The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1973)

Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant Morpho are killed just as they bring their creation to life. The monster is taken by Cagliostro and he now controls the monster and plans to have it mate and create the perfect master race.

Director:

Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco)

Writers:

Jesús Franco (screenplay) (as Jess Franco), Jesús Franco (story)

Stars:

Alberto Dalbés, Dennis Price, Howard Vernon

Cast

Cast overview:
Alberto Dalbés	...	Doctor Seward (as Alberto Dalbes)
Dennis Price	...	Doctor Frankenstein (as Denis Price)
Howard Vernon	...	Cagliostro
Beatriz Savón	...	Vera Frankenstein
Anne Libert	...	Melisa
Fernando Bilbao	...	Monstruo
Carmen Yazalde	...	Madame Orloff (as Britt Nichols)
Luis Barboo	...	Caronte
Daniel White	...	Tanner (as Daniel Gerome)
Doris Thomas	...	Abigail (as Doris Tom)
Lina Romay	...	Esmeralda (in version "La maldición de Frankenstein")
Jesús Franco	...	Morpho (as J. Franco)

Storyline

Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant Morpho are killed just as they bring their creation to life. The monster is taken by Cagliostro and he now controls the monster and plans to have it mate and create the perfect master race.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | video nasty | doctor victor frankenstein character | female frontal nudity | reanimation | 

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Spain France

Language:

French

Release Date:

31 May 1973 (France)

Also Known As:

The Rites of Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Av. Rei Humberto II de Itália Parque Marechal Camona, 2750-319 Cascais, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

C. Fénix Films, Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 71 min (as "The Curse of Frankenstein") 82 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Lina Romay.

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Quotes

Melisa: Melisa speaks to you on behalf of her great master Cagliostro. Cagliostro created me and half of me is a bird. He meant for me to be his own daughter, but I am blind and therefore unworthy. Cagliostro now transmits the words he wishes you to hear through the fabulous creature that I am. Listen to the master speak these words to you: "I have accorded you the privilege of rising from your graves. But I cannot prevent your flesh from rotting. Originally, I started creating with nature's materials,...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Two (if not more) versions of this film exist La Maldicion de Frankenstein and The Curse of Frankenstein. The main difference between the two is that Curse is the 'hot' version containing male and female full frontal nudity, Maldicion is the 'cool' version with the same scenes but with the actors clothed. Maldicion is the version released in Spain in the General Franco era hence the lack of nudity although several topless scenes briefly remain. There are however many other differences between Maldicion and Curse, neither can be called definite since both contain footage the other doesn't. Both contain different beginning and end credits, Maldicion has nominal black and white titles, Curse opens it's credits to footage in Frankenstein's lab not found in Maldicion and ends with the credits set against a blue painting of the sea with more lyrical credits 'Robert De Nesle has presented'. Maldicion adds another character Esmeralda the Gypsy (played by Lina Romay) completely alien to Curse who appears throughout the film in a trance under the influence of Cagliostro, while impressive scenes of Cagliostro's zombies dressed in white robes walking though a misty forest can't be found in Curse. However Maldicion is lacking several scenes important to the narrative that curse can boast, noticeably Cagliostro and Melissa the bird women's first meeting in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Fear, Panic & Censorship (2000)

User Reviews

The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein

The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1973)

*** (out of 4)

Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price) finally makes his monster human after putting a brain into his skull but shortly afterwards the doctor and his assistant are murdered and the monster stolen by a mysterious bird woman who was sent by the evil Cagliostro (Howard Vernon). Soon Dr. Frankenstein's daughter (Beatriz Savon) seeks revenge for the death of her father.

Jess Franco's THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN is without question a rather wild, over-the-top and downright batshit crazy film that rarely makes a bit of sense but that's what makes it so darn entertaining. The movie is a complete head-scratcher and it makes you wonder what must have been going on inside of Franco's mind but there's no question that it's a major improvement over his Dracula, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN.

This film here, like most of the director's work, is available in two versions. The French version is also known as the "hot" or the "nude" version as as you might guess it contains a lot of female and male nudity. This here is certainly the version you'll want to check out because, well, if you're going to watch an "erotic" movie then it might as well feature nudity. This version adds a lot of erotic stuff, which adds up on the camp factor but with that said there's still reasons to watch the non-nude Spanish version. The Spanish version has Lina Romay in the role of a gypsy and this is missing from the French version.

Again, if you're coming to this film expecting something normal then you might be as nutty as Franco himself. The plot of this thing is rather crazy and all over the place. The fact that there's a bird woman here with green feathers on her body is a clear indication that you're not meant to take this too serious. The silver toned Frankenstein monster is another interesting visual but so is a sequence where all sorts of masked weirdos are watching the events. Add in some bizarre torture scenes and some really whacked out scenes of Dr. Frankenstein being brought back to life and you've got a wild little picture.