Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966)
Runtime: 80 minutes
Directed by: William Beaudine
Starring: John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Cal Boulder, Estelita Rodriguez, Jim Davis
From: Embassy Pictures
In my only review of the day, I revisited this nonsense for the first time in many years. Way back when I saw both this and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, a pair of cheap quickies from One Shot William Beaudine-the nickname concerns his shooting style, not the alcohol he consumes. I revisited Billy when TCM (!) showed it one night eight years ago; Billy is bad nonsense yet there was campy charm, especially when John Carradine as Dracula seduced women by… bugging his eyes out and being bathed in Argento red light. Jesse James doesn’t have the luxury of a talent like Carradine but there was plenty to laugh at.
It's the Wild West, after April of 1882; that’s right, Jesse James wasn’t assassinated by that coward Robert Ford. James has a henchman named Hank, a big old goof who sounds like a goof and is best described as “a galoot.” They partner w/… The Wild Bunch; believe me, they are no Pike Bishop, Dutch Engstrom or Deke Thornton. Victor Frankenstein’s GRANDDAUGHTER (yes, despite the title) & her brother are also in the Wild West, and after several failed attempts, Hank appears to be the next candidate…
The opening half is mostly a lousy Western, featuring basic Western action. The back half has more horror elements; the entirety of the movie is claptrap which usually isn’t that exciting or well-executed. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some great campy moments, or that Estonian actress Narda Onyx (great name) wasn’t a hoot camping it up as Maria Frankenstein. Unfortunately, for me both Billy the Kid vs. Dracula and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter have great titles and little else. There aren’t that many horror-westerns, relatively speaking; still, there are or have to be examples better than this.
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