The Horror of Frankenstein

The Horror of Frankenstein

Theatrical poster, promoted as part of a double bill with Scars of Dracula
Directed by Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Jimmy Sangster
Written by Jimmy Sangster
Jeremy Burnham (screenplay)
Mary Shelley (characters)
Starring Ralph Bates
Kate O'Mara
Veronica Carlson
David Prowse
Music by Malcolm Williamson
Cinematography Moray Grant
Edited by Chris Barnes
Production
company
Distributed by MGM-EMI1
Release dates
  • 8 November 1970 (1970-11-08)
Running time
 95 min.
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget ₤200,000[1]

The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster. The original music score was composed by Malcolm Williamson.

Plot

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.

Cast

Production

The film was entirely financed by EMI.[1]

Credits

Cast notes

Ralph Bates was cast as Victor Frankenstein, the role having, five times previously, been played by Peter Cushing. Soon afterwards, he did a take on 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. 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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes, The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, Titan Books, 2007 p 138

Notes

  1. ^ In 1986, Turner purchared pre-May 1986 MGM films, including The Horror of Frankenstein for UK release, now owned by Warner Bros. through Turner Entertainment only in UK.


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