The Curse of Frankenstein was a monster smash at the UK box office. A low budget, colourful and Gothic re-telling of the Frankenstein story. Less baroque that the later Kenneth Branagh version of the 1990s this was the film that began the reputation of Hammer horror films.
Christopher Lee plays the revived monster a world away from the flat headed and flat footed Boris Karloff whose makeup was trademarked to Universal Pictures.
The real monster is Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein, an obsessive scientist, unethical and a cold blooded murderer. He performs medical experiments with his friend Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) to reanimate tissue. Whereas Krempe has doubts, Frankenstein has none.
In fact the viewer has little sympathy for any of the main characters. Krempe damages the brain that Frankenstein has procured, the result is a homicidal monster. Krempe can never get away from his former pupil and you know he is attracted to his fiancée.
The film is more melodramatic than horror but its very flawed. Their are good production values, it is colourful. The scene where the old professor takes a plunge is well photographed but the constant argument between Krempe and Frankenstein gets irritating.
Christopher Lee plays the revived monster a world away from the flat headed and flat footed Boris Karloff whose makeup was trademarked to Universal Pictures.
The real monster is Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein, an obsessive scientist, unethical and a cold blooded murderer. He performs medical experiments with his friend Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) to reanimate tissue. Whereas Krempe has doubts, Frankenstein has none.
In fact the viewer has little sympathy for any of the main characters. Krempe damages the brain that Frankenstein has procured, the result is a homicidal monster. Krempe can never get away from his former pupil and you know he is attracted to his fiancée.
The film is more melodramatic than horror but its very flawed. Their are good production values, it is colourful. The scene where the old professor takes a plunge is well photographed but the constant argument between Krempe and Frankenstein gets irritating.