The Curse of Frankenstein
original film poster
Directed by	Terence Fisher
Produced by	Anthony Hinds Max Rosenberg
Written by	Jimmy Sangster
Starring	Peter Cushing Christopher Lee Hazel Court Robert Urquhart
Music by	James Bernard
Cinematography	Jack Asher, B.S.C.
Editing by	James Needs
Distributed by	Hammer Film Productions
Release date(s)	May 2, 1957
Running time	83 min.
Country	UK
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 (estimated)
Followed by	The Revenge of Frankenstein
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was Hammer's first colour film, and the first of their Frankenstein series. Its worldwide success led to several sequels, and the studio's new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959) and established "Hammer Horror" as a distinctive brand of Gothic cinema ^[1]. The film was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Lee and Cushing would both go on to enjoy long film careers, usually as the protagonists in other films of the same genre. Image File history File links Curseoffrankenstein. ... Terence Fisher (February 23, 1904 - June 18, 1980), was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Max Rosenberg (September 13, 1914-June 14, 2004) was a film producer, mostly of horror or supernatural films such as Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Land That Time Forgot (1975), and its sequel, The People That Time Forgot (1977). ... Jimmy Sangster is a British screenwriter and director born on 2nd December 1924. ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Hazel Court (born February 10, 1926 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England) is a green-eyed, redheaded British actress who is known for her roles in horror films during the 1950s. ... Urquhart outside his headquarters during Operation Market Garden. ... James Bernard was a British film composer born in 1925 and dying in 2001. ... New company logo as introduced in May 2007 A poster for Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 film made by Hammer Film Productions. ... The year 1957 in film involved some significant events. ... New company logo as introduced in May 2007 A poster for Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). ... This article is about the 1818 novel. ... Dracula is a 1958 British horror film, and the first of a series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. ... Jan. ... The Mummy is a 1959 British Hammer Horror film starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hammer horror refers to a series of gothic horror films produced from the late 1950s until the 1970s by the British film production company Hammer Film Productions Ltd. ... The gothic novel is an English literary genre, which can be said to have been born with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. ... Terence Fisher (February 23, 1904 - June 18, 1980), was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. ... Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... A genre [], (French: kind or sort from Greek: γένος (genos)) is a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of art or utterance. ...

Plot synopsis

The film starts with Baron Victor Frankenstein, in prison awaiting execution for murder, where he tells the story of his life to a priest. After succeeding to his father's estate at a young age, he is mentored by Paul Krempe. As Victor grows up, the two become great friends, and they eventually collaborate on the Baron's scientific experiments. One night, they successfully bring a dead dog back to life. Victor suggests that now they must create life from scratch, but Krempe withdraws when Victor suggests using human body-parts. Victor does eventually succeed in bringing a body he made to life utilising a corpse found swinging on a gallows and a brain stolen from a morgue. Unfortunately, the creature Frankenstein creates is both violent and psychotic due to its brain having been damaged before being implanted. The creature is locked up but escapes and goes on a killing spree before being destroyed in an acid bath. Frankenstein is imprisoned for the death of a girl. He implores the returning Krempe to testify that it was the creature that killed the girl, but Krempe refuses and Victor Frankenstein is led away to be executed for his crimes. Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ...

Production

Universal fought hard to prevent Hammer from duplicating aspects of their 1931 film, and so it was down to make-up artist Phil Leakey to design a new-look creature bearing no resemblance to the Boris Karloff original created by Jack Pierce. Production of The Curse of Frankenstein began, with an investment of £65,000, on 19 November 1956 at Bray Studios with a scene showing Baron Frankenstein cutting down a highwayman from a wayside gibbet.^[2] The film opened at the London Pavilion on May 2nd 1957 with an X certificate from the censors. A gallery of classic Universal monsters Universal Horror is the name given to the distinctive series of horror films made by Universal Studios in California from the 1920s through to the 1950s. ... Frankenstein is a 1931 science fiction film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. ... Phil Leakeys makeup for Christopher Lee as the Creature in 1957s The Curse of Frankenstein. ... Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt) (London, November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969) was an English actor, who immigrated to Canada in the 1910s, best known for his roles in horror films and the creation of Frankensteins monster in 1931s Frankenstein. ... Jack Pierce (May 5, 1889 in Greece – July 19, 1968), born Janus Piccoulas, was a Hollywood make-up artist most famous for creating the iconic make-up worn by Boris Karloff in Universal Studios 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bray Studios is a film and television studio next to the River Thames near Windsor, England. ... Facade of the London Pavilion in 2002 The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street in the northeast of Piccadilly Circus in London. ... X-rated, X certificate, X classification or similar terms are labels for movies implying strong adult content, typically pornography or violence. ...

Significance

The Curse of Frankstein is important for a number of reasons. The film began Hammer's tradition of horror film-making. It also marked the beginning of a Gothic horror revival in the cinema on both sides of the Atlantic, paralleling the rise to fame of Universal's Dracula and Frankenstein series in the 1930s. The level of gore and violence was pioneering, and much condemned at the time — although this film, and Fisher/Hammer's subsequent Gothic horrors, can be seen as the forebear of the modern horror film. Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole The gothic novel was a literary genre that belonged to Romanticism and began in the United Kingdom with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. ... This article is about the novel. ...

Hammer's version of Frankenstein differed from Universal's in several important ways:

• the films were in colour, not black-and-white,
• the focus was on the Baron rather than the creature,
• Frankenstein was assisted by young men eager for greater knowledge rather than hunchbacks (like Fritz in Frankenstein (1931)).

The film's structure also opens it up to an interesting interpretation, that being that the story of the creature is nothing more than an hallucination of Baron Frankenstein's. The majority of the film takes place as a flashback, with the Baron relating the story to his friend Paul, which means that this version of the truth of the murders for which the Baron is condemned might be taking place only in his own mind. This is reinforced by Paul's comment to Elizabeth -- who had been the Baron's fiance -- at the end of the film, that there is nothing more they can do for him. Taken one way, they can't help him avoid the guillotine. Taken another way, Paul is cynically sacrificing the Baron (and the truth about the creature's existence) so he can run off with Elizabeth. Taken a third way, Paul recognizes that the Baron is hopelessly insane, and is guilty of the murders, despite his desire to blame them on his imaginary creature. No subsequent Hammer horror film had this level of ambiguity. Frankenstein is a 1931 science fiction film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. ...

This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Friday, 30 November 2007.

Image File history File links Curseoffrankenstein1957-1. ... Image File history File links Curseoffrankenstein1957-1. ...

Critical Reception

When it was first released The Curse of Frankenstein outraged many reveiwers. Dilys Powell of the Sunday Times regretted that such productions left her unable to 'defend the cinema against the charge that it debases' whilst the Tribune opined that the film was 'Depressing and degrading for anyone who loves the cinema'. The film however was very popular with the public and today directors such as Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton have paid tribute to how the movie has influenced their work^[3] Dilys Powell (1901 - June 3, 1995) was a film critic and scholar of Ancient Greek. ... The Sunday Times is the name of several Sunday newspapers. ... Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2-3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. ... Timothy Tim William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated American film director, writer and designer notable for the quirky and gothic atmosphere of his films. ...

Cast

• Peter Cushing (Baron Victor Frankenstein)
• Hazel Court (Elizabeth)
• Robert Urquhart (Paul Krempe)
• Christopher Lee (The Creature)
• Valerie Gaunt (Justine)
• Noel Hood (Aunt Sophia)
• Melvyn Hayes (Young Victor)

Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE, (26 May 1913-11 August 1994) was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite his close friend Christopher Lee. ... Hazel Court (born February 10, 1926 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England) is a green-eyed, redheaded British actress who is known for her roles in horror films during the 1950s. ... Robert Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who mainly worked in British television during his career. ... For other persons named Christopher Lee, see Christopher Lee (disambiguation). ... Melvyn Hayes is an English actor, born 11 January 1935. ...

Credits

• Directed by Terence Fisher
• Screenplay by Jimmy Sangster, based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Produced by Michael Carreras

Terence Fisher (February 23, 1904 - June 18, 1980), was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. ... Jimmy Sangster is a British screenwriter and director born on 2nd December 1924. ... Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (née Godwin) (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English romantic/gothic novelist and the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Michael Carreras (b. ...

Additional crew

• Cinematographer Jack Asher, B.S.C.
• Music James Bernard
• Production Designer Bernard Robinson
• Editor James Needs

James Bernard was a British film composer born in 1925 and dying in 2001. ... Bernard Robinson was born in Liverpool, England in 1912 and died in 1970. ...

Quotes

"In some ways I see Frankenstein as rather like Dr Robert Knox, the anatomist, not as villain, but as someone trying to make people understand that this envelope that we live in for three score years and ten is not important... [He] had to close his one good eye to the way Burke and Hare supplied him with cadavers so that he could show how the human body ticks for the good of all mankind... I have always based my playing of Frankenstein on Robert Knox, though with variations based on the demands of the script and differing degrees of ruthlessness because no one will ever leave him alone to work." — Peter Cushing.^[4]

Robert Knox (4 September 1791 — 20 December 1862) was a doctor, natural scientist and traveller. ...

Sequels

• The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
• The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
• Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
• The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
• Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973)

The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 film made by Hammer Film Productions. ... Jan. ... The Evil of Frankenstein is a 1963 British horror film directed for Hammer Horror directed by Freddie Francis. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer Horror film directed by Terence Fisher. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Freddie Jones as the Creature in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions in 1969. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Peter Cushing in his final appearance as the Baron in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ...

Trivia

• The script was novelized by John Burke as part of his The Hammer Horror Omnibus paperback in 1966.

For other men with the same name, see John Burke (disambiguation). ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Sinclair McKay (2007) A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films
2. ^ Rigby, Jonathan, (2000). English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-01-3. 
3. ^ Sinclair McKay (2007) A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films: 1
4. ^ *Haining, Peter, (1994). Peter Cushing's Monster Movies. Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7090-5455-6. 

External links

• The Curse of Frankenstein at the Internet Movie Database
• The Curse of Frankenstein at All Movie Guide
• BFI Screenonline article
• Britmovie article

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