Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Bert Batt (screenplay)
Anthony Nelson Keys (story) ...

Release Date:

11 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Most Frightening Frankenstein Movie Ever!

Plot:

Baron Frankenstein is once again working with illegal medical experiments. Together with a young doctor...

Plot Keywords:

Corpse | Blackmail | Frankenstein's Monster | Mask | Boarding House

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Baron Frankenstein
Veronica Carlson	...	Anna
Freddie Jones	...	Professor Richter
Simon Ward	...	Karl
Thorley Walters	...	Inspector Frisch
Maxine Audley	...	Ella Brandt
George Pravda	...	Doctor Brandt
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Police Doctor
Colette O'Neil	...	Mad Woman
Frank Middlemass	...	Guest - Plumber
George Belbin	...	Guest - Playing chess
Norman Shelley	...	Guest - Smoking pipe
Michael Gover	...	Guest - Reading newspaper
Peter Copley	...	Principal
Jim Collier	...	Dr. Heidecke

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and horror images. (2004 re-rating)

Runtime:

98 min | Argentina:95 min | Spain:97 min | USA:101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1969) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:GP (re-rating) (1969) | USA:M (certificate #22109) (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2004) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Stanmore Hall, Wood Lane, Stanmore, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Peter Cushing deplored the inclusion of the rape scene and even apologized to his co-star Veronica Carlson.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A crew member is visible just after the water-pipe bursts, about one hour into the movie. As Frankenstein enters the house and walks down the hallway, the camera pans across to the left, and as it does so, someone is seen disappearing quickly behind the doorway to get out of shot.

Quotes:

Professor Richter: I fancy that I am the spider and you are the fly, Frankenstein.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

"Hammer's fifth Frankenstein presents the Baron as a totally irredeemable character."

In order to continue his experiments, the Baron blackmails a young couple into helping him abduct Dr Brandt (a brilliant brain surgeon gone mad) from the lunatic asylum so that he can operate on him, cure his sanity and transplant the brain into another body. This he does by kidnapping and murdering Professor Richter and using the body to house Brandt's brain. This he does because he wants to learn Brandt's knowledge of brain transplants. However, when Brandt wakes up he escapes and plots revenge against Frankenstein.

The fifth Hammer Frankenstein presents the Baron as a totally irredeemable character, a cold calculating psychopath who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means destroying the young couple in the process. Cushing plays with his usual conviction and is aided by a reliable supporting cast including Simon Ward (in his first film appearance), Veronica Carlson and Freddie Jones as the creature. The direction of Terence Fisher is accomplished as is the lighting of Arthur Grant.