Frankenstein General Hospital (1988)

Director:

Deborah Sahagun

Writers:

Robert Deel (writer)
Michael Kelly (writer)

Release Date:

March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Everyone spoils their first monster

Plot:

A mad doctor puts together a new body by using body parts he steals from a mortuary at the hospital where he works.

Plot Keywords:

Sexy Nurse | Frankenstein's Monster | Doctor Frankenstein | Dominatrix | Female Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mark Blankfield	...	Dr. Bob Frankenstein
Leslie Jordan	...	Iggy
Jonathan Farwell	...	Dr. Frank Reutgar
Kathy Shower	...	Dr. Alice Singleton
Irwin Keyes	...	The Monster
Hamilton Mitchell	...	Dr. Andrew Dixon
Lou Cutell	...	Dr. Saperstein
Katie Caple	...	Nurse Verna
Dorothy Patterson	...	Mildred Pennys
Mark DeCarlo	...	Dr. Skip
Harry Murphy	...	Dr. Biff
Bunky Jones	...	Elizabeth Rice (as Rebunkah Jones)
Joleen Lutz	...	Candy Striper Patty
Jessica Puscas	...	Cindy Swanson
Ben Stein	...	Dr. Who

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:R

Company:

New Star Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Matinee (1989) (TV)

The horror spoof equivalent to Fozzie Bear

On balance, it must be said that I had heard a lot of terrible things about Frankenstein General Hospital before purchasing it, some of which were absolutely right, like that it relies more on Young Frankenstein than it does Mary Shelley's original novel, and some of which were bold-faced lies, like that it's the worst Frankenstein film ever made. I have seen far worse Frankenstein films, like Jerry Warren's Frankenstein Island. This film is a very poor man's Young Frankenstein set in a Los Angeles General Hospital with volume on the sexual puns turned way up. It deals with Mark Blankfield's Dr. Bob Frankenstein, with the help of his dwarf assistant Iggy, creating a new Monster (Irwin Keyes) in his black and white laboratory in the basement of a Los Angeles General Hospital run by a bunch of money hungry, sex-starved nitwits.

When I say Frankenstein General Hospital is the horror spoof equivalent to Fozzie Bear, I mean it's so unfunny that it's fun to watch, particularly on a double-video bill with Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks' masterpiece. The best things about this movie are Mark Blankfield, Leslie Jordan as Iggy and Irwin Keyes as the Monster, who are trying the best they can to make you forget you're watching a cheap Young Frankenstein knock-off (and thanks to them, you almost want to). Most people have accused Blankfield and Keyes of ripping off Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle respectively, but I'm guessing they realized this was what they were supposed to do. It's not really all that funny, but give it a chance before you call it the worst Frankenstein movie ever made (if you can find it).

However, charming actors and a few clever bits like having the basement lab in B&W with everything else in color and the Monster's visit with a blind girl in the hospital can't save the movie from its' major problem: It is a Frankenstein parody set in a hospital. A good rule of thumb when you're making a parody of hospitals, I mean aside from DON'T DO IT, IT WON'T WORK, HOSPITALS ARE NOT FUNNY, is that if it is also a parody of something else like the horror or action genre, you must concentrate on one type of joke or the other.