The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay)
Mary Shelley (novel)

Release Date:

25 June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror | Drama

Tagline:

Not recommended for people of nervous disposition

Plot:

Victor Frankenstein builds a creature and brings it to life. But his creature behaves not as he intended.

Plot Keywords:

Baron | Creature | Frankenstein | Monster | Experiment

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Victor Frankenstein
Hazel Court	...	Elizabeth
Robert Urquhart	...	Paul Krempe
Christopher Lee	...	Creature
Melvyn Hayes	...	Young Victor
Valerie Gaunt	...	Justine
Paul Hardtmuth	...	Professor Bernstein
Noel Hood	...	Aunt
Fred Johnson	...	Grandpa
Claude Kingston	...	Little Boy
Alex Gallier	...	Priest
Michael Mulcaster	...	Warder
Andrew Leigh	...	Burgomaster
Ann Blake	...	Wife
Sally Walsh	...	Young Elizabeth

Runtime:

82 min | Japan:83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (DVD re-rating) | West Germany:18 (VHS) | USA:Approved (PCA #18481) | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1957) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1989) | UK:X (original rating) | Sweden:(Banned) (1957-1965) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2003) | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Although they had both previously appeared in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952), Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing met on the set of this film for the first time. They would pass the time between shots by exchanging Looney Tunes phrases, and quickly developed a fast friendship, which lasted until Cushing's death in 1994.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The breaks in the balcony railing are already visible in the few shots before Frankenstein pushes Professor Bernstein to his death.

Quotes:

Baron Frankenstein: [after his monster has nearly killed him] I did it, Paul!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Monster Mania (1997) (TV)

Cushing is Terrific.

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.