La maldición de Frankenstein (1972)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Jesus Franco (screenplay)
Jesus Franco (story)

Release Date:

1972 (France)

Genre:

Horror

Plot Keywords:

Death | Blood | Sex | Torture | Doctor Frankenstein

Cast

Alberto Dalbés	...	Doctor Seward (as Alberto Dalbes)
Dennis Price	...	Doctor Frankenstein (as Denis Price)
Howard Vernon	...	Cagliostro
Beatriz Savón	...	Vera Frankenstein (as Beatrice Savon)
Anne Libert	...	Melisa
Fernando Bilbao	...	Monstruo
Britt Nichols	...	Madame Orloff
Luis Barboo	...	Caronte
Daniel White	...	Tanner (as Daniel Gerome)
Doris Thomas	...	Abigail (as Doris Tom)
Lina Romay	...	Esmeralda (in version "La maldición de Frankenstein")
Jesus Franco	...	Morpho (as J. Franco)

Also Known As:

Les expériences érotiques de Frankenstein (France)
The Curse of Frankenstein
The Erotic Adventures of Frankenstein (Canada: English title) (dubbed version)
The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (UK)

Runtime:

94 min | Netherlands:71 min (25 fps) (as "The Curse of Frankenstein") | Spain:81 min

Country:

Spain | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | Argentina:18

Filming Locations:

Portugal

Company:

C. Fénix Films

Movie Connections:

Edited into Dr. Wong's Virtual Hell (1999)

The Weird (But Tedious) Rites Of Franco

I am generally a big fan of the highly prolific exploitation filmmaker Jess Franco, yet it is undeniable that his impressive repertoire includes ingenious films as well as big time stinkers. While this "Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein" of 1972 is not one of the most awful films Franco has ever brought to screen it definitely ranges among his lesser ones. The film has its positive aspects, including a certain delightful weirdness, but it is overall a bit too messy, and often quite boring. Still, for my fellow trash fans, there are some reasons to see the film. This is the first film ever starring Lina Romay, who subsequently became a Franco-film-regular and sleaze-queen. Romay was only 18 when this film was made, and she became director Franco's wife some time later. The film's storyline is weird and very absurd, and basically typical for a Franco flick. I will not go into detail, but I'll say this much: The story revolves about an insane scientist/sorcerer named Cagliostro (regular Franco-film star Howard Vernon), who has a cult of devoted freaks in his castle, and wants to create a human 'masterrace' by crossing beautiful women with Frankenstein's monster. Or whatever. Sounds like a lot of weird fun, I know, but sadly the film gets quite tiresome at times. There are two versions of the film, one of which is a lot sleazier. They basically shot the whole film twice, with the exact same things happening, only that the women are mostly clothed in one version and mostly fully naked in the other. My DVD contains the more prudish version, with the more explicit 'alternative' scenes as a bonus feature. I strongly recommend to watch the sleazier version, of course, since the sleaze factor is arguably the most recommendable thing about the film. The female cast is lovely to look at and mostly naked (in the interesting version). Also, there are some ridiculous and amateurish, but delightfully weird outburst of violence. The cinematography and settings are also very good. Howard Vernon enjoys a certain cult status among many of my fellow exploitation fans, and rightly so, if I am considered. The guy was certainly not the most brilliant actor ever, but he fit very well in the trashy Eurohorror roles that he played. Vernon's repertoire ranges from some excellent films (such Jess Franco's very own masterpiece "Miss Muerte") to god-awful (such as Jean Rollin's dreadful "Zombie Lake") and his presence actually makes films like this one a lot more worthwhile. This film of many aka. titles (such as "La Maldición De Frankenstein") is watchable (in the explicit version) for its weirdness, but one shouldn't expect too much. Among the Franco films I've seen (and those are quite many by now) this one doesn't rank at the very bottom, but it certainly ranges in the lesser half.