Movie Review: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) directed by Terence Fisher

Fourteen-year old orphan Victor Frankenstein uses the family fortune to hire a tutor named Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) to help him plumb the depths of science. Over the years they finally get to the point where they can restore life to a dead dog. Krempe wants to publish the results and use their skills to help out humanity. Frankenstein wants to take the next step before publishing. That step is restoring a human to life. But not just any human--he wants to make one with the hands of an artist, the physique of an athlete, and the brain of a genius. Which means putting various parts together. Krempe reluctantly goes along. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's cousin Elizabeth (Hazel Court) shows up and is expecting to marry her cousin because it was arranged long ago. Frankenstein welcomes her into the house but puts off the wedding. He's been having an affair with the house maid (Valerie Gaunt), so his questionable judgment isn't limited to grave robbing and bizarre medical practices. Krempe stops helping with the experiments due to his horror at what's happening and in hope of protecting Elizabeth. Frankenstein succeeds without him, though the creature (Christopher Lee) does not turn out to be a perfect specimen of humanity. In fact, keeping him from killing everyone he meets is a full-time occupation.

This movie revitalized the Hammer Studios horror film series. The story is a bit closer to the original novel than Universal's 1930s movie. But not too close. The monster is much less a character than a force of nature; he has none of the pathos of Karloff's creature. The makeup is horrifying and in full color, so he is definitely scary looking. The real villain is Frankenstein, who pursues his life-crafting mission in spite of all the other warnings he gets about what he is doing. His methods are clearly corrupt, bribing morgue workers for fresh parts and even killing for good brains. Cushing gives a good portrayal of a man as obsessed with himself as with his work. The production quality is good but not great. I'm sure the horror budgets got bigger after the success of this movie. I was entertained but not wowed by this film.

Slightly recommended.