I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Herbert L. Strock

Writers:

Herman Cohen (writer)
Aben Kandel (writer)

Release Date:

23 November 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Body of a boy! Mind of a monster! Soul of an unearthly thing!

Plot:

Professor Frankenstein, a university lecturer with an alligator pit under his house, steals body parts...

Plot Keywords:

Alligator | Body Part | Laboratory | Teen | Doctor Frankenstein

Cast

Whit Bissell	...	Prof. Frankenstein
Phyllis Coates	...	Margaret
Robert Burton	...	Dr. Karlton
Gary Conway	...	Bob / Teenage Monster
George Lynn	...	Sgt. Burns
John Cliff	...	Sgt. McAffee
Marshall Bradford	...	Dr. Randolph
Claudia Bryar	...	Arlene's Mother
Angela Blake	...	First Victim
Russ Whiteman	...	Dr. Elwood
Charles Seel	...	Mr. Sexton, the jeweler
Paul Keast	...	Man at Crash
Gretchen Thomas	...	Woman in Corridor
Patrick Miller	...	Police Officer (as Pat Miller)
Joy Stoner	...	Arlene

Also Known As:

Teenage Frankenstein (UK)

Runtime:

74 min | UK:68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1958) | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Sweden:(Banned)

Company:

Santa Rosa Productions

Trivia:

American International Pictures released this film to many drive-in theaters on a double bill with Blood of Dracula (1957) with the tag line: "Warning! Can You Take It? Fiendish! Frenzied! Frightening! It Will Haunt You For Days Afterwards!"

Quotes:

Frankenstein: Speak. I know you have a civil tongue in your head because I sewed it back myself.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drive-in Movie Memories (2001)

Just the way 1950's schlock is suppose to be...

Any movie lover of the 1950's monster genre would surely appreciate this for what it is! Pure 50's schlock! What an American International Pictures achievement! You've got everything in here but a decent budget! You have the title, for one. How kitsch can you get? "I Was a Teenage"...You've got the premise of constructing a teenage marvel(Gary Conway on his way to stardom) out of spare cadaver parts; the mad doctor(played by the articulate Whit Bissell and his memorable "witty" remarks; his assistant (the somewhat embarrassed looking Robert Burton; and his faithful/curious fiancé (the lovely Phyllis "Lois Lane" Coates); all doing the best they could possibly do under the circumstances! Now how about scenes like the surgical bone saw cutting through the leg(it could have used some splattered blood on their faces for the total effect!), the convenient alligator disposal unit under the laboratory/morgue, hearing the sound of the beautiful blonde victim being choaked to death by the sex craved monster, Phyllis and Whit necking in Lover's Lane(oh,my!), Gary's head being carried off in a bird cage, and hello!...the final, and for no good reason, the color sequence showing you the classic monster make up creation in glorious Pathe color!(you've got to see this in its totally restored color version, on the big screen.)...you can't get any better than this! Hey movie goers, make sure you watch the complete unedited version, somehow, somewhere; not the edited British version, "Teenage Frankenstein", which was sold on video some ten years ago. You think they would ever attempt a remake of this classic gem?