The Curse of Frankenstein

source: The Curse of Frankenstein

As far as the Frankenstein films go, 1931's Frankenstein and especially Bride of Frankenstein are at the top. But The Curse of Frankenstein is to me one of the better Frankenstein films, and Hammer's debut film is one of their better ones along with Dracula(1958) and The Mummy(1959). The Monster's make-up is too grotesque for my liking and one does wish that Christopher Lee had more screen time, other than that the film is wonderful. The Curse of Frankenstein does look great, the photography and costumes are handsome and the Gothic set design is outstanding and dripping with atmosphere. The music is chillingly effective and compliments the atmosphere beautifully, while the script is remarkably human, suspensefully and sympathetically written and gives a lot of depth to Frankenstein which I really appreciated actually. The story is always compelling with poignant emotion and Gothic chills once the Monster appears(like with the blind hermit, not as well as Bride of Frankenstein but beautifully done still), it does offer two ideas of focusing more on Frankenstein than on the Monster and not making the Monster misunderstood, both were very interesting takes and while they might not work for some they personally both came over very well. Terrence Fisher's direction is positively unflinching. The characters are well-written, Paul is a love-to-hate sort of character but The Curse of Frankenstein does have to have the most well-developed Frankenstein of any Frankenstein film. The acting is fine, Hazel Court and Robert Urquhart are more than solid support. Christopher Lee's screen time is not large but he is still memorable, even looking at him towering over everyone else Lee does come across as terrifying and his first appearance is chilling. Boris Karloff does bring more tragedy to the character but in all fairness in the 1930s Universal Frankenstein films the Monster was a misunderstood, the Monster here isn't(quite the opposite) and within that idea the film has Lee's more menacing approach worked. The best thing about The Curse of Frankenstein is the performance of Peter Cushing, which is truly remarkable and one of his best. Personally do prefer Cushing's interpretation also to the still excellent interpretation from Colin Clive and it could be to do with that Frankenstein has more development here. All in all, a wonderful film and a wonderful start for "Hammer House of Horror". 9/10 Bethany Cox

'The Curse Of Frankenstein' is a landmark horror movie for several reasons. Firstly, though Hammer had already released 'The Quatermass Xperiment', a science fiction movie with some horror elements, it was the studios first real entry into the genre which it is still revered around the world for. Secondly, it was the first movie inspired by Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' made in colour. And thirdly, while it wasn't the first movie to feature both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it was their first horror movie together, and one which introduced one of THE great screen duos, who eventually made over twenty movies together. Lee doesn't have as much on screen time as one might expect, but his Monster is memorable and visually striking (after Universal threatened to sue if the image of Karloff's monster was copied). As well as Lee, the supporting cast includes good performances from Robert Urquhart and Hazel Court. Urquhart plays Paul Krempe, initially the young Baron's tutor (the Baron being briefly portrayed by Melvyn Hayes before Cushing), and later his often unwilling assistant. Court, best remembered for her roles in some of Roger Corman's Poe series, plays the Baron's cousin/fiancee. The standout performance of the movie is by Peter Cushing. I still think Karloff is the definitive Monster but Cushing is the definitive Baron Frankenstein. There were six sequels to 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' and Cushing played Frankenstein in all but one, the second last in the series 'The Horror Of Frankenstein', which was actually a tongue in cheek remake of 'Curse..' starring Ralph Bates as the Baron. The movie wasn't completely successful and thankfully Cushing returned for the final movie 'Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell'. For me the first and last in the series tie as the best Hammer Frankenstein movies and Cushing is remarkable in them both. I highly recommend 'The Curse Of Frankenstein', one of Hammer's greatest horror movies. No-one can truly call themselves a horror movie fan if they haven't seen it.

This is a film that almost never was. Originally planned as a 'quota quickie', and, as Terence Fisher stated. "As a send-up," it ended up changing the British Film Industry for all time. It had gone international. Fisher owed Hammer a film, and somehow he managed to pull a script together in much the same manner as the Baron did body parts. It has been said that Jack Warner hated the film, but released it anyway, opening in the very theatre where 'The House of Wax' had premiered several years before. It was a success, much to the delight of Warner, and to Hammer. It also marked the beginning of the screen-teaming of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Today, the film seems a bit slow and not quite sure where it's going, but in 1957 it delivered a wallop in vivid color, to a long-waiting legion of fans. This was the true jumping-off point for Hammer, a small company who had been in production for a number of years, and they filled the void left by the American majors in the production of the 'horror film.' In a way, the film's tag-line kept it's promise.... 'The Curse of Frankenstein will haunt you forever.' Quite by accident, 'The Hammer Look' changed the face of the fantasy film for all time.

This was the movie that really put Hammer studios, and Peter Cushing, on the map. It was a brilliant move, at a time when horror had shifted over almost completely to sci fi and giant mutant beasts, to start a project of remaking the classics with atmosphere, drama, color, and a bit more graphic content. Folks who know me won't be surprised that I generally prefer the older 30s Universal versions of the movies, but I have to admit that Hammer is always enjoyable. In this case, they really seem to have returned to the source material effectively, and even added a bit to it without overdoing it. As I recall Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, he was a victim of scientific hubris, but not quite such a cad - but this seems to make sense, as his disregard for the laws of man could easily translate to disregard for sexual mores, much as it did for the men in Shelley's own life. It's a bit longer than the Universal version, and it takes quite a while before we see the monster, but it's enjoyable throughout.

I was hoping that these newer Frankenstein movies would be better than the original Universal trash but I was very wrong. The only original idea in the entire movie is Victor marrying his cousin. Not a good idea but I don't recall that in the dozen or so other Frankenstein movies I have seen. To me the best thing about this movie is that it opens with on screen text telling us that Frankenstein is from Switzerland. THANK YOU! In all those old movies they never once mentioned where they were. Not that it matters. Just like in the rest, the majority of the people have British or American accents. The eyeball salesman has a full blown Cockney accent, probably very common in Switzerland. If you have trouble falling asleep this movie is for you.

What more can be said? A milestone in horror movie history with gore, great acting, atmosphere, direction and music. I just can't understand how a monumental film such as this only rates a 6.6. Unbelievable. Undoubtly the ones who voted low on this movie were looking for sex or crappy rap music. Those people should stick to looking for their brains under a moss-covered rock. Truly great performances by Lee and Cushing as well as the other actors and actresses. 10 out of 10. Watch this horror movie, it's a must.

This was Hammer Films opening entry into their Horror re-imagining of classic Universal Studios Monsters and it is still one of the best. Here we get a new take on the familiar Frankenstein myth with the young Frankenstein coming from a fatherless background and embracing only science and reason with any real conviction. Finally when a breakthrough comes, the Young master will stop at nothing to achieve the fame, glory and notoriety he desires--his lack of regard for others is frightening even to his mentor Paul Krempe(played excellently by Robert Urquhart)who warns him against tampering with the forces of nature and that nothing good will come from it. Cushing is outstanding in the role and adds a real sense of tragedy, genius and malice. Hazel Court is certainly lovely as the innocent cousin Elizabeth who naively becomes entangled into Frankenstein's sinking path of unconscious self-destruction.

You can never go back and recreate a moment in time. Curse of Frankenstein scared the hell out of its 1957 audience the way few movies ever have, plus it gave us Hammer studios with its retelling of the classic horror monsters with the addition of fine English actors, tight scripts and direction, and really bright red blood and gore in vivid color, plus buxom females with low cut blouses. I saw the movie in 1957 as a little boy and it gave me the screaming willies for weeks after. There is a scene in the picture that I think ranks with the best of the genre and is simply brilliant direction (thanks Terence Fisher). I refer, of course, to the thrown open door revealing to Baron Frankenstein his now living creature, bandaged from head to toe. The creature lifts a hand to his face and rips off his bandages while the camera zooms in herky jerky and slightly off kilter to a closeup of Chris Lee's outrageously grotesque disfigured mug (thanks Phil Leakey). Let me tell you, the scream that audience let out was equal to Carrie's hand coming out of the grave, or the head dropping into the boat hole in Jaws! Man, 1950's audiences just weren't ready for that. This of course was built to a crescendo by the preceding scene of the tank containing the creature draining by itself and that first breath taken while Victor and Paul are arguing downstairs. And it is followed by another big scream when the creature reaches for Justine and we see his reborn shotgun blasted visage. May seem tame to today's audience but it packed a wallop back then. Sufficient to say as noted elsewhere here, it was the highest grossing English picture for quite a while and it put Hammer on the map. As I said, you can't recreate a time past, but I have no doubt the audience in 1931 had the same reaction when Boris Karloff first turned around and there is that amazing closeup of Jack Pierce's brilliant makeup for the monster. Other reviewers have covered the rest of the pluses and minuses of the film so I won't bother. I just wanted to point out that there's a couple of brilliant bits here in makeup, lighting and especially direction that gives this film some distinction from the average fare. They made something different from the material, and despite a lot of problems bringing the film together, they got some damn fine scares with no great budget. That's talent.

Outstanding horror film that began a series starred by two greatest terror icons as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee ; being one of the best movies from Hammer Productions . It starts in prison when a prisoner is awaiting death row , he is Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) who retells to a priest what led him to his execution . He inherited his family state with the title 'Baron Victor Von Frankestein' after the death of his parents when he was still only a young man (Hayes) . He contacted Paul Krempe (Robert Uquhart) as his tutor and he immediately developed an interest in medical science . After several years , Victor and Krempe became notorious scientists and they developed a penchant in the human origins and Victor then creates a weird being and brings it to life . After successfully re-animating a dead dog , Victor sets about constructing a man using body parts he acquires for the purpose including the hands of an artist and the brain of a prestigious scholar (Paul Hardmouth). But as Elizabeth (Hazel Court) , Victor's Cousin arrives to marry him, Paul stays in the house to protect her . Victor Frankenstein whose experimentation with creation of life becomes an obsession , but his creature behaves not as he intended . The classic actor of horror movies named Christopher Lee is terrific as the monster and Peter Cushing brings a strong portrayal of the scientific attempting to create a human taking parts here and there . Although they had both previously appeared in Hamlet and Moulin Rouge, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing met on the set of this film for the first time and quickly developed a fast friendship, which lasted until Cushing's death in 1994 . Atmospheric, slick terror film , creaky at times but it's still impressive . Thought-provoking and broody screenplay has nice atmosphere especially in Eastmancolour by expert cameraman Jack Asher . The idea originated with Milton Subotsky, who went on to co-found Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival during the 1960s and early 1970s , the script was revised several times to avoid repeating any elements from the Universal Frankenstein series , as part of this effort, new monster make-up had to be devised especially for this film . After the successful Universal Pictures as ¨House of Frankestein¨, ¨Bride of Frankestein¨ , ¨Son of Frankestein¨, ¨Frankestein meet the wolf man¨ and ¨ The Zingara and the monsters¨ , Frankestein personage was left until Hammer Productions took him and produced this magnificent movie ; although Universal threatened a lawsuit if Hammer copied any elements from the classic version . Followed by six sequels as ¨Revenge of Frankestein¨ by Fisher , ¨Evil of Frankestein¨ by Freddie Francis , Frankestein created woman¨ by Fisher , ¨Frankestein must be destroyed¨ by Fisher , ¨The horror of Frankestein¨ by Jimmy Sangster and ¨Frankestein and the monster from hell¨ by Fisher ; all of them starred by Peter Cushing and one by Ralph Bates , besides similar artistic and technician team as the cameraman Jack Asher , Production designer Bernad Robinson , musician James Bernard and make-up by Philip Leaky. ¨The curse of Frankestein¨ displays excellent set design , ambitious screenplay with too many eerie scenes and adequate interpretation for all casting . Peter Cushing does a top notch performance in the role which made him a terror movie legend , it still stands as one of the great screen acting . Thrilling and chilling musical score by James Bernard . Colorful and imaginative cinematography by Jack Asher , being first Frankenstein movie to be filmed in color . The motion picture was masterfully directed by Terence Fisher who directed classic horror films as ¨Dracula¨, ¨Dracula , prince of darkness¨ , ¨The brides of Dracula¨ , ¨The mummy¨ , ¨Phantom of opera¨, ¨The Gorgon¨ , ¨The devil rides out¨ and many others . Rating : Top-drawer terror film , essential and indispensable watching .