The Curse of Frankenstein

**_Peter Cushing as the obsessed doctor and Christopher Lee his hideous creation_** This was the first Hammer horror flick in color and its success resulted in a resurgence of the classic Universal monsters reinterpreted from the British perspective with Hammer’s renowned lush colors. Speaking of Universal, the studio threatened a lawsuit if Hammer copied any elements from their classic version. This helped prevent the movie from copping a same-old, same-old vibe. Its popularity led to six sequels. The franchise includes: "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958), "The Evil of Frankenstein" (1964), "Frankenstein Created Woman" (1967), "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" (1969), "The Horror of Frankenstein" (1970) and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" (1973). Cushing played the Baron in each of these except "The Horror of Frankenstein" since it's a remake of this one 13 years later and they needed a much younger actor for the role (they chose Ralph Bates). Unlike that remake, there’s no touch of humor to the proceedings here. This is totally serious Victorian horror with the main story taking place in 1860. Being a loose redo of the original Frankenstein tale, it's predictable to some degree, but there are enough changes to keep things interesting. For instance, Baron Frankenstein isn’t just an obsessed academic with misplaced priorities, he’s a womanizing, homicidal maniac. One-note evil characters are relatively boring. What makes Dr. Frankenstein interesting in this series is that his gruesome work has a positive side despite the crimes he commits in order to carry it out. For instance, his desire in “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” to benefit humanity by preserving the brains of brilliant individuals so that their knowledge doesn't go to waste and thus blessing future generations. The problem of course is the immoral extents he's willing to go to reach his goals. Then there's his taking advantage of Justine in this film (Valerie Gaunt) and his rape of someone in the aforementioned “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed,” which reveals gross arrogance, as if he thinks he's so great he deserves any beautiful woman he happens to crave at the moment, no strings attached. While "Frankenstein Created Woman" and, especially, "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" are my favorites in the series, this is the one that started it all and inspired Hammer’s Dracula series the next year, not to mention the Mummy series the year after that. It was Cushing’s debut as a lead actor and he met Christopher Lee on set, which led to their close friendship and 22 cinematic collaborations. It’s short ‘n’ sweet at 1 hour, 22 minutes, and was shot just west of London at Bray Studios in Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire. GRADE: B

Even if we dared to omit its landmark importance; it's still a terrific movie. The Curse Of Frankenstein is out of Hammer Film Productions and based on the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. It's directed by Terence Fisher, written by Jimmy Sangster and stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court & Robert Urquhart. Jack Asher is the cinematographer and James Bernard scores the music. The first Hammer film in colour, The Curse Of Frankenstein began the second wave of cinematic horror some 25 odd years after the Universal heyday of the 30s. Where Hammer's version differs from the Universal offerings, who were carefully watching what Hammer were doing, is by focusing on the Baron himself rather than the actual iconic creature. This approach threw many critics and observers at the time, with some either calling it too talky, or worse still, depressing and degrading. But the box office tills rang, both in Britain and America, and now the film is revered by film makers and horror historians alike. Rightly so. Plot basically sees Baron Victor Frankenstein in prison for murder, where faced with the guillotine, he tells to a priest an amazing story of how he and his mentor successfully resurrected a dead body. The resulting creation being the one who committed the murder for which the Baron is now charged. The first masterstroke from Hammer was appointing Fisher and Sangster, the former shoots in lurid Eastmancolor; thus setting the marker for the Gothic style of Hammer to come, the latter produced a crackling script that make the scientist of the piece the actual monster. The second masterstroke was in the casting of Cushing as the driven Frankenstein. Then just a classy actor on TV, Cushing plays it in turns as cold blooded and elegantly charming. Lee, only getting the gig after Bernard Bresslaw's agent demanded too much money, actually doesn't have to do much, but his marionette movements coupled with the fleshy patchwork make up of his face make it totally memorable. Both men of course went on to become horror legends from here. It's far from the best Hammer Horror film, in fact it's not the best of the Universal Creature reinventions. But it adds grit and intelligence to the Gothic atmospherics, its visuals striking as the character based narrative propels eerily forward. 8/10

This ended up being one of my favourites, both of Hammer Films in general, and of the works of both Sir Peter Cushing and Sir Christopher Lee. It still works cinematically, three generations later, as my 13-year-old son really enjoyed it as well. Though the filmmakers were forced to use other makeup rather than that copyrighted by Universal Studios in James Whale's masterpiece, that isn't problematic in the slightest for your enjoyment of the picture. Worth a purchase and rewatches either for fans of the genre in the slightest, of period pieces in general, or of the Mary Shelley novel. A fine work which is one of the best of director Fisher's career.