Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

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

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:

Frankenstein | Doctor | Assistant | Transplantation | Experiment

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
Allan Surtees	...	Police Sergeant
Windsor Davies	...	Police Sergeant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Davies	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Robert Davis	...	Official (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Villager (uncredited)
Caron Gardner	...	Passer-By (uncredited)
Robert Gillespie	...	Mortuary Attendant (uncredited)
Michael Goldie	...	Warder (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	Burglar (uncredited)
Edward Higgins	...	Water Board Workman (uncredited)
Elizabeth Morgan	...	Christina, Ella's Friend (uncredited)
Daphne Oxenford	...	Lady In Garden (uncredited)
Dorothy Smith	...	Anna's Neighbour (uncredited)
Meadows White	...	Nightwatchman (uncredited)

Directed by
Terence Fisher

Writing credits
Bert Batt		(screenplay)
Anthony Nelson Keys		(story) and
Bert Batt		(story)
Mary Shelley		character: Frankenstein (uncredited)

Produced by
Anthony Nelson Keys	....	producer

Original Music by
James Bernard

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gordon Hales

Casting by
Irene Lamb

Art Direction by
Bernard Robinson		(supervising art director)

Makeup Department
Eddie Knight	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hair stylist (as Pat McDermott)

Production Management
Christopher Neame	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director
Bill Westley	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Tony Lumkin	....	sound supervisor
Don Ranasinghe	....	sound editor
Ken Rawkins	....	sound recordist
Harry Fairbairn	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terence Maidment	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Neil Binney	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rosemary Burrows	....	wardrobe supervisor
Lotte Slattery	....	wardrobe mistress (as Lottie Slattery)

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	musical director

Other crew
Doreen Dearnaley	....	continuity (as Doreen Dearnalen)

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts (1969) (UK) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros-Seven Arts)
• Warner Bros (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print Technicolor)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1991) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (Japan) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Studio Locations

Other Companies

• Associated British Studios  production facilities
• Elstree Film & Television Studios  movie studio

Also Known As:

MPAA:

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

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:

Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:GP (re-rating) (1969) | USA:M (certificate #22109) (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2004) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 (heavily cut) (1987) | Finland:K-18 (2005) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (f)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

The controversial rape scene was added at the last minute, after shooting was nearly complete, because Hammer studio head Sir James Carreras thought the film lacked "sex".

Goofs:

Continuity: The flowers in Frankenstein's buttonhole change both color and shape between shots when he first invites Mrs Brant into Anna's house. They start as three yellow and purple tulips, change to a purple and orange spray during his conversation with Mrs Brant in the living room, and change back as he guides her down the laboratory stairs.

Quotes:

Baron Frankenstein:Had man not been given to invention and experiment, then tonight, sir, you would have eaten your dinner in a cave. You would've strewn the bones about the floor then wiped your fingers on a coat of animal skin. In fact, your lapels do look a bit greasy. Good night.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Hammer Films (#1.12)" (2007)

Fun, if not Classic

This is a really cynical tale of obsession, corruption, and revenge. All of Dr. F's noble qualities are expunged at this point of the series, and he has become an archetype of brilliant degradation. He blackmails a young couple by discoveri...ng they have been using the boy's job at a hospital to steal and sell illegal drugs (19th century hippies, apparently). He wants to rescue his former assistant from the mental ward to find out the results of some diabolical experiment from a previous installment. It all goes awry, of course, and the doc once again uses his brain-swapping talents to turn his former employee into his latest creation. This is a fun one, if not quite a classic.