Fritz is a fictional character who appears in the 1931 Universal film version of Mary Shelley' novel, Frankenstein. He was played by Dwight Frye. Variations of his character, usually named "Ygor," have appeared in subsequent adaptations of Shelley's novel (despite the fact no such character appears in the book). In fact, the character of Fritz first appeared in an 1823 stage adaptation, Presumption: or the Fate of Frankenstein by Richard Brinsley Peake.[1] Other Fritz-like characters have appeared in pop culture where nary a mad scientist goes without his own crazy assistant. Fritz, a hunchback, was hired by Henry Frankenstein to assist in his experiments to give life to a corpse. Fritz's primary purpose was to acquire body parts for Dr. Frankenstein, assisting him in digging up grave. Following the creation of Frankenstein's monster, Fritz took great delight in tormenting the poor creature with a whip and torch, despite Henry's repeated warnings. Ultimately, this proved to be Fritz's undoing; after being pushed too far, the Monster lashed out violently and killed the hunchback.
See also
References
- ^ Andreas Rohrmoser. It Lives!: Early theatre and film adaptations
