The Evil of Frankenstein

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The Evil of Frankenstein
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
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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
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

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Bride of Frankenstein, The Frankenstein Frankenstein Created Woman

Curse of Frankenstein, The I, Frankenstein Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Revenge of Frankenstein, The

See also

Frankenstein Frankenstein films Frankenstein comics Frankenstein characters

Frankenstein images Frankenstein locations Frankenstein appearances Frankenstein miscellaneous

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

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