Tales of Frankenstein (1958) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Curt Siodmak

Writers:

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

Genre:

Short | Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In this pilot for a series that was never picked up, Dr. Frankenstein has just finished rebuilding his creation...

Plot Keywords:

Married Couple | Frankenstein's Monster | Creator Creation Relationship | Doctor Frankenstein | Mad Scientist

Cast

Anton Diffring	...	Baron Frankenstein
Helen Westcott	...	Christine Halpert
Don Megowan	...	The Monster
Ludwig Stössel	...	Wilhelm
Richard Bull	...	Max Halpert
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Doctor
Peter Brocco	...	Gottfried
Sydney Mason	...	Police Chief

Runtime:

28 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The introduction contains stock footage from some of the Universal horror series, including the brides from Dracula (1931). 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.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: 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.

An Untold Tale of Frankenstein

"Dr. Frankenstein has recreated his creature, but wishes to correct his previous mistake. He wishes to prevent his creation from any further murderous rampages by placing the brain of a good man inside the skull of the monster. The arrival of a woman and her terminally ill husband offer the doctor an opportunity to try his new theory," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Anton Diffring (as Baron Von Frankenstein) is an extremely enjoyable and effective leading man.

If this is, indeed, the pilot for an unsold television series, it's difficult to understand how they were going to come up with the nearly 40 per season story ideas. As a short movie, writer/director Curt Siodmak does surprisingly well in this format, creating a "new" story to work within the existing "Frankenstein" mythos; and, it's much better than the average 1958 half hour teleplay.

****** Tales of Frankenstein (1958) Curt Siodmak ~ Anton Diffring Helen Westcott, Don Megowan