Curse of Frankenstein

Can a movie about such a familiar monster as Frankenstein filmed in 1957 still be scary?


Why yes, yes it can.

In the past week or so I've introduced to you the glories of Hammer studios take on Dracula and the Werewolf. Today I sat down and watched the Curse of Frankenstein with my kids. The movie stars Hammer familiars Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. The movie came out in 1957, in color, and was Hammer's first take on one of the classic monsters. In watching the movie, I've learned a couple of things this time around that I thought were interesting enough to share.






First off... the differences. The most famous interpretation of the Frankenstein novel is Boris Karloff's version from Universal studios in 1931. It's the first movie I show in the Dill household every October. It's moody, familiar, and it's a different story than what you'll find in the novel. The strong elements are there, but there are a lot of details that are different. First and foremost, the monster speaks in the novel. It's a thinking, speaking thing.

I learned from IMDB trivia about the Curse of Frankenstein that Universal studios were very concerned about Hammer's horror efforts. It seems they were still making money booking both Dracula and Frankenstein in theaters back then. They warned Hammer that if their movie was too close to the classic Universal movie that there would be a subsequent lawsuit. In fact, Hammer's original script WAS too close to the Universal version and had to be re-written.



Two things grab my attention about what I just wrote. The first is that the power and influence of the original 1931 Frankenstein movie is so great that it's become the Frankenstein story that people want, not the original by Mary Shelley.

Second, is my casual couch-research using IMDB to find this fact.

When I was in college the biggest thing that stymied my analysis and paper-writing ability was the research. I hated it. Hated the time spent in the library hopelessly trying to find facts for my topics. Today, it's simplicity itself. Now when I watch movies it's always with my iPad close by and the IMDB app open. I'm able to put some things in context with dates, actors, and the trivia section from IMDB. More importantly as a parent, I'm able to use IMDB's parental guide to know what my kids can and can't watch. I don't necessarily have to rely on memory to make sure that a scene I wouldn't want my 13 year old to see is only seconds away.


In my opinion, this is one of the reasons that I think of 2012 as a golden age for enjoying entertainment of the past.






In Hammer's version of Frankenstein, the movie is almost entirely about Dr. Frankenstein, played by Peter Cushing. Cushing gives a fantastic performance and Lee's scenes as the monster are few and far between. The audience starts out sympathizing with young Victor, and slowly over the course of the movie are turned cold towards the horrific acts of Dr. Frankenstein. This is one of the primary reasons I really find it to be a magnetic movie.





The look of the monster is very different from Karloff's monster. But the performances are similar and the reveal moment of the monster is pivotal, just as it is in the Universal classic.








Another thing that's interesting to me is just how horrific the movie can be if you're willing to put a little thought into it. Today's horror movies don't expect any effort from the audience and try to shock with gore, spook with imagery, or startle with a jump scare. In Curse of Frankenstein there's a scene where Dr. Frankenstein rushes home in excitement, eager to speak with his assistant Paul. He pulls Paul into his work room and, like a kid on Christmas morning, shows Paul two severed hands that he stole from a recently deceased artist. Paul stares at Victor in concerned revulsion. Victor is too excited to notice. It's through the character Paul that we as the audience take our cues that it's time to stop sympathizing with Dr. Frankenstein and time to start regarding him as what he's become... a monster.





So can a movie from 1957 about a creature so well known as the Frankenstein monster be scary? The answer lies in how much of yourself are you willing to put into it.


Or maybe just how old you are?

Thanks,
DCD