription services, JustWatch shows where it's streaming today, since that changes month to month.
- Released
- 1931
- Runtime
- 1h 10m
- Directed by
- James Whale
- Starring
- Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff
- Genre
- Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi