Tales of Frankenstein (TV 1958)

In this pilot for a series that was never picked up, Dr. Frankenstein has just finished rebuilding his creation, but the monster is unresponsive. He needs to try something different to make... See full summary »

Director:

Curt Siodmak

Writers:

Henry Kuttner (teleplay), C.L. Moore (teleplay),

Stars:

Anton Diffring, Helen Westcott, Don Megowan

Cast

Cast overview:
Anton Diffring	...	Baron Frankenstein
Helen Westcott	...	Christine Halpert
Don Megowan	...	The Monster
Ludwig Stössel	...	Wilhelm
Richard Bull	...	Paul Halpert
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Doctor
Peter Brocco	...	Gottfried--Cemetery Caretaker
Sydney Mason	...	Police Chief

Storyline

In this pilot for a series that was never picked up, Dr. Frankenstein has just finished rebuilding his creation, but the monster is unresponsive. He needs to try something different to make it work, perhaps some new parts. Enter a terminally ill sculptor and his assertive wife....

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Plot Keywords:

creator creation relationship | tv series pilot | married couple | frankenstein's monster | mad scientist | 

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Genres:

Short | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Columbia Pictures Television, Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The introduction contains stock footage from some of the Universal horror series, including the brides from Dracula. The face in the crystal ball, who is supposed doing the narration, is actually footage that was used at the beginning of all of Universal's "Inner Sanctum" features.

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Goofs

The introductory narration does not come close to matching the lip movements of the face in the crystal ball. The face in the crystal ball had actually been shot about 15 years earlier for the introductions to Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series of features.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Baron Frankenstein (1996)

User Reviews

Failed Television Pilot Makes For a Decent Short Film

Frankenstein's reputation has done well for him. He has created another "monster", but needs a mind to control it. When a terminally ill subject enters his lab, he sees an opportunity to create the perfect being -- not having to rely on dead or criminal brains.

Anton Diffring ("Beast Must Die") stars as Baron Frankenstein and does a fine job. So does everyone else. For a television show, I'm uncertain ho this would have fared, particularly in the 1950s. And what would the story be? Would Frankenstein try a new brain each week? That would get old... or I've heard rumor it as to feature a different monster. That has some merit, but how many monsters are there? Dracula would make a much better ongoing character...

Luckily for us this pilot survived as a short film, and a decent one at that. Perhaps not a memorable one, but a strong piece of the Frankenstein story from a director ho knows the man and the monster ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman", for example).

This one crossed my desk through a box set. I'm not sure ho easily available it is, but if you get a chance to check it out, do so. It's only 27 minutes long, so you'd hardly be "wasting" time on this better-than-average attempt at a good horror story. "Tales From the Crypt" has done worse.