Victor Frankenstein (Ralph Bates) is the son of the Count who plans his
father's demise. He inherits the castle and the comely housekeeper (Kate
O'Mara) who doubles as his mistress. Soon Victor is busy murdering
people to build his monster (David Prowse). His victims include his
neighbor, his housekeeper, a gravedigger, a professor and his best
friend. He patches the various body parts together to make his horrible
creation.
The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster. The original music score was composed by Malcolm Williamson.
Hammer produced 7 Frankenstein films and this was the only one that didn't star Peter Cushing. And guess what...it's not really all that bad. The first two thirds are pretty damn good but then it kind of fades away. It's basically a
remake of the first Hammer Frankenstein movie but with added humor.
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| Let's build a monster. |
It's tough to top Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein but Ralph Bates is actually more loathsome than Cushing ever was. He plays a
younger, mean-spirited, murderous, and cold-blooded individual. Bate's
performance is practically perfect, convincingly portraying the utter
contempt that his character feels for all mankind—even his closest
friends and admirers. It also includes a little eye candy with Kate O'Mara as Alys, the slutty housemaid who
sees to the Baron's every needs (if you know what I mean), and Veronica
Carlson as Elizabeth Heiss, the prettiest girl in the village and
Victor's secret admirer. They will certainly appeal to the male audience with tits hanging out of their blouses in just about every scene they're in.
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| You seemed to have gained weight in the right places. |
One thing that I really didn't like was the bodybuilding monster. He looks like fucking Hercules with a few scars. The monster is played by David Prowse, who would later become world-famous as Darth
Vader. He reappeared in the next Hammer Frankenstein film "Frankenstein & The Monster From Hell." The makeup was way better in that film, one of Hammer's best, and so
was Prowse's performance. He sort of looks like Triple H with a shaved head.
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| Release me so I can go to the gym. |
There is is very little horror in 'The Horror of Frankenstein' beyond the horror
of what humans are capable enough if they are driven in the way
Frankenstein appears to be here. In summary, we do somewhat miss the great Peter Cushing in this Hammer
entry; however, it's a fine performance by Ralph Bates and his
supporting cast and I think, overall, is pretty entertaining.
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| Put Steph down Triple H monster |
Trivia:
This Frankenstein film stands alone and is not a part of Hammer's six
film Frankenstein series, starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein. It
was, essentially a remake of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), and it is rumored that a younger actor, Ralph Bates, was cast to appeal to a younger audience.
Writer / producer / director Jimmy Sangster was brought in to look at and revise if necessary the original screenplay by Jeremy Burnham, and realized that it was essentially The Curse of Frankenstein
(1957) all over again, which had been done just a dozen years earlier.
Not wanting to do the same movie again, it was his decision to inject
all the humor and sex into the script. He didn't commit fully to the
project until Hammer Studios agreed to give him the opportunity to
direct.
The first Hammer production to be entirely financed with British funds.
Last film of Joan Rice.
Writer Jeremy Burnham assumes he got away with giving the story a comic
edge because none of the producers actually read the script.
David Prowse previously played Frankenstein's Monster in Casino Royale (1967).
This is the only Hammer "Frankenstein" film in which Peter Cushing does not appear.
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| The Triple H monster is about to lay the Smackdown. |
