Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein

The title sequence of Frankenstein incorporates underscoring sounded along with stand alone credits, rather than credits superimposed on some opening scene. The style employed utilizes what seems to be generally accepted as forboding, tense music played by mostly brass and woodwind instruments. In the first scene of the movie, bells toll a diagetic dirge in the distance--meaning that the characters can probably hear this music--as a coffin is buried and a scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein, and his assistant, Fritz, look on from a furtive location. The bells have stopped by the time the two men have dug up and stolen the body. Next the two men find a hanged man and decide he could be the last piece of their monstrous puzzle, yet, as throughout the movie, no music is employed in this place with little dialogue that could potentially be complemented with some creepy mood music. Later on, a diagetic gong sound actually determines the course of the plot as its startingly report causes Fritz to drop the normal brain he is stealing. He then goes for the abnormal one, a decision not likely without the gong's contribution. The diagetic use of thunder during scenes in which Frankenstein works on his creation is not music per se but does fulfill the same job of setting a mood, ominous in this case.
The next use of music is the diagetic, happy music provided by violin and accordion as villagers dance, celebrating in anticipation of Frankenstein's wedding. Church bells, this time announcing a happy occasion, supplement this music. The violin and accordion abruptly stop when the players first spot a man carrying his murdered daughter, though the audience sees the man well before they notice, permitting a contrapuntal happy theme to continue in a time of sadness. The movie eventually fades out in a climax of action where the main character is wounded and his monster is engulfed in flames, yet no music accompanies these occurrences.
In Bride of Frankenstein, music that is nearly all underscoring, unheard by the characters, continues throughout the movie. The composer also employs crescendo and decrescendo in most instances, making the music more obvious than the constant bell tolling in Frankenstein. One specific instance of underscoring is the sequence with Dr. Pretorious' miniature human-like creations. Each is dressed to fit a part--king, queen, bishop, ballerina, mermaid--and each is accompanied by stereotypically appropriate music--happy, regal music for the royalty; reverent music for the clergy; harp for the ballerina, etc.
In the scene when Frankenstein's monster escapes from prison, quick tempoed music similar to the sound a bee's wings make contrasts the reality of the monster's escape with the official's reassurances to the crowd outside that he is chained up and incapable of harming anyone.
For the heart-starting sequence in which the "bride of Frankenstein" is given life, the composer uses a heart-throb-like drum beat that is the diagetic noise of her heart beating. This beats faster as she is lowered down from the electrical storm back into the laboratory in a conscious state. The beating of her heart may parallel increased heart rates among the two scientists witnessing the consummation of their work. These are a few examples of the many instances in which the composer uses mainly underscoring and some diagetic music much more frequently than in Frankenstein, demonstrating the broad possibilities and dispositions concerning when music should or should not be employed and also which kind best completes the story.