Blackenstein (1973)

 Eddie is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine, but a brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs. Unfortunately an insanely jealous assistant (who has fallen in love with Eddie's fiance) switches Eddie's DNA injections, transforming him into a gigantic killer. Written by Scott Murdock IMDB

It's Blackenstein and to stop this mutha takes one bad brutha.  He's no jive turkey.  This film was created after the success of Blacula.  The film is awful.  Not even Dr. Frankenstein himself could bring this dud of a film to life. The only film worse in human history is "Orgy Of The Dead". 

The film was directed by William A. Levey and he throws every mad scientist/Frankenstein cliche that he can possibly think of.  The film takes place in Los Angeles.  I've been there many times and never witnessed a thunder storm....but somehow they have huge thunderstorms nightly in this film.  There are bubbling cauldrons in the lab, electric flashes everywhere.  But right smack dab in the middle of the film we have a comedian telling some corny ass jokes about a talking dog.  We get terrifying spooky music as characters walk leisurely from place to place with no action happening at all.  Somehow Blackenstein can escape the house at night, kill some folks and get back by morning without anyone noticing...not even Dr. Stein.  (Yes that is really the good doctor's name)

What you talking bout Blackenstein?

But as bad as all of the above is, the worst is the acting.  I defy you to find a film with worse acting. I don't think any of these actors ever worked again. Joe De Sue delivers some of the most emotionless lines I've ever heard before he turns into a bloated Gary Coleman looking monster.  What you talking bout Blackenstein?  I'm talking about the sets being cheap, the lighting terrible and a five minute long shot of Blackenstein leaving the castle with his arms outstretched.

You can't shoot Blackenstein son.....

For some reason Blackenstein takes out his victims intestines and eats them.  Dr. Stein must not be feeding him properly. Some films fall into the "so bad it's good" category.  This one is borderline.  You might have to smoke a couple joints and pop some pills to make it through this one with good spirits.  The ending really does go to the dogs.  If you must see it for yourself, check out Netflix.  It's there.

Kevin Booker
Trivia:
The set used for Dr. Stein's lab uses items from Universal's original Frankenstein

Eddie's arms and legs were blown off by a land mine. When he is unloaded from the ambulance at Dr. Stein's home, his legs and feet are clearly visible underneath the sheet.

The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

In prison and awaiting execution, Dr. Victor Frankenstein recounts to a priest what led him to his current circumstance. He inherited his family's wealth after the death of his mother when he was still only a young man. He hired Paul Krempe as his tutor and he immediately developed an interest in medical science. After several years, he and Krempe became equals and he developed an interest in the origins and nature of life. After successfully re-animating a dead dog, Victor sets about constructing a man using body parts he acquires for the purpose including the hands of a pianist and the brain of a renowned scholar. As Frankenstein's excesses continue to grow, Krempe is not only repulsed by what his friend has done but is concerned for the safety of the beautiful Elizabeth, Victor's cousin and fiancée who has come to live with them. His experiments lead to tragedy and his eventual demise. By garykmcd

The Curse of Frankenstein was Hammer’s first color horror film and set the stage for a run of classic gothic horror pictures. It was a worldwide success which led to the studio’s own versions of Dracula and The Mummy.  When released, the film drew poor reviews, which further proves that reviewers really don’t know shit, myself excluded.  Thank god the public didn’t share this view. Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton have both sung the movie’s praises and have cited it as an influence on their own work. 

This film introduces us to a duo that became legendary in the horror genre:  Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. As Baron Frankenstein, Cushing delivers an incredible performance and makes the character his own.  This isn’t Colin Clive, who played the good doctor in Universal’s Frankenstein, babbling about “it’s alive” and feeling sorry for himself.  Cushing’s Frankenstein is banging the maid and not above killing to get the parts he needs to create life.  In fact, Baron Frankenstein is the real source of horror in this movie.  Lee’s role is minor in comparison but he does give a decent performance.  But in his defense, it would be hard for anybody to top Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster and this creature was portrayed completely different. While Universal made the monster sympathetic, Hammer’s monster was a symbol of the evil and corruption of Baron Frankenstein.  In continuing with comparisons, while Universal switched up doctors throughout their movies, Hammer instead focused on the complex character of the doctor and changed up on the monsters.  Curse of Frankenstein also throws a change up on the cliché of the mad doctor’s assistant. It’s no longer a hunchback or displeasing visual character but instead is the Baron’s former teacher and the voice of reason over the immoral acts that Frankenstein is engaging in.

Terrance Fisher directed the movie and went on to become one of the prominent horror directors in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century.  Although not as heavy in Curse of Frankenstein, Fisher was the first to have sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films.  This is common place in films now, but for that time it was definitely groundbreaking.  The screenplay was written by Jimmy Sangster and this was the first of many team-ups with Fisher.  In fact, this collaboration may be just as important as the Lee/Cushing duo at Hammer. (Let’s also mention that Sangster wrote the Horror In The Heights episode from the original Night Stalker series:  One of my favorite TV series and a huge inspiration to the future X-Files)   The duo also collaborated The Horror of Dracula, The Mummy and Brides Of Dracula. 

I also want to give a mention to makeup artist Phil Leaky.  Although his makeup isn’t as iconic as what the legendary Jack Pierce created for Karloff, it is actually much more realistic. It actually looks like the monster went through surgery and was pieced together from various dead bodies. And with this being one the first color horror films, it had to have an effect on an audience not used to seeing something this graphic. 

Having just viewed this movie again, I must say that it holds up today.  It showcases what made Hammer so great during that golden era.  The mood, the atmosphere and the rich color make this a perfect example of everything that made Hammer horror movies so special.  If you’re unfamiliar and wish to discover what the term “Gothic Horror” symbolizes, this is the movie to start with. 

Critic R. D. Smith proclaimed, “For all lovers of the cinema, only two words describe this film – Depressing, Degrading!”  To you Mr. Smith I say, Kiss My Ass.

- Kevin Booker

CAST:

• Peter Cushing as Baron Victor von Frankenstein
• Christopher Lee as The Creature
• Hazel Court as Elizabeth
• Robert Urquhart as Dr. Paul Krempe
• Valerie Gaunt as Justine
• Noel Hood as Aunt Sophia
• Melvyn Hayes as Young Victor
• Paul Hardtmuth as Professor Bernstein
• Fred Johnson as Grandpa

TRIVIA: 

For many years this held the distinction of being the most profitable film to be produced in England by a British studio.

The first Frankenstein movie to be filmed in color, from November 19 1956- January 3 1957.

The idea originated with Milton Subotsky, who went on to co-found Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival during the 1960s and early 1970s. The script was revised several times to avoid repeating any elements from the Universal Frankenstein series. As part of this effort, new monster make-up had to be devised especially for this film.

Christopher Lee's monster make-up was almost literally done at the "last minute". After previous attempts to design a monster make-up using a cast of Lee's head had failed, make-up artist Philip Leakey made the final design the day before shooting began, directly onto Lee's face, using primarily cotton and other household materials. Since he didn't use any latex or molds, the make-up had to be recreated from scratch every day.

Although they had both previously appeared in Hamlet and Moulin Rouge, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing met on the set of this film for the first time. They would pass the time between shots by exchanging Looney Tunes phrases, and quickly developed a fast friendship, which lasted until Cushing's death in 1994.

QUOTES:

Baron Frankenstein: Let's let our friend here rest in peace... while he can.

Baron Frankenstein: I've harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!

Priest: Perhaps you'd better start from the beginning.  (Anybody that has heard the beginning of White Zombie’s song Electric Head Part 1, will recognize this immediately when it’s said)

Baron Frankenstein: Pass the marmalade Elizabeth.

The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

 You Can't Stop Love.

The central, perhaps deliberate, irony in James Wale's masterpiece The Bride of Frankenstein is that Frankenstein's creation is called the Monster.  The Monster, unforgettably played again by the great Boris Karloff, is one of the least monstrous characters in the film.  He is surrounded by people more sinister, or at least more misguided, than he, yet everyone in the film fears and loathes him, even his prospective bride.  In addition to offering chills, humor, and satire, The Bride of Frankenstein also provides a searing indictment of man's inhumanity to man.  This is just one the factors that help it become, in this author's opinion, the best horror film of the 1930s.

The film opens with Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton), and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon) discussing Mary's novel Frankenstein.  She then tells them that there was more to the saga, and then proceeds to tell us the story of this film.  We see that the Monster did not die, but managed to escape to the hut of a blind hermit (O.P. Heggie) who becomes the only friend in his life.  Meanwhile, the evil Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) is able to tempt Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) to assist him in creating a new Monster, a female to be a mate to the original Monster.  When she is brought to life, her reaction to the Monster causes him to destroy the lab and everyone in it.

This is a magnificent film!  Script, direction, acting, and cinematography are all near perfect.  In some ways, it is more true to the spirit of the original novel than the first film.  The scene with the hermit is based on an episode in the novel, and the Monster's ability to actually speak is also similar to the novel (although in the novel the Monster speaks almost like a philosopher, as opposed to the few words he learns in this film).  It also makes clear the idea that the Monster is driven to his violent deeds by the cruelty of the world to him.  As mentioned earlier, the Monster is most definitely not a monster in this film.  In fact, he is more of a victim (first of the mob, and later of Pretorius) than a predator in this film.  Although it only does so in brief periods, The Bride of Frankenstein on more than one occasion presents Mary Shelley's original concept of the Creature as a being that is driven to violence by society at large.

James Whale uses all the tools at his disposal to translate this tale, adapted for the screen by William Hurlbut and John L. Balderston, to vibrant life.  More than once Whale uses religious imagery for either ironic or sincere purposes.  Early on the mob captures the Monster and hoists him up onto a pole, tying his hands above him.  He is used here in an obvious Christ parallel, wherein ignorant and vicious villagers blindly sacrifice the Monster to assuage all of their fears.  Later in the film, as the Monster settles down to sleep in the home of the blind hermit and the hermit offers a prayer of thanks, we see a cross on the wall.  As the scene fades to black, the image of the cross lingers briefly on the screen before disappearing.  We see the love between two lonely souls that have finally found friendship, and the cross reminds us of the love Christ had for all people no matter their appearance.  The symbolism may be a bit obvious, but it is still quite moving.
Whale also magnificently sets up the ending to be what might be the best mad scientist sequence in all of cinema.  He uses the bizarre electric devices designed by Ken Strickfaden to make us believe that Frankenstein and Pretorius have truly discovered, as Dr. Frankenstein says, "the secret that God is so jealous of."  Whale often shows the two doctors in extreme close-up, and many times lights them from below. He also employs a set, as he did in the original Frankenstein, which seems to reach up into Heaven itself.  All of this emphasizes how unworldly and ungodly these experiments are, and Whale brilliantly delivers to us this sense of both wonder and dread.

The Main Cast

Complementing the inspired direction is a wonderful cast.  Boris Karloff, credited simply as "Karloff," plays the Monster better than anyone before or since.  He can appear menacing when he needs to, but what one remembers most from his performance is the sadness and pathos it embodies.  A lesser actor could have made the Monster look either ridiculous or hopelessly maudlin, but through Karloff we see a being searching for someone to care for him, despite being mercilessly persecuted at almost every turn.  To emphasize that the Monster is still learning how his body works, Karloff moves very slowly; this also serves to increase the Monster's menace on those few occasions when he does move fast. Even though Karloff didn't like the fact that the Monster could talk in this film, without speech we would never have gotten to hear his joy when he says to the hermit, "Friend... good!" or his absolute sadness as he pitifully cries out "Friend?" as the hermit is led away by two strangers (one of them played by John Carradine) who try to kill the Monster.  The sadness and anger in Karloff's voice when he says "She hate me, like others," after the Bride spurns him makes us feel the rejection that he feels.  This is a performance that is unmatched by any later actor.

Ernest Thesiger is masterful as the maniacal Dr. Pretorius.  Thesiger, a veteran of Whale's The Old Dark House, is at once menacing and hilarious.  He plays Pretorius as a dandy who creates small creatures (the film utilizes special effects that still impress in the 21st Century) mostly for his own pleasure, and delights in comparing himself to the Devil.  His effete manner of speaking and wicked smile utterly convince us that he is perhaps the maddest scientist ever seen.  When he presents Frankenstein with the Monster again, he seems triumphant as he brings in the Monster.  He is the real villain of the film, much more so than Karloff's Monster, and Thesiger easily persuades us of both his sardonic humor and his villainy.

Colin Clive returns again to play Dr. Henry Frankenstein.  He wildly overacts his part, but he does it with such conviction that we soon completely believe in him. He is particularly good when Pretorius is tempting him to create another monster, especially in his reading of the line "But this isn't science, it's more like black magic."  When he hysterically exults, "She's alive! Alive!" near the end of the film (in an obvious callback to his "It's alive" cry in the original film), we can't imagine it done any other way.

Perhaps the oddest and most gripping performance is Elsa Lanchester in her uncredited performance as the Bride.  In her few minutes on the screen, she creates a character that makes a deep impression on the viewer.  She stands still, moving her head in short jerks, much like a bird or a lizard, and she seems to have an attraction to Dr. Frankenstein.  Her hiss at the Monster just before she is destroyed is chilling.  It is remarkable that for a character that is on the screen for such a small time, she creates an indelible memory in the viewer.

If there is any flaw in this stellar film, it is the character of Minnie (Una O'Connor).  O'Connor certainly plays her humorously; she can offer many grins.  However, this kind of comic clown detracts from the film.  She is an example of many similar characters in 1930s horror films that always seemed to be there just to reassure the audience that the film wasn't too scary.  This type of comic foil weakened the horror films of this age, and Minnie is no exception.

Minnie aside, Bride of Frankenstein is the best horror film of the Golden Age of Horror.  It combines spectacular direction, superb acting, and a thoughtful script in a way only a handful of films did at this time.  In a time when many films had no musical score, it even treats us to a superb Franz Waxman score.  Bride of Frankenstein is the quintessential example of everything that is wonderful about classic horror.

-Eric Miller