Frankenstein (Hammer film series)

Frankenstein is the title of several horror-adventure films loosely based on the 1818 novel of the same name by Mary Shelley, centered on Baron Victor Frankenstein, who experiments in creating a creature beyond human.

Hammer Horror film series (1957–1974)

The original series of films consisted of seven installments, which starred iconic horror actors such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Baron Victor Frankenstein and his creature respectively. The series of films is part of the larger Hammer Horror series.

Year	Film	Baron Victor Frankenstein actor	The Creature actor
1957	The Curse of Frankenstein	Peter Cushing	Christopher Lee
1958	The Revenge of Frankenstein		Michael Gwynn	Peter Cushing
1964	The Evil of Frankenstein		Kiwi Kingston
1967	Frankenstein Created Woman		Susan Denberg
1969	Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed		Freddie Jones
1970	The Horror of Frankenstein	Ralph Bates	David Prowse
1974	Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell	Peter Cushing

Frankenstein
Directed by	Terence Fisher (1–2, 4–5, and 7) Freddie Francis (3) Jimmy Sangster (6)
Produced by	Anthony Hinds (1–3) Anthony Nelson Keys (4–5) Jimmy Sangster (6) Roy Skeggs (7)
Screenplay by	Jimmy Sangster (1–2 and 6) Anthony Hinds (3–4 and 7) Bert Batt (5) Jeremy Burnham (6)
Starring	Peter Cushing (1–5 and 7) Ralph Bates (6)
Music by	James Bernard (1, 4–5, and 7) Leonard Salzedo (2) Don Banks (3) Malcolm Williamson (6)
Edited by	James Needs (1, 3, and 7) Alfred Cox (2) Spencer Reeve (4) Gordon Hales Chris Barnes (6)
Production company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. (1) Columbia Pictures (2) Rank Film Distributors (3) Warner-Pathé Distributors (4) 20th Century Fox (4) Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (5) AVCO Embassy Pictures (6) Paramount Pictures (6) MGM-EMI Distributors (7) Continental Films (7)
Release date	1957–1974
Running time	634–643 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Producer Max Rosenberg originally approached Michael Carreras at Hammer Films with a deal to produce Frankenstein and the Monster (Rosenberg claims that he came up with the title) from a script by Milton Subotsky. Later, both men were cut out of their profit participation making only a $5000 fee for bringing the production to Hammer.[1] Rosenberg and Subotsky later established Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival in the production of horror films during the 1960s. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, who adapted Mary Shelley's novel for Hammer, never mentioned seeing Subotsky's script or being aware of Rosenberg's involvement. Sangster had worked as a production manager and said that he was keenly aware of production costs and kept the budget in mind when writing the script. Sangster said that his awareness of cost influenced him to not write scenes involving the villagers storming the castle that was typically seen in the Universal horror films "because we couldn't afford it". Sangster in an interview with film historian Jonathan Rigby indicated that he hadn't seen any of the Frankenstein films that Universal made. He just adapted the book "the way I saw it".[2]

Peter Cushing, who was then best known for his many high-profile roles in British television, had his first lead part in a film with The Curse of Frankenstein. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee's casting resulted largely from his height (6'5"), though Hammer had earlier considered the even taller (6'7") Bernard Bresslaw for the role. 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 for the 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.[3] The film opened at the London Pavilion on 2 May 1957 with an X certificate from the censors.

Hammer's first colour horror film, its worldwide success led to several sequels, the studio's new versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), and established "Hammer Horror" as a new distinctive brand of Gothic cinema.[4] [5]

Film	Rotten Tomatoes
The Curse of Frankenstein	78% (18 reviews)[6]
The Revenge of Frankenstein	87% (15 reviews)[7]
The Evil of Frankenstein	57% (7 reviews)[8]
Frankenstein Created Woman	67% (12 reviews)[9]
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed	70% (10 reviews)[10]
The Horror of Frankenstein	55% (11 reviews)[11]
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell	50% (6 reviews)[12]

• The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
  Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is a brilliant scientist willing to stop at nothing in his quest to reanimate a deceased body. After alienating his longtime friend and partner, Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart), with his extreme methods, Frankenstein assembles a hideous creature (Christopher Lee) out of dead body parts and succeeds in bringing it to life. But the monster is not as obedient or docile as Frankenstein expected, and it runs amok, resulting in murder and mayhem.
• The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
  With the help of Karl (Oscar Quitak), the crippled dwarf hangman, whom he promises a new body, Baron Frankenstein escapes from the guillotine and goes to Germany, where under the name Stein, alongside his eager young assistant Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews), they transplant Karl's brain into the new patchwork body (Michael Gwynn). The operation is successful but as the body's limbs begin to return to the old crippled positions of Karl, Karl escapes and goes on a cannibalistic rampage, calling out the name of "Frankenstein".
• The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
  Dr. Frankenstein returns destitute to his home village to recommence his experimental research into the reanimation of dead tissue, and stumbles upon his old monster (Kiwi Kingston) suspended in ice. Though he revives the creature, Frankenstein must seek the help of hypnotist Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) to repair its mind. Zoltan then assumes control of the monster, using him to wreak havoc. But when Frankenstein tries to regain power over his creation, he becomes Zoltan's next target.
• Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
  After being reanimated, Baron Frankenstein transfers the soul of his unjustly framed and guillotined assistant Hans (Robert Morris) into the body of his lover Christina (Susan Denberg) after she had subsequently committed suicide, prompting her, with his memory, to kill the men who wronged them and avenge their deaths.
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
  When Frankenstein, who looks forward to meet and work with former associate Dr. Frederick Brandt (George Pravda), learns about his unstable mind and subsequent confinement to a lunatic asylum, he decides to transplant Brandt's brain into another body (Freddie Jones) in an attempt to cure him, and to acquire the information behind a secret formula known only to him.
• The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
  A tongue-in-cheek black comedy chiller and remake of The Curse of Frankenstein about a ruthlessly sadistic student who will stop at nothing in pursuit of advancing his shocking scientific experiments, Young Victor Frankenstein (Ralph Bates) murders his own father (George Belbin) in order to inherit his title and fortune, and drops out of school to concentrate on his unholy attempts to resurrect the dead (David Prowse).
• Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
  Convicted of body-snatching, Dr. Simon Helder (Shane Briant) is sentenced to an insane asylum. On arrival, he recognizes the resident surgeon as the infamous Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), who has been hiding out there under the guise of Dr Carl Victor, discovering that Frankenstein has been assembling a new creature using the body of an insane murderer (David Prowse), the brain of a musical and mathematical genius (Charles Lloyd-Pack) and the hands of a sculptor (Bernard Lee). Unable to operate himself due to his hands having been burnt, Frankenstein has been relying on his mute assistant Sarah (Madeline Smith) to stitch the body parts together, now turning to Helder for help. After the operation is a success, the creature is torn between the conflicting aspects of itself – an intelligent, artistic person imprisoned in the body of a murderous hulk. Escaping from its cell, the creature then sets out to hunt down those who abused him – starting with the asylum’s corrupt director (John Stratton)…

Tales of Frankenstein television pilot

In 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot episode for a television series to be called Tales of Frankenstein, in association with Columbia Pictures, directed by Curt Siodmak. Anton Diffring played the Baron, and Don Megowan his creation. The series was scrapped, largely because of the two companies' disagreement over what the basic thrust of the series would be: Hammer wanted to do a series about Baron Frankenstein involved in various misadventures, while Columbia wanted a series of loosely-connected science fiction loosely based around the idea of science gone wrong. Though unreleased at the time of its production, the episode is available on DVD from several public domain sources. Though the series was never produced, Anthony Hinds commissioned several scripts that provided Hammer with material for their later Frankenstein films, specifically Frankenstein Created Woman and The Evil of Frankenstein.[13][14]

Feature films

Number	Title	Director	Release date	Continuity
1	The Curse of Frankenstein	Terence Fisher	May 2, 1957	Main series
2	The Revenge of Frankenstein		June 1, 1958
3	The Evil of Frankenstein	Freddie Francis	April 19, 1964
4	Frankenstein Created Woman	Terence Fisher	March 15, 1967
5	Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed		May 22, 1969
7	Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell		May 2, 1974
6	The Horror of Frankenstein	Jimmy Sangster	November 8, 1970	Remake

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

• A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
• A ^U indicates a uncredited role.
• A ^V indicates a voice-only role.
• A ^C indicates a cameo appearance.
• A ^P indicates the actor or actress portrayed their film character as possessed by another.
• A ^L indicates an appearance wherein an actor's facial features were digitally imprinted upon another actor's face.
• A ^Y indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
• An ^A indicates an appearance through archival footage, audio or stills.

Character	Hammer Horror series
	Main series						Remake
	The Curse of Frankenstein	The Revenge of Frankenstein	The Evil of Frankenstein	Frankenstein Created Woman	Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed	Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell	The Horror of Frankenstein
	1957	1958	1964	1967	1969	1974	1970
Baron Victor Frankenstein Doctor Victor Stein / Franck / Carl Victor	Peter Cushing Melvyn Hayes^Y	Peter Cushing					Ralph Bates
The Creature Herr Schneider / The Monster from Hell	Christopher Lee Jock Easton	Michael Gwynn Peter Cushing	Kiwi Kingston	Susan Denberg	Freddie Jones	David Prowse
Priest	Alex Gallier	Alex Gallier^U	James Maxwell	Colin Jeavons			Chris Lethbridge-Baker
Elizabeth Heiss	Hazel Court Sally Walsh^Y	Mentioned					Veronica Carlson
Schoolmaster	Henry Caine						Neil Wilson
Burgomaster of Karlstaad	Andrew Leigh		David Hutcheson
Burgomaster's Wife	Ann Blake		Caron Gardner
Fritz	Josef Behrmann	Lionel Jeffries
Doctor Hans Kleve		Francis Matthews	Sandor Elès	Robert Morris Stuart Middleton^U^Y Susan Denberg^P		Chris Cunningham
Doctor Karl Holst		Oscar Quitak Michael Gwynn		Barry Warren	Simon Ward
Professor Durendel President of the Medical Council		Charles Lloyd-Pack				Charles Lloyd-Pack
Landlord			Alister Williamson	Ivan Beavis		Jerold Wells
Chief of Police			Duncan Lamont	Peter Madden	Timothy Davies
Police Sergeant #1			Anthony Blackshaw		Allan Surtees
Police Sergeant #2			David Conville		Windsor Davies
Christina Kleve				Susan Denberg	Elizabeth Morgan
Dr. Paul Krempe	Robert Urquhart
Justine	Valerie Gaunt
Aunt Sophia	Noel Hood
Professor Bernstein	Paul Hardtmuth
Grandpa	Fred Johnson
Little Boy	Claude Kingston
Warder	Michael Mulcaster
Lecturer	Middleton Woods
Uncle	Raymond Ray
Margaret		Eunice Gayson
Bergman		John Welsh
Up Patient		Richard Wordsworth
Janitor		George Woodbridge
Kurt		Michael Ripper
Zoltan			Peter Woodthorpe
Rena			Katy Wild
Drunk			Howard Goorney
Doctor Hertz				Thorley Walters
Anton				Peter Blythe
Johann				Derek Fowlds
The Prisoner Hans' Father				Duncan Lamont
Kleve				Alan MacNaughtan
Mayor				Philip Ray
Bystander				Bartlett Mullins
Spokesman				Alec Mango
Anna Spengler					Veronica Carlson
Dr. Frederick Brandt					George Pravda Freddie Jones
Professor Richter					Freddie Jones
Inspector Frisch					Thorley Walters
Ella Brandt					Maxine Audley
Police Doctor					Geoffrey Bayldon
Madwoman					Colette O'Neil
Guest - Plumber					Frank Middlemass
Guest - Smoking pipe					Norman Shelley
Guest - Reading newspaper					Michael Gover
Guest - Playing chess					George Belbin
Principal					Peter Copley
Dr. Heidecke					Jim Collier
Dr. Simon Helder						Shane Briant
Sarah "Angel" Klauss						Madeline Smith
Asylum Director Adolf Klauss						John Stratton
Transvest						Michael Ward
Wild One						Elsie Wagstaff
Police Sergeant						Norman Mitchell
Judge						Clifford Mollison
Bodysnatcher						Patrick Troughton
Ernst						Philip Voss
Brassy Girl						Andria Lawrence
Old Hag						Lucy Griffiths
Tarmut						Bernard Lee
Muller						Sydney Bromley
Gerda						Sheila Dunion
Twitch						Mischa de la Motte
Smiler						Norman Atkyns
Letch						Victor Woolf
Mouse						Winifred Sabine
Chatter						Janet Hargreaves
Coach Driver						Peter Madden
Alys							Kate O'Mara
The Graverobber							Dennis Price
Lieutenant Henry Becker							Jon Finch
Professor Heiss							Bernard Archard
Wilhelm Kassner							Graham James
Bailiff							James Hayter
Graverobber's Wife							Joan Rice
Stephan							Stephen Turner
Dean							James Cossins
Maggie							Glenys O'Brien
Instructor							Geoffrey Lumsden
First Bandit							Terry Duggan
Baron Frankenstein I							George Belbin
Woodsman							Hal Jeayes
Woodsman's Daughter							Carol Jeayes
Workman							Michael Goldie

Crew

Crew/detail	Film
	Main series						Remake
	The Curse of Frankenstein	The Revenge of Frankenstein	The Evil of Frankenstein	Frankenstein Created Woman	Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed	Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell	The Horror of Frankenstein
	1957	1958	1964	1967	1969	1974	1970
Director(s)	Terence Fisher		Freddie Francis	Terence Fisher			Jimmy Sangster
Producer(s)	Anthony Hinds			Anthony Nelson Keys		Roy Skeggs
Writer(s)	Jimmy Sangster		Anthony Hinds	Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)	Bert Batt	Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)	Jimmy Sangster Jeremy Burnham
Composer(s)	James Bernard	Leonard Salzedo	Don Banks	James Bernard			Malcolm Williamson
Editor(s)	James Needs	Alfred Cox	James Needs	Spencer Reeve	Gordon Hales	James Needs	Chris Barnes
Cinematographer	Jack Asher		John Wilcox	Arthur Grant		Brian Probyn	Moray Grant
Production companies	Hammer Film Productions
Distributor(s)	Warner Bros.	Columbia Pictures	Rank Film Distributors	Warner-Pathé Distributors (UK)	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts	AVCO Embassy Pictures (UK)	MGM-EMI Distributors (UK)
				20th Century Fox (US & Worldwide)		Paramount Pictures (US)	Continental Films (US & Worldwide)
Runtime	83 minutes	89 minutes	84 minutes	92 minutes (uncut, US) 86 minutes (cut, UK)	101 minutes (uncut, US) 98 minutes (cut, UK)	99 minutes	95 minutes
Release date	May 2, 1957	June 1, 1958	April 19, 1964	March 15, 1967	May 22, 1969	May 2, 1974	November 8, 1970

References

Citations

1. Interview with Max Rosenberg for the Blu-ray of "Asylum", December 2017
2. "The British Entertainment History Project - Jimmy Sangster -". historyproject.org.uk.
3. Rigby, Jonathan (2000). English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-01-3.
4. Sinclair McKay (2007) A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films
5. "BFI Screenonline: Hammer Film Productions Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
6. "The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
7. "The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
8. "The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
9. "Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
10. "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
11. "The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
12. "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
13. Meikle 2008, p. 58-60.
14. Meikle 2008, p. 139.

Sources

• Meikle, Dennis (2008), A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer (Revised ed.), Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0810863812