Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster (1965)

A Martian princess and a doctor replace the women on Mars, destroyed by atomic war, by raiding Puerto Rico while a shot down android terrorizes all.

Director:

Robert Gaffney

Writer:

George Garrett (story)

Stars:

Marilyn Hanold, James Karen, Lou Cutell

Cast

Cast overview:
Marilyn Hanold	...	Princess Marcuzan
James Karen	...	Dr. Adam Steele (as Jim Karen)
Lou Cutell	...	Dr. Nadir
Nancy Marshall	...	Karen Grant
David Kerman	...	Gen. Bowers
Robert Reilly	...	Col. Frank Saunders / Frankenstein

Storyline

When an atomic war on Mars destroys the planet's women, it's up to Martian Princess Marcuzan and her right-hand man Dr. Nadir to travel to earth and kidnap women for new breeding stock. Landing in Puerto Rico, they shoot down a NASA space capsule manned by an android. With his electronic brain damaged, the android terrorizes the island while the Martians raid beaches and pool parties.

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Plot Keywords:

bikini | frankenstein's monster | android | martian | nasa | 

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Taglines:

Warning! Beware their stare!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the United States, all of the advertising material, including the trailer, gave the title of the film as "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster." The main title on the film itself is "Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster."

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Goofs

After Frank seizes up during his press release, Dr. Steele says he's coating the plug-ins in Frank's head with silica gel to waterproof them. However, silica gel is a solid, supplied in those little disposable packages in many consumer goods to absorb moisture from the air; for waterproofing plug and socket connections, you need to coat them with dielectric grease (which is often silicone-based).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Nadir: We continue to hear modulated hydrogen frequency signal of 21 centimeters, Princess.
Princess Marcuzan: What does that mean?
Dr. Nadir: We're not quite certain, Princess. But it is definitely the same signal we have been following since we left our planet. The source of the signals is the planet that we are observing on the telescanner now. These transmissions indicate some intelligent life.
Princess Marcuzan: Let us move in for a closer look.

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Connections

Featured in The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004)

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Soundtracks

To Have and to Hold
by The Distant Cousins
Written by Larry Brown (uncredited) and Raymond Bloodworth (uncredited)
Courtesy DVX Records
A Bob Crewe Production

User Reviews

Let me be Frank.

The science and the military plan to send astronaut Frank Saunders (Robert Reilly) into space to do some exploring; the catch is that Frank is actually a robot. However, Martian villains, led by icy Princess Marcuzan (Playboy Playmate Marilyn Hanold, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die") and her elfin toady Dr. Nadir (Lou Cutell, a.k.a. Amazing Larry from "Pee-wee's Big Adventure"), have arrived on Earth. The women of their planet have been decimated, and they need Earth women for breeding stock. But they didn't count on Frank, who's turned into a monster after receiving damage from a Martian weapon.

"Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster" is fairly amusing 1960s cheese, and is reasonably entertaining for any schlock lover. It can be dull and talky at times, but it does have some fun moments. Of course, ANY movie that features the late, great James Karen (beloved for playing Frank in "The Return of the Living Dead") as a heroic, Vespa-riding scientist CANNOT be all bad. One of a few people from this production who managed to have a solid career after this, Karen is typically solid. Nancy Marshall is mostly just cute as his associate Karen Grant. Hanold and Cutell are entertaining baddies in the schlock movie tradition. Reilly is adequate as the "Frankenstein" of the title. Another great character actor, Bruce Glover ("Diamonds Are Forever"), has two of his earliest screen roles as he plays both one of the Martians and their pet "spacemonster" Mull (wearing a hilarious, fanged and shaggy costume).

A fair amount of stock footage mixes with new material in what is pretty enjoyable material, at least as far as this kind of movie goes. Ultra-cheap sets and special effects likewise make this endearing to the bad movie fanatic. The makeup on Frank (done by John Alese) isn't bad for a movie filmed over 53 years ago on a $60,000 budget.

Partly set in Puerto Rico, although largely filmed in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone went on to bigger and better things; her 1970s credits include "The Godfather", "Serpico", and "Dog Day Afternoon".

Five out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Operation Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Futurama Entertainment Corp., Vernon-Seneca Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1