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

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
Noel Hood	...	Aunt
Fred Johnson	...	Grandpa
Claude Kingston	...	Little Boy
Alex Gallier	...	Priest
Michael Mulcaster	...	Warder
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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

The creature created by man and forgotten by nature!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankensteins Fluch

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£65,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolour) (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Cameraman Len Harris, Stuntman Jock Easton came close to being injured several times during filming. For the scene where Peter Cushing pushes him off a balcony, the floor was padded, but his head missed the place where it was supposed to land. He also doubled for Sir Christopher Lee in the climax where the creature is set on fire, and Harris recalled that there were quite a few men on-set with fire extinguishers.

---

Goofs

When Paul Krempe shoots the creature, it clamps its hand to its apparently bleeding face. Watching the scene frame by frame, however, it is clear that the creature's face is unhurt and the actor is simply holding a handful of fake blood (which is dribbling through his fingers even before his hand reaches his face).

---

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...

---

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

---

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.

---

Connections

Version of Frankenstein (1987)

User Reviews

Cushing is Terrific.

This was Hammer Films opening entry into their Horror re-imagining of classic Universal Studios Monsters and it is still one of the best. Here we get a new take on the familiar Frankenstein myth with the young Frankenstein coming from a fatherless background and embracing only science and reason with any real conviction. Finally when a breakthrough comes, the Young master will stop at nothing to achieve the fame, glory and notoriety he desires--his lack of regard for others is frightening even to his mentor Paul Krempe(played excellently by Robert Urquhart)who warns him against tampering with the forces of nature and that nothing good will come from it. Cushing is outstanding in the role and adds a real sense of tragedy, genius and malice. Hazel Court is certainly lovely as the innocent cousin Elizabeth who naively becomes entangled into Frankenstein's sinking path of unconscious self-destruction.