The Curse Of Frankenstein

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Runtime: 82 minutes

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Starring: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee

From: Hammer

I went old-school with this horror choice. It was the film that started Hammer as a popular horror studio. Onto the Letterboxd review, and note that I'll return Tuesday afternoon:

Last night on TCM they showed this film so of course I had to check it out, the motion picture that was a hit and started Hammer's long run of doing gothic horror movies.

Everyone knows Mary Shelley's classic story so I won't recap that. Instead I'll mention that unlike the 1931 film starring Boris Karloff, this telling of the tale is more focused on Baron Frankenstein. That works, as the character is quite evil; he's happy to kill someone if they cause trouble, his thinking that if someone dies, “they don't need their bodies” so it's OK to engage in grave robbing for your mad scientist plot of building a human being then animating him to become alive, not to mention giving the guilt trip to others to help him with his crazy ideas.

Also, and this is a big key, Victor Frankenstein was played by the great Peter Cushing, and needless to say he was superb in the role. Christopher Lee (w/ Moe Howard's hair) as “the creature” was good with what he was given to do (he was more monster than man), and the rest of the cast do admirable jobs.

As expected from the studio, the Technicolor look of the movie is indeed pretty colorful, and dripping with atmosphere and mood. The sets are also quite good, a big part of the atmosphere and mood; you believe this is a tale from olden times. This is effective as good old fashioned entertainment, complete with a busty lady.

While I think that the '31 film from James Whale is the definitive tale, it doesn't mean you should ignore this alternate look at the story.