Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)

Director:

William Beaudine

Writer:

Carl K. Hittleman (written by)

Release Date:

April 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Western

Tagline:

SEE THE GREATEST NAMES IN TERROR HISTORY...IN ONE BIG SHOW! (original ad of Embassy's double-bill, with "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula")

Plot:

Legendary outlaw of the Old West Jesse James, on the run from Marshal MacPhee, hides out in the castle of Baron Frankenstein's granddaughter Maria...

Plot Keywords:

Outlaw | Jesse James | Frankenstein | Public Domain | Apostrophe In Title

Cast

John Lupton	...	Jesse James
Narda Onyx	...	Dr. Maria Frankenstein
Cal Bolder	...	Hank Tracy / Igor
Estelita Rodriguez	...	Juanita Lopez (as Estelita)
Jim Davis	...	Marshal MacPhee
Steven Geray	...	Dr. Rudolph Frankenstein
Rayford Barnes	...	Lonny Curry
William Fawcett	...	Jensen the Pharmacist
Nestor Paiva	...	Saloon Owner
Roger Creed	...	Butch Curry
Rosa Turich	...	Nina Lopez
Felipe Turich	...	Manuel Lopez
Fred Stromsoe
Dan White	...	Pete Ketchum
Page Slattery

Also Known As:

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min | USA:83 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Circle Productions

Trivia:

Final film of Estelita Rodriguez. She died that same year under mysterious circumstances.

Goofs:

Continuity: The cork on the table changes position between shots when The Wild Bunch is telling Jessie James the robbery plan.

Quotes:

Dr. Rudolph Frankenstein: Maria, you've already caused the death of three children and violated the graves of others just to make the experiments.
Dr. Maria Frankenstein: My, you're a humanitarian! You should have stayed in Europe and given pink pills to sweet old ladies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

It Exceeded My Minimal Expectations

According to the IMDb here, William "One Shot" Beaudine directed no less than 298 films before his death in 1970. In 1966, he brought all his 50-some-odd years of experience in the industry to bear on his final film, "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," and the result is one of the more unusual movie concoctions you will ever see. As the title suggests, this film conflates the Western and horror genres, although not so stupidly as 1957's "Teenage Monster." Here, James and his beefcake sidekick, on the lam after a botched holdup, knock on the wrong doctor's door seeking medical assistance. Maria Frankenstein, the granddaughter (not daughter) of the original, and a real chip(py) off the old block, almost leaps for joy when she sees Jesse's hunky pal, and wastes little time transforming him into "Igor," a lumbering automaton with a synthetic brain... Truth to tell, this film isn't nearly as awful as I had anticipated, and certainly exceeded my minimal expectations. Yes, it is a B Western at best, crossed with the usual Frankensteinian hijinks, but is quite entertaining for what it is, and moves along briskly. The film features some passable acting (I've seen much worse), some amusing lines, Injun attacks, shootouts, and all the cool-looking lab gizmos we've come to expect from a Franky picture. On the DVD that I just viewed, one of the extras is a running commentary track by Joe Bob Briggs, and it is both highly informative and extremely funny; better than anything one could hope to hear on MST3K. The man is a real treasure for the "psychotronic" film fanatic, and makes this DVD something special.