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The Evil of Frankenstein | |
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Credits | |
Title: | The Evil of Frankenstein |
Director: | Freddie Francis |
Writers: | John Elder |
Producers: | Anthony Hinds |
Composer: | Don Banks John Hollingsworth |
Cinematography: | John Wilcox |
Editors: | James Needs |
Production | |
Distributed by: | Hammer Film Productions; Universal Pictures |
Released: | May 31st, 1964 |
Rating: | Unrated |
Running time: | 84 min. |
Country: | UK |
Language: | English |
Navigation | |
Previous: | The Revenge of Frankenstein |
Next: | Frankenstein Created Woman |
The Evil of Frankenstein is a British feature film of the science fiction and horror genres. It is based on characters and concepts as seen in the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by author Mary Shelley. It was directed by Freddie Francis with a script written by John Elder. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in the United Kingdom on May 31st, 1964. The film stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein with Kiwi Kingston as the Frankenstein Monster.
Plot[]
A child witnesses an intruder steal the corpse of one of her recently deceased relatives. Terrified, she flees from the cabin where she is hiding, and encounters Baron Victor Frankenstein. As the body snatcher takes the corpse to Victor's secret laboratory, a local priest discovers the theft. The child identifies both the body snatcher and his employer. Forced to leave town, Victor and his assistant Hans return to the Baron's hometown of Karlstaad, where they plan to sell valuables from the abandoned Frankenstein chateau to fund new work. Arriving in the village, they rescue a deaf-mute young woman from being harassed by a gang of thugs. Arriving at the chateau, they find all the valuables stolen and flee.
The following day, Victor and Hans blend in with a local carnival in order to remain incognito. While visiting a local pub, Victor notices the local burgomaster is wearing one of his valuables; a ring. Victor causes a scene, is immediately recognized by the authorities, and flees once again, eventually hiding at the exhibit of a hypnotist named Zoltan. Zoltan clashes with the police and is arrested, covering the escape of Victor and Hans. Later that evening, Victor and Hans break into the burgomaster's apartments to retrieve the valuables, but the police arrive. They flee once more and encounter the deaf-mute girl. She leads them to her shelter in a cave.
Victor finds his prototype creation frozen in ice in the cave. He and Hans build a fire to melt the ice and free the creature. They take it to the chateau and restore it to life. However, the creature's brain is unresponsive. Victor, desperate to restore active consciousness to his creation, comes up with the idea of obtaining the services of Zoltan to reanimate the creature's mind. Zoltan has been banished from Karlstaad for not having a license to perform. After clever psychological manipulation by Victor, he agrees to the task.
Zoltan is successful but has less than scientific interests at heart. With the creature responding only to his commands, Zoltan uses it to rob and take revenge upon the town's authorities. Victor evicts Zoltan, who then instructs the creature to kill Victor, but the creature kills Zoltan instead. The creature goes into a fit of rage and accidentally sets the lab on fire. Hans escapes with the girl, and the couple watch as smoke pours from the chateau. A massive explosion ensues, causing the section where the lab was to topple over the cliff, killing Victor and the creature.
Cast[]
Actor | Role |
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Peter Cushing | Baron Frankenstein |
Peter Woodthorpe | Professor Zoltán |
Duncan Lamont | Karlstaad Chief of Police |
Sandor Elès | Hans |
Katy Wild | Beggar girl |
David Hutcheson | Burgomaster of Karlstaad |
James Maxwell | Priest |
Howard Goorney | Drunk |
Anthony Blackshaw | Policeman |
David Conville | Policeman |
Caron Gardner | Burgomaster's wife |
Kiwi Kingston | The Creature |
Tony Arpino | Body snatcher |
Timothy Bateson | Hypnotized man |
Robert Flynn | Roustabout |
Frank Forsyth | Manservant |
James Garfield | Roustabout |
Steven Geray | Doctor Sergado |
Patrick Horgan | David Carrell |
Kenneth Kove | Curé |
Derek Martin | Roustabout |
Maria Palmer | Rena's mother |
William Phipps | Reman's father |
Anthony Poole | Roustabout |
Michelle Scott | Little girl |
Tracy Stratford | Rena as a child |
Alister Williamson | Landlord |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Premiered in the United States on May 8th, 1964.
- Is included on disc 2, side B of the Hammer Horror Series DVD collection.
- Since Universal Pictures was the US distributor of this film, Hammer Film Productions was able to use the designs of the classic Frankenstein Monster from the original 1931 film.
- This film was originally intended to be directed by Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher, but Fisher was unable to direct due to an automobile accident and the job went to Freddie Francis.
Recommendations[]
Frankenstein
See also[]
External Links[]
- The Evil of Frankenstein at IMDB
- The Evil of Frankenstein at Wikipedia
- The Evil of Frankenstein at The Terror Trap
- The Evil of Frankenstein at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Evil of Frankenstein at Eccentric Cinema
- The Evil of Frankenstein at Horrormovies.org
- The Evil of Frankenstein at Obscurehorror.com