The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (writer)

Release Date:

8 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

He's never been more shocking! shocking! shocking!

Plot:

Penniless, Baron Frankenstein, accompanied by his eager assistant Hans, arrives at his family castle near the town of Karlstaad...

Plot Keywords:

Baron | Frankenstein | Police | Fire | Murder

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Baron Frankenstein
Peter Woodthorpe	...	Prof. Zoltán the Hypnotist
Duncan Lamont	...	Karlstaad Chief of Police
Sandor Elès	...	Hans, Frankenstein's Assistant
Katy Wild	...	Beggar Girl
David Hutcheson	...	Burgomaster of Karlstaad
James Maxwell	...	Priest
Howard Goorney	...	Drunk
Anthony Blackshaw	...	Policeman
David Conville	...	Policeman
Caron Gardner	...	Burgomaster's Wife
Kiwi Kingston	...	The Creature

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

France:-12 | Australia:M (2008) | Finland:(Banned) (1965) | Sweden:15 | UK:X | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

When first shown on television in 1968, some theatrical scenes were replaced by less intense scenes filmed by another director and with extra actors included.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Baron Frankenstein first sees the monster frozen in the ice, he calls out to his assistant. At first he calls out what sounds to be Alex, or more likely Elès (the name of the actor playing Hans). When he calls the name out the second time, he calls out "Hans" (the actual character name).

Quotes:

Baron Frankenstein: I realized long ago that the only way to prove my theories was to make something in my laboratory that actually lived. I never told you, Hans... I succeeded once.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (1999) (V)

Possibly the least out of the series but it's still entertaining, especially for fans of course.

Out of the long running Frankenstein-series from the Hammer Studio's, starring Peter Cushing, this movie might very well be the least one. For the fans of the series and Hammer movies in general it still remains a more than good watch though. It's entertaining, especially if you're into these type of movies and it of course has Peter Cushing in it to spice up some things as well.

What makes this movie not as good as the other ones from the series is its story and approach. It just doesn't pick a very interesting story, that somehow involves hypnoses. Of course it's quite difficult to come up with something original each time for every Frankenstein movie by the Hammer Studio's but that doesn't mean you can just get away with putting in some new original stuff when it just simply doesn't work out too well for the story. Luckily the movie starts to become more 'Hammer-like' toward its ending, when the monsters gets on the loose again and causing death and mayhem, as usual.

The movie of course doesn't feature a lot of horror and mostly has to settle with its atmosphere. The movie has a typical Hammer look and feeling all over it. The movie its look is almost pathetically cheap at times but this is part of what makes Hammer movies such charming ones to watch.

Peter Cushing is good as always as the well known baron but you also feel that he just didn't had the best material to work with. He doesn't always control his character well enough it seems, which can be blamed on the movie its writing. Director Freddie Francis also does his usual stuff, with his first and only Frankenstein movie he directed for the Hammer studio's Frankenstein-series, though he also later did some movies which involved the baron and creature, such as for instance "Son of Dracula".

It's not the best the series has to offer but for the fans this still simply remains a must-see!

7/10