One of the most spectacular scenes in horror cinema history is the creation scene in James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN in 1931. Expertly filmed and skillfully cut to maximize the tension of what was to come, it was only surpassed when Whale again filmed a similar scene for the 1935 BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
Besides the Kenneth Strickfaden-built flashing electrical equipment in the lab, the lightning and crashing sound of thunder heard overhead where the monster would be drawn up on his slab added to the nerve-rattling sequence.
It turns out that the thunder sound effect was so effective that it was used again and again for years.
Castle Thunder: The Sound Used for Thunder in Almost Every Movie and TV Show
By Timothy Sexton |August 13, 2008
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| The thunder heard in this scene was used many times over in films. |
How many times have you heard thunder in a movie or TV show? Bet that you did not know that nearly every single flash of lightning that results in a thunderclap is the result of a sound recorded for a movie in 1931. That movie was, aptly, the original Universal horror classic Frankenstein. This sound is known as the Castle Thunder sound effect and until around the middle of the 1980s the chances were at around 99% that a thunderclap in a movie or TV show was the old recording. Today the sound effect is still occasionally used, but usually only by filmmakers who have an appreciation of film history. The castle thunder effect is used in contemporary movies mainly for the purpose of a kind of inside joke; a salute to the fans out there who are aware of cinematic history as well. That is because the original record and subsequent re-recordings
The thunderous sound of this effect is really quite perfect. It is a full bodied sound that echoes with a sense of dread and suspense and instantly brings to mind a dark and stormy night with a long winding road that leads to an imposing castle. Since it was recorded for Frankenstein, Castle Thunder has been used in too many movies to even keep count. Although there is that certain sense of foreboding and horror to the sound of the Castle Thunder, you can also hear in movies ranging from Citizen Kane to The Rescuer. Some sound men like to fiddle around with Castle Thunder by adding it into the mix. If you listen closely you may be able to hear the sound of thunder when the dam is bursting in the 1970's disaster epic Earthquake. You may also be able to hear it during the assault on the Death Star in Star Wars.
Of course, using Castle Thunder to create a unique sound by mixing it with others is more difficult to detect than the sound by itself. Have no fear because you can pretty much hear Castle Thunder any day of the week. How? Well, sit down to watch Scooby-Doo with your friends and listen closely to that thunder that precedes the opening theme song. And if you are visiting Disney World or Disneyland take a visit to the Haunted Mansion and you will hear Castle Thunder several times, including when you are in that little room where the portraits seem to stretch out. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has a local station that still reruns of Gilligan's Island any time there is a clap of thunder you heard the Castle Thunder sound.
[SOURCE: Associated Content Website.]
Here "Castle Thunder" in this clip:
This I did not know. Fascinating that a sound I've heard so many times in Frankenstein was so influential, and I sure didn't know the same sound was in Scooby Doo.
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