Frankenstein 1970 (1958)

Needing money, the last of the Frankensteins leases his castle out to a film company as he tries to complete his ancestor's gruesome experiments at creating life.

Director:

Howard W. Koch

Writers:

Richard H. Landau (screenplay) (as Richard Landau), Charles A. Moses (story)

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund

Cast

Cast overview:
Boris Karloff	...	Baron Victor von Frankenstein
Tom Duggan	...	Mike Shaw
Jana Lund	...	Carolyn Hayes
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Douglas Row (as Donald Barry)
Charlotte Austin	...	Judy Stevens
Irwin Berke	...	Inspector Raab
Rudolph Anders	...	Wilhelm Gottfried
Norbert Schiller	...	Shuter
John Dennis	...	Morgan Haley
Mike Lane	...	Hans Himmler / The Monster

Storyline

Baron Victor Von Frankenstein has fallen on hard times; he was tortured at the hands of the Nazis for not cooperating with them during World War II and he is now badly disfigured. As his family's wealth begins to run out, the Baron is forced to allow a TV crew shooting a documentary on his monster-making ancestors to film at his castle in Germany. However, the Baron has some ideas of his own: using the money from the crew's rent he buys an atomic reactor and uses it to create a hulking monster, transplanting his butler's brain into the thing and using it to kill off the crew for more spare parts.

---

Plot Keywords:

castle | ancestor | monster | nazi | atomic age | 

---

Taglines:

The One...The Only KING OF MONSTERS as the new demon of the atomic age!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein 1960

Filming Locations:

Stage 3, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$110,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aubrey Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Breen Office ordered a number of changes in the script and the original cut of the film. One change ordered was the sound of the device Dr. Frankenstein uses to dispose of body parts. The original grinding sound was considered too horrific. It was replaced with the sound of a toilet flush which resulted in unintended laughter in audiences. This was believed to be the first time a toilet flush was heard in a motion picture.

---

Goofs

The degree of damage to Karloff's disfigured eye changes from scene to scene.

---

Quotes

Baron Victor von Frankenstein: [Reading from his ancestor's stone memorial marker] "I, Frankenstein, began my work in the year 1740 A.D. with all good intentions and humane thoughts to the high purpose of probing the secrets of life itself with but one end, the betterment of mankind."
[Speaking for himself]
Baron Victor von Frankenstein: So wrote my ancestor, but first he had to learn how flesh is made. He had to discover the art of transplanting vital organs from human beings into his creature and knitting them together until they all had all the ...

---

Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Frankenstein 1970 (2010)

User Reviews

atmosphere not acting make this movie

Atmosphere is important in any horror film and this movie has it in spades. Unfortunately, that's all it has. Really very little to recommend here. Karloff is good in this movie but completely wasted in this effort and far too campy and hammy to really chill the audience. The monster itself is also a huge problem. Not so much when we first see the monster but as it progresses in its various stages of creation, it just gets sillier and sillier. The music tries to scare up a few chills whenever the monster appears but it is all really wasted. The best thing about the movie as I previously stated is the atmosphere. I especially like movies that have isolated creepy castles in them that are filled with secret passageways and hidden laboratories from which all those mad scientists conduct their business. The opening sequence of the film is by far the best part of the movie but the surprise ending tries to come close only that it is really telegraphed all throughout the movie and really isn't much of a surprise when you think about it. Although this is by far not the worst Karloff film it is not the best either. It's really too bad that Karloff, if he wanted to spoof the Frankenstein character he played, that he should have offered to play the part in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.