Frankenstein is a British horror-adventure film series produced by Hammer Film Productions. The films, loosely based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, are centered on Baron Victor Frankenstein, who experiments in creating a creature beyond human. The series is part of the larger Hammer horror oeuvre.
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Release date | 1957–1974 |
Running time | 634–643 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Background
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The original series of films consisted of seven instalments, which starred well-known horror actors such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Baron Victor Frankenstein and his creature respectively.
Producer Max Rosenberg originally approached Michael Carreras at Hammer Films with a deal to produce Frankenstein and the Monster (Rosenberg claims that he came up with the title) from a script by Milton Subotsky. Later, both men were cut out of their profit participation making only a $5000 fee for bringing the production to Hammer.[1] Rosenberg and Subotsky later established Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival in the production of horror films during the 1960s. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, who adapted Mary Shelley's novel for Hammer, never mentioned seeing Subotsky's script or being aware of Rosenberg's involvement. Sangster had worked as a production manager and said that he was keenly aware of production costs and kept the budget in mind when writing the script. Sangster said that his awareness of cost influenced him to not write scenes involving the villagers storming the castle that was typically seen in the Universal horror films "because we couldn't afford it". Sangster in an interview with film historian Jonathan Rigby indicated that he hadn't seen any of the Frankenstein films that Universal made. He just adapted the book "the way I saw it".[2]
Peter Cushing, who was then best known for his many high-profile roles in British television, had his first lead part in a film with The Curse of Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee's casting resulted largely from his height (6'5"), though Hammer had earlier considered the even taller (6'7") Bernard Bresslaw for the role. Universal fought hard to prevent Hammer from duplicating aspects of their 1931 film, and so it was down to make-up artist Phil Leakey to design a new look for the creature bearing no resemblance to the Boris Karloff original created by Jack Pierce. Production of The Curse of Frankenstein began, with an investment of £65,000, on 19 November 1956 at Bray Studios with a scene showing Baron Frankenstein cutting down a highwayman from a wayside gibbet.[3] The film opened at the London Pavilion on 2 May 1957 with an X certificate from the censors.
The films
edit- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is a brilliant scientist willing to stop at nothing in his quest to reanimate a deceased body. After alienating his longtime friend and partner, Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart), with his extreme methods, Frankenstein assembles a hideous creature (Christopher Lee) out of dead body parts and succeeds in bringing it to life. But the monster is not as obedient or docile as Frankenstein expected, and it runs amok, resulting in murder and mayhem. - The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
With the help of Karl (Oscar Quitak), the crippled dwarf hangman, whom he promises a new body, Baron Frankenstein escapes from the guillotine and goes to Germany, where under the name Stein, alongside his eager young assistant Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews), they transplant Karl's brain into the new patchwork body (Michael Gwynn). The operation is successful but as the body's limbs begin to return to the old crippled positions of Karl, Karl escapes and goes on a cannibalistic rampage, calling out the name of "Frankenstein". - The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Dr. Frankenstein returns destitute to his home village to recommence his experimental research into the reanimation of dead tissue, and stumbles upon his old monster (Kiwi Kingston) suspended in ice. Though he revives the creature, Frankenstein must seek the help of hypnotist Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) to repair its mind. Zoltan then assumes control of the monster, using him to wreak havoc. But when Frankenstein tries to regain power over his creation, he becomes Zoltan's next target. - Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
After being reanimated, Baron Frankenstein transfers the soul of his unjustly framed and guillotined assistant Hans (Robert Morris) into the body of Hans's lover Christina (Susan Denberg) after she had subsequently committed suicide, prompting her, with his memory, to kill the men who wronged them and avenge their deaths. - Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
When Frankenstein, who looks forward to meeting and working with former associate Dr. Frederick Brandt (George Pravda), learns about his unstable mind and subsequent confinement to a lunatic asylum, he decides to transplant Brandt's brain into another body (Freddie Jones) in an attempt to cure him, and to acquire the information behind a secret formula known only to him. - The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
A tongue-in-cheek black comedy chiller and remake of The Curse of Frankenstein about a ruthlessly sadistic student who will stop at nothing in pursuit of advancing his shocking scientific experiments, Young Victor Frankenstein (Ralph Bates) murders his own father (George Belbin) in order to inherit his title and fortune, and drops out of school to concentrate on his unholy attempts to resurrect the dead (David Prowse). - Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
Convicted of body-snatching, Dr. Simon Helder (Shane Briant) is sentenced to an insane asylum. On arrival, he recognizes the resident surgeon as the infamous Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), who has been hiding out there under the guise of Dr Carl Victor, discovering that Frankenstein has been assembling a new creature using the body of an insane murderer (David Prowse), the brain of a musical and mathematical genius (Charles Lloyd-Pack) and the hands of a sculptor (Bernard Lee). Unable to operate himself due to his hands having been burnt, Frankenstein has been relying on his mute assistant Sarah (Madeline Smith) to stitch the body parts together, now turning to Helder for help. After the operation is a success, the creature is torn between the conflicting aspects of itself – an intelligent, artistic person imprisoned in the body of a murderous hulk. Escaping from its cell, the creature then sets out to hunt down those who abused him – starting with the asylum’s corrupt director (John Stratton)…
Tales of Frankenstein television pilot
editIn 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot episode for a television series to be called Tales of Frankenstein, in association with Columbia Pictures, directed by Curt Siodmak. Anton Diffring played the Baron, and Don Megowan his creation. The series was scrapped, largely because of the two companies' disagreement over what the basic thrust of the series would be: Hammer wanted to do a series about Baron Frankenstein involved in various misadventures, while Columbia wanted a series of loosely-connected science fiction loosely based around the idea of science gone wrong. Though unreleased at the time of its production, the episode is available on DVD from several public domain sources. It is also available as a Special Feature on the 2012 Blu-Ray release of "The Curse Of Frankenstein" by Lionsgate. Though the series was never produced, Anthony Hinds commissioned several scripts that provided Hammer with material for their later Frankenstein films, specifically Frankenstein Created Woman and The Evil of Frankenstein.[4][5]
Cast and characters
editThis section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the series.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- U indicates an uncredited appearance.
- Y indicates a younger version of the character.
- P indicates an appearance possessed by another character.
| Character | Main series | Remake | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of Frankenstein | The Revenge of Frankenstein | The Evil of Frankenstein | Frankenstein Created Woman | Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed | Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | The Horror of Frankenstein | |
| 1957 | 1958 | 1964 | 1967 | 1969 | 1974 | 1970 | |
| Baron Victor Frankenstein Doctor Victor Stein / Franck / Carl Victor |
Peter Cushing Melvyn HayesY |
Peter Cushing | Ralph Bates | ||||
| The Creature Herr Schneider / The Monster from Hell |
Christopher Lee Jock Easton |
Michael Gwynn Peter Cushing |
Kiwi Kingston | Susan Denberg | Freddie Jones | David Prowse | |
| Priest | Alex Gallier | Alex GallierU | James Maxwell | Colin Jeavons | Chris Lethbridge-Baker | ||
| Elizabeth Heiss | Hazel Court Sally WalshY |
Veronica Carlson | |||||
| Schoolmaster | Henry Caine | Neil Wilson | |||||
| Burgomaster of Karlstaad | Andrew Leigh | David Hutcheson | |||||
| Burgomaster's Wife | Ann Blake | Caron Gardner | |||||
| Fritz | Josef Behrmann | Lionel Jeffries | |||||
| Doctor Hans Kleve | Francis Matthews | Sandor Elès | Robert Morris Stuart MiddletonUY Susan DenbergP |
Chris Cunningham | |||
| Doctor Karl Holst | Oscar Quitak Michael Gwynn |
Barry Warren | Simon Ward | ||||
| Professor Durendel President of the Medical Council |
Charles Lloyd-Pack | Charles Lloyd-Pack | |||||
| Landlord | Alister Williamson | Ivan Beavis | Jerold Wells | ||||
| Chief of Police | Duncan Lamont | Peter Madden | Timothy Davies | ||||
| Police Sergeant #1 | Anthony Blackshaw | Allan Surtees | |||||
| Police Sergeant #2 | David Conville | Windsor Davies | |||||
| Christina Kleve | Susan Denberg | Elizabeth Morgan | |||||
| Dr. Paul Krempe | Robert Urquhart | ||||||
| Justine | Valerie Gaunt | ||||||
| Aunt Sophia | Noel Hood | ||||||
| Professor Bernstein | Paul Hardtmuth | ||||||
| Grandpa | Fred Johnson | ||||||
| Little Boy | Claude Kingston | ||||||
| Warder | Michael Mulcaster | ||||||
| Lecturer | Middleton Woods | ||||||
| Uncle | Raymond Ray | ||||||
| Margaret | Eunice Gayson | ||||||
| Bergman | John Welsh | ||||||
| Up Patient | Richard Wordsworth | ||||||
| Janitor | George Woodbridge | ||||||
| Kurt | Michael Ripper | ||||||
| Zoltan | Peter Woodthorpe | ||||||
| Rena | Katy Wild | ||||||
| Drunk | Howard Goorney | ||||||
| Doctor Hertz | Thorley Walters | ||||||
| Anton | Peter Blythe | ||||||
| Johann | Derek Fowlds | ||||||
| The Prisoner Hans' Father |
Duncan Lamont | ||||||
| Kleve | Alan MacNaughtan | ||||||
| Mayor | Philip Ray | ||||||
| Bystander | Bartlett Mullins | ||||||
| Spokesman | Alec Mango | ||||||
| Anna Spengler | Veronica Carlson | ||||||
| Dr. Frederick Brandt | George Pravda Freddie Jones |
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| Professor Richter | Freddie Jones | ||||||
| Inspector Frisch | Thorley Walters | ||||||
| Ella Brandt | Maxine Audley | ||||||
| Police Doctor | Geoffrey Bayldon | ||||||
| Madwoman | Colette O'Neil | ||||||
| Guest - Plumber | Frank Middlemass | ||||||
| Guest - Smoking pipe | Norman Shelley | ||||||
| Guest - Reading newspaper | Michael Gover | ||||||
| Guest - Playing chess | George Belbin | ||||||
| Principal | Peter Copley | ||||||
| Dr. Heidecke | Jim Collier | ||||||
| Dr. Simon Helder | Shane Briant | ||||||
| Sarah "Angel" Klauss | Madeline Smith | ||||||
| Asylum Director Adolf Klauss | John Stratton | ||||||
| Transvest | Michael Ward | ||||||
| Wild One | Elsie Wagstaff | ||||||
| Police Sergeant | Norman Mitchell | ||||||
| Judge | Clifford Mollison | ||||||
| Bodysnatcher | Patrick Troughton | ||||||
| Ernst | Philip Voss | ||||||
| Brassy Girl | Andria Lawrence | ||||||
| Old Hag | Lucy Griffiths | ||||||
| Tarmut | Bernard Lee | ||||||
| Muller | Sydney Bromley | ||||||
| Gerda | Sheila Dunion | ||||||
| Twitch | Mischa de la Motte | ||||||
| Smiler | Norman Atkyns | ||||||
| Letch | Victor Woolf | ||||||
| Mouse | Winifred Sabine | ||||||
| Chatter | Janet Hargreaves | ||||||
| Coach Driver | Peter Madden | ||||||
| Alys | Kate O'Mara | ||||||
| The Graverobber | Dennis Price | ||||||
| Lieutenant Henry Becker | Jon Finch | ||||||
| Professor Heiss | Bernard Archard | ||||||
| Wilhelm Kassner | Graham James | ||||||
| Bailiff | James Hayter | ||||||
| Graverobber's Wife | Joan Rice | ||||||
| Stephan | Stephen Turner | ||||||
| Dean | James Cossins | ||||||
| Maggie | Glenys O'Brien | ||||||
| Instructor | Geoffrey Lumsden | ||||||
| First Bandit | Terry Duggan | ||||||
| Baron Frankenstein I | George Belbin | ||||||
| Woodsman | Hal Jeayes | ||||||
| Woodsman's Daughter | Carol Jeayes | ||||||
| Workman | Michael Goldie | ||||||
Crew
edit| Crew/detail | Main series | Remake | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curse of Frankenstein | The Revenge of Frankenstein | The Evil of Frankenstein | Frankenstein Created Woman | Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed | Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | The Horror of Frankenstein | |
| 1957 | 1958 | 1964 | 1967 | 1969 | 1974 | 1970 | |
| Director(s) | Terence Fisher | Freddie Francis | Terence Fisher | Jimmy Sangster | |||
| Producer(s) | Anthony Hinds | Anthony Nelson Keys | Roy Skeggs | ||||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Sangster | Anthony Hinds (as John Elder) |
Bert Batt Anthony Nelson Keys |
Anthony Hinds (as John Elder) |
Jimmy Sangster Jeremy Burnham | ||
| Composer(s) | James Bernard | Leonard Salzedo | Don Banks | James Bernard | Malcolm Williamson | ||
| Editor(s) | James Needs | Alfred Cox | James Needs | Spencer Reeve | Gordon Hales | James Needs | Chris Barnes |
| Cinematographer | Jack Asher | John Wilcox | Arthur Grant | Brian Probyn | Moray Grant | ||
| Production companies | Hammer Film Productions | ||||||
| Distributor(s) | Warner Bros. | Columbia Pictures | Rank Film Distributors (UK) | Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK) | AVCO Embassy Pictures (UK) | MGM-EMI Distributors (UK) | |
| Universal-International (US & worldwide) | 20th Century Fox (US & worldwide) | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (US & worldwide) | Paramount Pictures (US) | Continental Films (US) | |||
| Runtime | 83 minutes | 89 minutes | 84 minutes | 92 minutes (uncut, US) 86 minutes (cut, UK) |
101 minutes (uncut, US) 98 minutes (cut, UK) |
99 minutes | 95 minutes |
| Release date | May 2, 1957 | June 1, 1958 | April 19, 1964 | March 15, 1967 | May 22, 1969 | May 2, 1974 | November 8, 1970 |
Reception
edit| Film | Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|
| The Curse of Frankenstein | 78% (18 reviews)[6] |
| The Revenge of Frankenstein | 87% (15 reviews)[7] |
| The Evil of Frankenstein | 57% (7 reviews)[8] |
| Frankenstein Created Woman | 67% (12 reviews)[9] |
| Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed | 70% (10 reviews)[10] |
| The Horror of Frankenstein | 58% (12 reviews)[11] |
| Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | 63% (8 reviews)[12] |
Legacy
editHammer's first colour horror film, its worldwide success led to several sequels, the studio's new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), and established "Hammer Horror" as a new distinctive brand of Gothic cinema.[13] [14]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ Interview with Max Rosenberg for the Blu-ray of "Asylum", December 2017
- ^ "The British Entertainment History Project - Jimmy Sangster -". historyproject.org.uk.
- ^ Rigby, Jonathan (2000). English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-01-3.
- ^ Meikle 2008, p. 58-60.
- ^ Meikle 2008, p. 139.
- ^ "The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ Sinclair McKay (2007) A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Hammer Film Productions Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
Sources
edit- Meikle, Dennis (2008), A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer (Revised ed.), Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-0810863811