The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Victor Frankenstein builds a creature and brings it to life, but it behaves not as he intended.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay), Mary Shelley (based on the classic story by) (as Mary W. Shelley)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Victor Frankenstein
Hazel Court	...	Elizabeth
Robert Urquhart	...	Paul Krempe
Christopher Lee	...	The Creature
Melvyn Hayes	...	Young Victor
Valerie Gaunt	...	Justine
Paul Hardtmuth	...	Prof. Bernstein
Fred Johnson	...	Grandpa
Noel Hood	...	Aunt
Michael Mulcaster	...	Warder
Alex Gallier	...	Priest
Claude Kingston	...	Little Boy
Andrew Leigh	...	Burgomaster
Anne Blake	...	Wife
Sally Walsh	...	Young Elizabeth

Storyline

In prison and awaiting execution, Dr. Victor Frankenstein recounts to a priest what led him to his current circumstance. He inherited his family's wealth after the death of his mother when he was still only a young man. He hired Paul Krempe as his tutor and he immediately developed an interest in medical science. After several years, he and Krempe became equals and he developed an interest in the origins and nature of life. After successfully re-animating a dead dog, Victor sets about constructing a man using body parts he acquires for the purpose including the hands of a pianist and the brain of a renowned scholar. As Frankenstein's excesses continue to grow, Krempe is not only repulsed by what his friend has done but is concerned for the safety of the beautiful Elizabeth, Victor's cousin and fiancée who has come to live with them. His experiments lead to tragedy and his eventual demise.

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Plot Keywords:

told in flashback | mad scientist | frankenstein's monster | reanimation | teacher student relationship | 

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Taglines:

All new and never dared before!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Melvyn Hayes explains in the Blu-ray "making of" featurette how Producer Peter Rogers told him about the casting process of the monster. According to Rogers, a memo went out indicating Hammer was looking for "someone big" to play the monster. In the end, it boiled down to Sir Christopher Lee and Bernard Bresslaw. Both of their agents were phoned, asking them how much money they wanted. Bresslaw's minimum fee was ten pounds a day, whereas Lee's was eight. "And so, for the sake of two pounds, Christopher Lee became an international star", according to Hayes.

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Goofs

In the last 10 minutes of the film, just before Paul pushes Victor into a pillar when they fight, as the camera pulls back we see a boom mic shadow at top left of frame, and then it hurriedly exits.

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Quotes

Baron Frankenstein: Shall I tell you something, Paul? There you see the result of your handiwork as much as mine, I gave him life, I put a brain in his head, but I chose a good brain, a brilliant one. It was you who damaged it, you who put a bullet in the wretched thing. This is your fault, Paul! Do you understand that? Your fault.
Paul Krempe: Yes I understand.
Baron Frankenstein: But you won't win, Paul. And shall I tell you why you won't win? Because I shall carry on, if I can't cure it by brain surgery then I'll get another brain, and another, ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: More than a hundred years ago, in a mountain village in Switzerland, lived a man whose strange experiments with the dead have since become legend. The legend is still told with horror the world over.... It is the legend of...

The Curse of Frankenstein

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Alternate Versions

For its original cinema release the BBFC required cuts to the scene where a man's head is severed by the Baron and dissolved in acid. The severing was reduced to a brief shot and no footage at all survives of the acid scene. Video and early DVD releases featured the U.S print which was cut further to remove a shot of a severed eyeball as seen through a magnifying glass, though the UK cinema print, which contains this shot, was often shown on BBC television. The 2012 Lionsgate release features the restored version which includes the eyeball shot from the UK print.

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Revenge of Frankenstein (2013)

User Reviews

A landmark horror movie with a remarkable performance from Peter Cushing.

'The Curse Of Frankenstein' is a landmark horror movie for several reasons. Firstly, though Hammer had already released 'The Quatermass Xperiment', a science fiction movie with some horror elements, it was the studios first real entry into the genre which it is still revered around the world for. Secondly, it was the first movie inspired by Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' made in colour. And thirdly, while it wasn't the first movie to feature both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it was their first horror movie together, and one which introduced one of THE great screen duos, who eventually made over twenty movies together. Lee doesn't have as much on screen time as one might expect, but his Monster is memorable and visually striking (after Universal threatened to sue if the image of Karloff's monster was copied). As well as Lee, the supporting cast includes good performances from Robert Urquhart and Hazel Court. Urquhart plays Paul Krempe, initially the young Baron's tutor (the Baron being briefly portrayed by Melvyn Hayes before Cushing), and later his often unwilling assistant. Court, best remembered for her roles in some of Roger Corman's Poe series, plays the Baron's cousin/fiancee. The standout performance of the movie is by Peter Cushing. I still think Karloff is the definitive Monster but Cushing is the definitive Baron Frankenstein. There were six sequels to 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' and Cushing played Frankenstein in all but one, the second last in the series 'The Horror Of Frankenstein', which was actually a tongue in cheek remake of 'Curse..' starring Ralph Bates as the Baron. The movie wasn't completely successful and thankfully Cushing returned for the final movie 'Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell'. For me the first and last in the series tie as the best Hammer Frankenstein movies and Cushing is remarkable in them both. I highly recommend 'The Curse Of Frankenstein', one of Hammer's greatest horror movies. No-one can truly call themselves a horror movie fan if they haven't seen it.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Curse of Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP65,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolour) (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1