(I'm excepting my own mail, returned to me unsent for some reason.)

 

 Speaking of twins and dopplegangers and hindi cinema acting conventions

 and cinematic versions of Frankenstein--I've always been interested in

 the decision to have Elsa Lanchester play both Mary Shelley (in the

 parodic intro frame) and the Bride in Whale's BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.  Two

 very different (perhaps?) versions of the feminine.  How does one speak

 about the way this kind of double-casting has meaning in the film?  For

 instance, the Bride screaming at the sight of the monster begins to look

 like Shelley screaming at her own literary creation, etc.  Do we have

 to . . .  (sorry, forget that sentence).

    I'd be interested in hearing about more of these double-castings.

-Carol--how

  are these double roles "read" in Hindi cinema.  Is the audience supposed to

 disregard that the characters are played by the same actress--is that the

 convention?  I wonder if Whale's decision was plotted out in the same way

 that, say, Carol Churchill's plays are structured with this kind of

 double-acting strategy in mind.  Can anyone think of other films where this

 strategy seems to be used towards a calculated end--and not?

   Susan Crutchfield