Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

Baron Frankenstein is once again working with illegal medical experiments. Together with a young doctor, Karl and his fiancée Anna, they kidnap the mentally sick Dr. Brandt, to perform the ... See full summary »

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Bert Batt (screenplay), Anthony Nelson Keys (from an original story by)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Baron Frankenstein
Veronica Carlson	...	Anna
Freddie Jones	...	Professor Richter
Simon Ward	...	Karl
Thorley Walters	...	Inspector Frisch
Maxine Audley	...	Ella Brandt
George Pravda	...	Doctor Brandt
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Police Doctor
Colette O'Neil	...	Mad Woman
Frank Middlemass	...	Guest - Plumber
George Belbin	...	Guest - Playing chess
Norman Shelley	...	Guest - Smoking pipe
Michael Gover	...	Guest - Reading newspaper
Peter Copley	...	Principal
Jim Collier	...	Dr. Heidecke

Storyline

Baron Frankenstein is once again working with illegal medical experiments. Together with a young doctor, Karl and his fiancée Anna, they kidnap the mentally sick Dr. Brandt, to perform the first brain transplantation ever.

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Plot Keywords:

four word title | corpse | fire | rape | sequel | 

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Taglines:

The Most Frightening Frankenstein Movie Ever!

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Genres:

Horror | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and horror images

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein debe morir

Filming Locations:

Tykes Water Lake, Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The re-release in Spain was limited and only in subtitled version.

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Goofs

When Anna drags the water-sodden corpse into the bushes, a crew member's shadow can be seen moving on the brickwork of the curb to the left of the corpse's feet.

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Quotes

Professor Richter: I fancy that I am the spider and you are the fly, Frankenstein.

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Hammer Films (2007)

User Reviews

Frankenstein must be worshiped!!

Hooray! Here's another entry in the highly amusing Hammer Frankenstein franchise. Don't ever ask me to pick a 'best' or even favorite in this series because I instantly love every episode I can get my dirty little hands on :) And this fifth chapter is a true highlight as it has our Baron Frankenstein more and more evolving into a ruthless, cold villain. He blackmails a young couple; forcing them to assist him with his diabolical experiments (only he sees it as simple scientific evolution). Along with his new accomplices, Baron F. kidnaps a fellow mad scientist out of the asylum because he knows the skills to perform a flawless brain transplant. Unfortunately, Frankenstein's mad raving colleague has been drugged so much he now is a complete vegetable. Ingenious as he is, evil Victor transplants a few brains and commits a few murders to finally have the things the way he wants.

After 4 prequels, numberless others adaptations and several novels, Hammer Productions (and class-A director Terence Fisher in particular) still manages to present the Frankenstein films as original and innovative horror adventures. It's remarkable how Cushing and Fisher completely shifted the initial horror from Frankenstein's monster to Baron Frankenstein himself! In this film, the creature is a pathetic 'victim' while it's Cushing who's the criminal mastermind. Needless to say that Cushing is absolutely powerful in his loyal role of the Baron. He's actually so good in preaching his medical ambitions that you often sympathize with him, even though you witness with your own eyes he's bad to the bone! Cushing receives excellent feedback from the young actor Simon Ward and the exquisite Veronica Carlson. 'Frankenstein must be Destroyed' is an intriguing horror film for some other reason as well. Fisher inserts a healthy dose of Romanticism in this episode plus it's also one of the first Hammer films that feature the sexual content and undertones they'll use more and more in their 70's films. Hammer's popularity tempered a bit during the late 60's/ early 70's and they tried to make up for this by showing more ravishing meat (Carlson's cleavage) and sexual insinuations. In short, Frankenstein must be destroyed is essential horror viewing! It has loads of tension and exciting sequences, the film is professionally made, well-acted and it features a fair amount of bloodshed.