The Horror of Frankenstein | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster, promoted as part of a double feature with Scars of Dracula | |
Directed by | Jimmy Sangster |
Screenplay by | Jeremy Burnham Jimmy Sangster |
Based on | Victor Frankenstein by Mary Shelley |
Produced by | Jimmy Sangster |
Starring | Ralph Bates Kate O'Mara Veronica Carlson David Prowse |
Cinematography | Moray Grant |
Edited by | Chris Barnes |
Music by | Malcolm Williamson |
Production company | |
Distributed by | MGM-EMI Distributors (U.K.) 1 Continental Films (U.S.) |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £200,000 [1] or £176,000 [2] |
The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and semi-remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein , of Hammer's Frankenstein series. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster. It was the only film in the Frankenstein series which did not star Peter Cushing. The original music score was composed by Malcolm Williamson.
Victor Frankenstein, a cold, arrogant and womanizing genius, is angry when his father forbids him to continue his anatomy experiments. He ruthlessly murders his father by sabotaging the old man's shotgun, consequently inheriting the title of Baron von Frankenstein and the family fortune. He uses the money to enter medical school in Vienna, but is forced to return home when he impregnates the daughter of the Dean.
Returning to his own castle, he sets up a laboratory and starts a series of experiments involving the revival of the dead. He eventually builds a composite body from human parts, which he then brings to life. The creature goes on a homicidal rampage until it is accidentally destroyed when a vat where it has been hidden is flooded with acid.
The film was entirely financed by EMI. [1] The film was originally going to be called “Frankenstein” then, when Sangster re-wrote the script, it was retitled “Horrors of Frankenstein” [3] before its final title.
Jimmy Sangster was initially asked to rewrite the script (which was originally brought to Hammer by actor/writer Jeremy Burnham). The project began as a straight remake of “Curse of Frankenstein”. [4] Sangster declined until Hammer sweetened the deal by allowing him to re-write the script, produce and direct the project. Sangster rewrote the script as a black comedy. As Jonathan Rigby points out in the documentary “Gallows Humor” included with the Blu-ray that the opening opened with a credit sequence that made clear what Sangster’s intentions were; using what appears to be a felt tip pen (an anachronism) to mark off the body parts in a picture of a woman that would be needed for one of Frankenstein’s creations. [5]
Budgeted at £200,000, Hammer sought independent financing and only had domestic distribution arranged at the time of production. This film was, along with “Scars of Dracula” (the other film that EMI financed also at £200,000) the first pair of films where Hammer had ever sought independent U.K. financing. The films played as a double bill. This was a very different approach whereas before Hammer had secured U.S. financing as well to insure that Hammer wasn’t at risk for the production costs. Shot over six weeks, the film recycled the sets from “Taste the Blood of Dracula” and “The Vampire Lovers” [5]
Ralph Bates was cast as Baron Frankenstein. The role was never offered to Peter Cushing, who had played the role many times previously for Hammer. This was part of an attempt to build Bates into a new star for Hammer. As Jonathan Rigby points out, Sangster wrote the role of Frankenstein as more of a psychopath rather than a sociopath as he had been portrayed previously by Sangster and other Hammer writers. [5]
Ralph Bates was cast as Victor Frankenstein, the role having, five times previously, been played by Peter Cushing. Soon afterwards, he appeared as Dr. Jekyll in the Hammer film Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), which co-starred Martine Beswick.
In the mid-1960s, David Prowse, later famous for his portrayal of Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy, had actually gone into the Hammer offices to express his desire to portray one of their movie monsters, but was rather abruptly dismissed.[ citation needed ] As several years passed by and he went about building a larger body of work through various film roles, he was eventually approached by Jimmy Sangster about being cast as this revisionist Baron Frankenstein's laboratory creation. Prowse has the distinction of being the only actor to have portrayed Frankenstein's monster in more than one Hammer film: this production marked his first such appearance; the second occasion was Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), where his overall appearance was much more horrifically elaborate. He also appeared briefly in the traditional Frankenstein's monster make-up and costume in a gag appearance in Casino Royale (1967).[ citation needed ]
Howard Thompson of The New York Times enjoyed the first hour as "not only painless but also fun," comparing it favourably to Kind Hearts and Coronets . He disliked the final act when the monster emerged, "with awkward horror pitted against rather bland sheepishness. But it was good fun while it lasted. Hammer almost had something special." [6] Variety wrote that the film "has an occasional lighthearted touch which adds much to its enjoyment," praising Bates for a "nicely suave and sardonic performance as the ingenious, self-assured son of Count Frankenstein." [7] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a talky affair" and lamented that the new Frankenstein was a less sympathetic character than the one Peter Cushing played, as well as the monster being "simply a robot killer." [8] The Monthly Film Bulletin declared: "This awkward and inordinately tedious attempt by Hammer to ring changes on the Frankenstein motif is liable to have even those who disliked the old formula wishing it had not been messed about. Jimmy Sangster may have supposed that in turning the Baron into a sexually voracious anti-hero with a macabre sense of humour he was bringing him into line with the Seventies, but in fact he only succeeds in annihilating all the power of the original myth and putting nothing in its place." [9]
The film has a rating of 56% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews, with an average score of 5.4 out of 10. [10]
The film was released in the U.S. on Blu-ray by Shout Factory on 20 August 2019 with a pair of commentary tracks, short documentary, a vintage interview with director Jimmy Sangster, a vintage interview with actress Veronica Carlson and a new interview with the film’s assistant director. The special features were rounded out with stills and the original theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray included the film in two aspect ratios 1.85:1 as it played in most theaters and 1.66:1. The U.K. released the Blu-ray on 29 January 2018.
Peter Wilton Cushing was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition for his leading performances in the Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s, and as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars (1977).
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.
Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same name. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931's Dracula.
Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.
The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of their Frankenstein series. Its worldwide success led to several sequels, and it was also followed by new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), establishing "Hammer Horror" as a distinctive brand of Gothic cinema.
James Henry Kinmel Sangster was a British screenwriter and director, most famous for his work on the initial horror films made by the British company Hammer Films, including The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958).
Veronica Carlson was a British actress and model who was known for her roles in Hammer horror films. In 2019, she was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a 1969 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films, starring Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films focusing on Baron Frankenstein, who, in this entry, terrorises those around him in a bid to uncover the secrets of a former associate confined to a lunatic asylum.
The Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 film directed by Freddie Francis. The third instalment in Hammer's Frankenstein series, it stars Peter Cushing, Sandor Elès and Kiwi Kingston.
The Brides of Dracula is a 1960 British supernatural gothic horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, David Peel, Freda Jackson, Yvonne Monlaur, Andrée Melly, and Martita Hunt. The film is a sequel to the 1958 film Dracula, though the character of Count Dracula does not appear in the film, and is instead mentioned only twice. Christopher Lee would reprise his role as Dracula in the next film in the Dracula series, Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966).
Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg. The screenplay was by Anthony Hinds. It is the fourth film in Hammer's Frankenstein series.
Lady Frankenstein is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles and written by Edward di Lorenzo. It stars Rosalba Neri, Joseph Cotten, Mickey Hargitay and Paul Müller.
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It stars Peter Cushing, Shane Briant and David Prowse. Filmed at Elstree Studios in 1972 but not released until 1974, it was the final chapter in the Hammer Frankenstein saga of films as well as director Fisher's last film.
Lust for a Vampire, also known as Love for a Vampire or To Love a Vampire, is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Barbara Jefford, Suzanna Leigh, Michael Johnson, and Yutte Stensgaard. It was given an R rating in the United States for some violence, gore, strong adult content and nudity. It is the second film in the Karnstein Trilogy, loosely based on the 1872 Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla. It was preceded by The Vampire Lovers (1970) and followed by Twins of Evil (1971). The three films do not form a chronological development, but use the Karnstein family as the source of the vampiric threat and were somewhat daring for the time in explicitly depicting lesbian themes.
The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 Technicolor British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson. Made by Hammer Film Productions, the film was a sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein, the studio's 1957 adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, and the second instalment in their Frankenstein series.
Fear in the Night is a 1972 British psychological horror film directed, produced, and co-written by Jimmy Sangster and produced by Hammer Film Productions. The film stars Judy Geeson as a psychologically-fragile woman who, upon relocating to a rural boarding school where her husband has taken a job, finds herself being tormented by a mysterious figure with a prosthetic arm. Peter Cushing and Joan Collins, respectively, also star as the school's mysterious headmaster and his wife.
A History of Horror is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It is a personal exploration of the history of horror film, inspired by Gatiss's lifelong enthusiasm for the genre.
Tales of Frankenstein is an unsold TV pilot filmed in 1958. It was a co-production of Hammer Film Productions and Columbia Pictures. The film is a mixture of elements from both the Hammer and Universal Pictures versions of Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The episode title, which does not appear onscreen, is "The Face in the Tombstone Mirror". The film is in the public domain.
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.
The World of Hammer is a British television documentary series created and written by Robert Sidaway and Ashley Sidaway, and produced by Robert Sidaway.