Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1973)
"Flesh for Frankenstein" (original title)

In Serbia, Baron Frankenstein lives with the Baroness and their two children. He dreams of a super-race, returning Serbia to its grand connections to ancient Greece. In his laboratory, ... See full summary »

Directors:

Paul Morrissey, Antonio Margheriti

Writer:

Paul Morrissey

Stars:

Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren, Udo Kier

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joe Dallesandro	...	Nicholas, the stableboy
Monique van Vooren	...	Baroness Katrin Frankenstein
Udo Kier	...	Baron Frankenstein
Arno Juerging	...	Otto, the Baron's assistant
Dalila Di Lazzaro	...	Female Monster
Srdjan Zelenovic	...	Sacha / Male Monster
Nicoletta Elmi	...	Monica, the Baron's daughter
Marco Liofredi	...	Erik, the Baron's son
Liù Bosisio	...	Olga, the maid
Fiorella Masselli	...	Large prostitute
Cristina Gaioni	...	Farmer, Nicholas' girlfriend
Rosita Torosh	...	Sonia, the prostitute
Carla Mancini	...	Farmer
Imelde Marani	...	Blonde prostitute

Storyline

In Serbia, Baron Frankenstein lives with the Baroness and their two children. He dreams of a super-race, returning Serbia to its grand connections to ancient Greece. In his laboratory, assisted by Otto, he builds a desirable female body, but needs a male who will be superbody and superlover. He thinks he has found just the right brain to go with a body he's built, but he's made an error, taking the head of a asexual aesthete. Meanwhile, the Baroness has her lusts, and she fastens on Nicholas, a friend of the dead lad. Can the Baron pull off his grand plan? He brings the two zombies together to mate. Meanwhile, Nicholas tries to free his dead friend. What about the Baron's children?

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Plot Keywords:

frankenstein | laboratory | lust | severed head | monster | 

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Taglines:

Brings The Horror Off The Screen... And Into Your Lap.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bizarre violence and sexuality, and for language

Details

Country:

USA Italy France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

17 March 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Vojvodina, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Braunsberg Productions, Carlo Ponti Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicolas Winding Refn has said that this film is the only one directed by someone else than him that he wished he had made.

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Goofs

When Frankenstein "shocks" life into his creatures, him and Otto are touching the bodies with bare hands, yet they do not seem to be receiving any of the electricity.

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Quotes

Baron Frankenstein: Something went wrong.
Otto, the Baron's assistant: But what?
Baron Frankenstein: Maybe the mixture of the blood wasn't right. You was the only one who knew about it... But maybe someone got into the laboratory?
Otto, the Baron's assistant: But who, Baron?
Baron Frankenstein: The children? But they wouldn't do it. My sister. My sister! She always was very jealous of me. Always! But, we failed. That beautiful Serbian female. Everybody would have jumped-everyone! But maybe that head of that... creature wasn't any good? His perfect nose, his perfect nose, he has the perfect brain, he was the ...

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Connections

Featured in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

User Reviews

Better than BLOOD FOR DRACULA -- Udo Kier is tops (laughs)

This is clearly the superior of the two films that Paul Morrissey filmed at Cinecitta studios (Rome) during the early 1970s. It's the typical Frankenstein story with the Morrissey's spin on it.

And I suspect that it has a lot to do with Antonio Margheriti being involved since he is famous in Italian horror circles for the gore effects he brings to films. Especially the scene where the male monster (Srdjan Zelenovic) rips open his stomach sutures, exposing his organs in an act of suicide. Very anatomically correct.

Udo Kier is probably the best reason to see this film, however. His hammy acting skills are tops! His version of Frankenstein is so demented, I guess the German accent adds a lot to it. Usually it's an American or English actor who plays Frankenstein so having a real life German (speaking in English, of course) adds to the atmosphere.

And of course Joe Dallesandro's New York accent sounds totally out of place here, just as it did in BLOOD FOR DRACULA. He sounds like a male hustler hanging out in Times Square instead of an Italian stable boy

Also hideous is Monique Van Vooren as Baroness. Good gawd, the Dallesandro character must have been real hard-up in order to sleep with that old hag.

Still, it has decent atmosphere and the Criterion DVD uses a widescreen print that looks crystal along with production stills of the movie, secondary commentary track by Morrissey who has some revealing comments about the film, and some silly, pseudo-intellectual commentary by Maurice Yakowar that a trashy film like this doesn't deserve.

Worth seeing mostly for Kier's presence.

6 out of 10