Frankenstein 1970

source: Frankenstein 1970

Boris Karloff(at the low-point of his brilliant career) plays Victor Von Frankenstein, last-surviving descendant of the original Baron Frankenstein(though NOT connected to the Universal Studios series Karloff had starred in!) who, because of financial necessity, allows a film crew to make a movie of his ancestors in his castle; the money he receives he plans to use to create a new monster, this time by using atomic energy generated by his own reactor. The actors from the film will make very convenient parts to compose the new monster, much to their surprise and horror... Pathetic attempt at a "futuristic" Frankenstein film is an abject failure, both poorly made and written, with Karloff looking embarrassed about the whole thing; thankfully, his career would pick up soon when he was chosen to host "Thriller"...

I thought it might have been my imagination, but another reviewer on this board confirms what I thought I saw - as the story moves along, the scar on Boris Karloff's face gets progressively worse from scene to scene. Even after I had it figured out, his face still kept changing! Well there's really only one reason to catch this flick and that's for the presence of the master, Boris Karloff himself. The story itself gets kind of schlocky and the supporting players, who don't come with a background in horror films per se, don't add a lot of tension or menace to the proceedings. There is however a smidgeon of that great pseudo-scientific babble of the Thirties and Forties offered up as part of Baron Victor von Frankenstein's operating procedure, utilizing an atomic reactor!!! to produce rebirth, along with the idea of fusing real and synthetic skin together. That's worth something to horror film fans like myself, always on the lookout for clever and unique ideas to enhance those lab experiments. If you're going to complain about how hokey the feature creature in this picture looks, do keep one thing in mind. This was an opportunity for Karloff to parlay his reputation as the icon of Universal horror by bringing two of his creations to the screen, The Frankenstein Monster and the Mummy. I don't know if that was on the filmmakers' minds when they put this thing together, but that's what I got out of it. For Karloff fans, that has to be a good thing.

Atmosphere is important in any horror film and this movie has it in spades. Unfortunately, that's all it has. Really very little to recommend here. Karloff is good in this movie but completely wasted in this effort and far too campy and hammy to really chill the audience. The monster itself is also a huge problem. Not so much when we first see the monster but as it progresses in its various stages of creation, it just gets sillier and sillier. The music tries to scare up a few chills whenever the monster appears but it is all really wasted. The best thing about the movie as I previously stated is the atmosphere. I especially like movies that have isolated creepy castles in them that are filled with secret passageways and hidden laboratories from which all those mad scientists conduct their business. The opening sequence of the film is by far the best part of the movie but the surprise ending tries to come close only that it is really telegraphed all throughout the movie and really isn't much of a surprise when you think about it. Although this is by far not the worst Karloff film it is not the best either. It's really too bad that Karloff, if he wanted to spoof the Frankenstein character he played, that he should have offered to play the part in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

It seems that right now Warner Brothers (which now owns this movie) is in no hurry to release "Frankenstein 1970" on DVD. After watching it, it becomes painfully clear, even though the movie boasts horror legend Boris Karloff in its cast. While this may not be the very worst Frankenstein-themed movie, it is without doubt one of the most *boring*. There's very little story here, and even at a lean 83 minute running time, it is extremely padded out. It takes forever for Dr. Frankenstein to start doing his thing, and even when he does, the movie doesn't have any sudden burst energy, horrific or otherwise. Not surprisingly, Karloff doesn't give one of his better performances here; he's very subdued, probably realizing that his surroundings are not worthy of his talents. The only entertainment to be found in the movie is the unintentionally funny look of Frankenstein's monster, which is even funnier in the scenes where innocent people stumble upon the monster and are mysteriously terrified.

The last association that Boris Karloff had with the Frankenstein character came in this low budget Allied Artists film that I remember seeing in the theater in 1958. It was not the best of endings. This time Boris Karloff is playing the last descendant of the Frankenstein clan who's an old man and who in his youth was tortured by the Nazis in an effort to divulge Frankenstein family secrets. It left him quite understandably twisted. Karloff is putting up with a movie company who is shooting on his castle grounds, no doubt shooting a film like Frankenstein 1970, a low budget thriller. The money they're paying him however is paying for an atomic reactor, something his ancestor didn't have, maybe that's the missing ingredient. Of course the bodies start falling, four of them to be precise as Karloff searches for what he needs to revive the Frankenstein monster which he has found and preserved. Boris Karloff and his contemporary Bela Lugosi did both great horror films and a lot of junk. Frankenstein 1970 sad to say falls in the latter category.

This movie is all around bad. Karloff as Dr. Frankenstein is weird but you won't even notice because the story is so stupid and boring. I almost stopped watching when he hypnotized a guy but I had to see how bad it would get. And of course the title doesn't make any sense. 1 star is the lowest rating you can give, I would give -1.

all except for the monster who has none, yet somehow manages to find its victim even though Dr. Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) dropped the jar of the eyes from his previous victim, which he kept in his refrigerator, right next to the pickles. Indeed, it looks like he has a treasure trove of foreign beers in that refrigerator for celebrating once his experiment is complete. Almost 20 years since he played this Dr. Frankenstein's ancestor's monster, Karloff now gets to collect the body parts for this pathetic creature which has laid in slumber in the family crypt for over a hundred years. Now some Hollywood film crew is on the estate and Karloff, desperate for money, gets the itch of his ancestors when he suddenly begins playing the organ in a terrifying manor. Karloff manages to hypnotize his family retainer into becoming the first victim to provide the monster with necessary body parts (which they must have run out of at the local Piggly Wiggly) by simply waving his scalpel at the dumbbell. You will hoot, you will howl at the idiotic dialog, not only of Karloff who explains everything he is doing into a reel-to-reel tape-recorder (remember those?) so the audience doesn't have to suspend its belief as to what he is doing. And with times having changed since the days of the original Frankenstein (minus Frau Brucher---she comes later), the doctor has the advantage of some modern appliances to help him with his nefarious experiments. Add on some stupid Hollywood types to provide the drive-in audiences with moments of time to do things other than watch the movie. This is the type of film that screams for Elvira or the two robots from Mystery Science Theater.

People either love this film or hate it. I think Plan 9 from Outer Space has a similar fan following. Here you have Boris Karloff playing both mad scientist and monster. Even as mad scientist Baron von Frankenstein, Boris looks like he was stitched together like the creature of the past. When the bandages are removed after the radiation bath climax, the monster turns out to be - SURPRISE - Boris Karloff. Who could ask for more ? The lab scenes are part of the fun with eyeballs and beating heart galore. The subterranean cyclotron is a real treat. The castle with the medieval style is one of the reasons why this film remains a gem for Frankenstein movie fans everywhere. Great Halloween fun. Watch with your B-movie buddies with popcorn and sodas. Dan Basinger

Lesser Boris Karloff horror picture, notable for being the first time he played an actual member of the Frankenstein family. In his earlier (better) Frankenstein movies, he played either the monster or a non-Frankenstein scientist. This movie and the later Mad Monster Party are, I believe, the only times he played an actual Frankenstein. The story has Karloff playing Baron Victor von Frankenstein, descendant of the Frankenstein that caused all that trouble way back when. The good Baron, disfigured by Nazis during WWII, is in dire financial straits and needs money to continue his own experiments. Ask what kind of experiments and I'll look at you funny. To make some money the Baron allows a horror movie to be shot at Castle Frankenstein. Soon things are getting a little crazy and members of the film crew are being killed off by the Baron for reasons that should be pretty to predict. Karloff always stood out in his horror films but here he plays to the rafters, no doubt overcompensating for the talky and dull script. Rudolph Anders is good as his friend and Don "Red" Barry does a decent job as the Carl Denham-esque movie director. There are a couple of pretty ladies around as well. Two of the better scenes are fake-outs that turn out to be scenes for the movie-within-a-movie. Perhaps if this movie had been more like that one it would have been more fun. As it is, it's a pretty dreary affair that drags on and on. The effects are poor and the monster, when it actually does something, is laughable. Basically this movie is a slow death by words. Only recommendable to Karloff completists.