Frankenstein - 1970 (1958)

Director:

Howard W. Koch

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay)
Charles A. Moses (story)
(more)

Release Date:

20 July 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The One...The Only KING OF MONSTERS as the new demon of the atomic age!

Plot:

Needing money, the last of the Frankensteins leases his castle out to a film company as he tries to complete his ancestor's gruesome experiments at creating life.

Plot Keywords:

Castle | Ancestor | Nazi | Monster | Skull

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Baron Victor von Frankenstein
Tom Duggan	...	Mike Shaw
Jana Lund	...	Carolyn Hayes
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Douglas Row (as Donald Barry)
Charlotte Austin	...	Judy Stevens
Irwin Berke	...	Inspector Raab
Rudolph Anders	...	Wilhelm Gottfried
Norbert Schiller	...	Shuter
John Dennis	...	Morgan Haley
Mike Lane	...	Hans Himmler / The Monster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Kenney	...	Assistant Cameraman (uncredited)
Joe Ploski	...	Station Porter (uncredited)
Otto Reichow	...	Atomic Reactor Expert (uncredited)
Franz Roehn	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard W. Koch

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard H. Landau		screenplay (as Richard Landau)
Charles A. Moses		story
Aubrey Schenck		story
Mary Shelley		characters (uncredited)
George Worthing Yates		screenplay

Produced by
Aubrey Schenck	....	producer
Leon Spielberg	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Paul Dunlap		(as Paul A. Dunlap)

Cinematography by
Carl E. Guthrie

Film Editing by
John A. Bushelman

Production Design by
Jack T. Collis

Set Decoration by
Jerry Welch

Makeup Department
George Bau	....	makeup artist
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Vieira	....	assistant director

Art Department
George Sweeney	....	property master

Sound Department
Francis E. Stahl	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
William T. Cline	....	operative cameraman
Charles Harris	....	key grip
Ralph Owen	....	electrical supervisor

Editorial Department
Leon Spielberg	....	post-production coordinator

Other crew
Richard Owens	....	electrical effects
Mary Yerke	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Aubrey Schenck Productions

Distributors

• Allied Artists Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• International Film Distributors (1958) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (included in "Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics" collection.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Stage 3, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Aubrey Schenck Productions

Trivia:

The film was scheduled for 8 shooting days and was completed on time. (1-9-58 to 1-20-58) Boris Karloff worked all 8 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: The degree of damage to Karloff's disfigured eye changes from scene to scene.

Quotes:

Douglas Row:Jealousy, jealousy, lover! Don't blame me because you're no longer an ingenue.
Judy Stevens:That's not exactly what you said when you married me.
Douglas Row:Well, I keep you on the payroll. i'm loyal.
Judy Stevens:Oh, yes, you're loyal to wives 1 through 4 inclusive.
[Indicating beautiful actress Judy Stevens]
Judy Stevens:Would you care to try your luck with 5?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Son of Frankenstein (#5.3)" (2011)

Underrated...simply underrated.

MORD39 RATING: **1/2 (of ****)

As a kid I recall being disappointed when catching FRANKENSTEIN 1970 on TV. I was expecting the 1931 original, and at the age of 8 or 9 I was understandably disappointed. But now as an adult I can appreciate this 1950's monster flick for what it is.

Most fans dismiss this film, but I believe it has much going for it. For one thing, we get Boris Karloff as the Baron. Too many folks have panned his hammy performance, but I think he is deliciously sinister and over-ripe. His character reminds me of the Boris puppet from the MAD MONSTER PARTY film, and I'm surprised that more viewers don't find his performance endearing.

The film boasts a surprise opening and a surprise ending (I won't give them away), and in between that we get to see a gloomy castle filled with an underground secret laboratory and hidden passageways. Boris plays eerie music on his organ, and he's creating a monster that runs around killing people. Is this not what makes a fun horror pic?

True, the monster isn't very convincing...but neither are most fifties creatures, so why all the fuss? Besides, the monster only looks as he does due to the fact that the bandages and head cast have not yet been removed.

With foggy swamps, unexplored corridors, and a mad Karloff, fans could do far worse than FRANKENSTEIN 1970.