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The Curse Of Frankenstein
[Hammer/WB]
1957; color
Directed by Terence Fisher
Starring: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart & Christopher Lee
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Chronologically, The Curse of Frankenstein was Hammer's first foray into their highly successful cinematic re-invention of the world of Gothic horror. This 1957 gem delves far more into the machinations of Baron Victor Frankenstein than the horror and havoc his creation causes. In fact, one ultimately feels more pity for "the creature" than anything else. I mean, let's face it, he didn't ask to be reborn / re-animated / whatever you'd like to call it, and his new lease on life is apparently filled with nothing but torment. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before the "good doctor" (although his education, as we learn, is entirely informal and not degree-bearing) can breathe life into his ultimate experiment we get a good 45 minutes worth of set-up that explains the roots of Frankenstein and how he got to where he is when the film starts—in prison, awaiting his execution. He spends his last night alive relating the story of his life to a priest (who very clearly thinks he's completely insane and making it all up.) As the tale goes, young Victor inherited the Baronage at the tender age of five when his father died. By the time he was a teenager, which is where the extensive flashback that essentially makes up the film begins, he's already full of attitude and a strong sense of better-than-thou-ism that comes off as unbridled dismissive arrogance for anyone he feels is intellectually beneath him. He engages a tutor, one Paul Krempe, who, over a period of many years, becomes his collaborator and co-conspirator. Victor becomes more and more obsessed with pushing the boundaries of known science, to the point that he and Paul successfully bring a dead puppy back to life. (It should be noted that the puppy does not go on a rampage of any kind once re-animated; he's just a regular dog, not a monster dog.) This is only the beginning for Victor, and the beginning of the end for Paul, as the doctor relates that he doesn't just want to bring a man back to life, he wants to build a superior man from the parts of various men. Then put the brain of a genius into him and bring him to life. He starts with the large torso of a freshly hung criminal and promptly disposes of the head ("It's of no use to me.") much to Paul's increasing chagrin. Soon enough he's stolen himself a pair of hands from a freshly dead sculptor and begins to look for a brain—the aforementioned genius brain. And once Victor actually manages to kill off a renown professor in his home, bury him in the family crypt and remove his precious brain, Paul hits his limit and attacks Victor, causing the brain to get hurled about and sustain damage. Nevertheless, Victor goes ahead and puts the damaged brain into his "man" and, through the luck of a lightning strike, it comes to life. Somehow the creature manages to flee the Frankenstein manor and wanders into the woods, where he's quickly tracked by Victor and shot by Paul. But nothing ever really stays dead when Victor Frankenstein's got his hands in the cookie jar of life and, before you know it, the creature is back among the living. (Again.) Everything quickly builds to a chaotic ending involving the creature getting dissolved in a tub of acid and Victor landing in prison—which is back where we started. Peter Cushing puts such an indelible imprint onto Victor Frankenstein that his later reprisals of the character only add to his ownership of the role—for me, he's the ONLY Frankenstein— and this first teaming of Cushing and Lee lays the groundwork for many more great films to come. Curse Of Frankenstein is still one of Hammer's finest moments and well worth repeat viewings.
—the Kommandant
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