Lady Frankenstein (1971)

After Baron Frankenstein is killed by his own monster, his daughter transplants his assistant's brain into a handsome young body, all while the original monster seeks revenge against those who participated in its creation.

Directors:

Mel Welles, Aureliano Luppi (co-director) (uncredited)

Writers:

Dick Randall (original story), Edward Di Lorenzo (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Joseph Cotten, Rosalba Neri, Paul Muller

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joseph Cotten	...	Baron Frankenstein
Rosalba Neri	...	Tania Frankenstein (as Sara Bay)
Paul Muller	...	Dr. Charles Marshall
Riccardo Pizzuti	...	The Creature (as Peter Whiteman)
Herbert Fux	...	Tom
Renate Kasché	...	Julia Stack (as Renata Cash)
Lorenzo Terzon	...	Peter, Harris assistant (as Lawrence Tilden)
Ada Pometti	...	Farmer's wife (as Ada Pomeroy)
Andrea Aureli	...	Jim Turner (as Andrew Ray)
Joshua Sinclair	...	John (as Johnny Loffrey)
Richard Beardley	...	Simon Burke
Petar Martinovitch	...	Jack Morgan (as Peter Martinov)
Adam Welles	...	Child
Mickey Hargitay	...	Captain Harris

Storyline

When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant Marshall continue his experiments. The two fall in love and attempt to transplant Marshall's brain in to the muscular body of a retarded servant Stephen, in order to prolong the aging Marshall's life. Meanwhile, the first monster seeks revenge on the grave robbers who sold the body parts used in its creation to Dr. Frankenstein. Soon it comes after Marshall and the doctor's daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

killed during sex | sex scene | interrupted sex | mental retardation | female frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

A Mad Surgeon's Mind in a Woman's Body

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 59112 delivered on 18-10-1971.

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Goofs

The head of a crew member can be seen in the mirror behind Dr Frankenstein and colleague whilst they try to bring the monster to life.

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Quotes

Tania Frankenstein: [Having just hastily got married; to inquiring police detective] I've been up all night with my husband. He's resting now.

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Crazy Credits

The movie ends abruptly after the main character dies, without any credits.

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Alternate Versions

The US release through New World was cut by 15 minutes. The complete film was available on a Swedish VHS (long OOP) and there is a forthcoming (2005) dvd release of the restored feature from a German company.

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Connections

Referenced in The Pit and the Pendulum (2009)

User Reviews

An Unusual Film with Both Good and Bad Points

This movie essentially begins with a man named "Baron Frankenstein" (Joseph Cotten) conducting secret experiments with his assistant "Charles Marshall" (Paul Muller). As luck would have it, they are soon visited by Baron Frankenstein's daughter "Tanya" (Rosalba Neri) who tells them that she has just attained the title of surgeon from a university and wants to help them on their research. However, Baron Frankenstein is hesitant to tell her everything because he doesn't want her involved in case anything goes wrong. As a result, he continues working in secret and not long afterward successfully transplants a heart and a brain from a recently deceased murderer into another body. Unfortunately, before he can complete his work "the monster" (Peter Whiteman) kills him and escapes from the laboratory into the surrounding area where he immediately goes on a killing rampage. Undaunted by all of this, Tanya not only attempts to cover up any evidence leading to her father's culpability but also continues even further with her father's experiments. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather unusual film which had both good and bad points. For starters, I liked the way Tanya developed into such an evil and manipulative person after the death of her father. On the other hand, I thought the appearance of the monster was quite ludicrous and hurt the overall effect immensely. Be that as it may, because of its uneven nature I have rated this movie according. Average.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lady Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Castello Piccolomini, Balsorano, L'Aquila, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures, Condor International Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min (cut) 99 min (original length) 83 min (USA cut) 84 min (US theatrical cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1