Hero of the Month: Dwight Frye
I know what you’re saying to yourself right now. “What’s he doing on this site? And why’s he in the hero section?” Good questions, read on and all will be revealed.
Dwight Frye was originally going to be a concert pianist and showed great talent in this field, but he got bit by the acting bug and joined a stock company in 1918. Working his way up to Broadway, he became known for his character parts. Brought to Hollywood to recreate his performance in Dracula (1931) as the demented Renfield, Frye became a star overnight and was forever typecast in deranged villainous roles.
After Dracula he played the sadistic hunchbacked assistant in Frankenstein (1931), an unhinged butler in the Charlie Chan film The Black Camel (1931), psychotic gunman Wilmer Cook in the first filmed version of The Maltese Falcon (1931), a mentally challenged bat obsessed murder suspect in The Vampire Bat (1932) and a weaselly grave robber who’s not above taking the initiative when a body’s needed and there’s no time to dig up a grave in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
When the first cycle of horror films was over, Frye found himself out of work and began taking small roles in lower budget B pictures on Poverty Row like Renfrew On the Great White Trail (1937) and The Night hawk (1938), usually as a minor henchman. It was at this time that Republic cast him in a small, but showy role in their serial Drums of Fu Manchu (1940), playing a museum curator who helps set up a trap to catch the villainous would be world conquerer. Not only does Frye help the heroes fight off a murderous band of Dacoit slaves, but in a true rarity for serials, he doesn’t get killed, which happens to so many helpful minor characters.
When horror films came back in style, Frye found himself in demand again, but only for bit roles at his old studio Universal, having blink and you miss him parts in Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943). His only major role during this period was as a demented hunchback assistant to George Zucco’s vampire in the ultra low budget Dead Men Walk (1943).
To help make ends meet Frye was working full time at an airplane factory. The strain of working all night helping build planes and then hunting for acting jobs during the day proved too much for Frye, who died of a heart attack soon after making Submarine Alert (1943). He was only 44.
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.