Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is moping inside a jail cell, awaiting execution by guillotine for his crimes. Desperate for somebody to believe his story, he calls in a priest (Alex Gallier) and relates his sad tale. He'd been determined to realize his dream of contriving a man made being, and succeeded to some degree, bringing a scar faced brute (Sir Christopher Lee) to deadly life. But his associate / tutor Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) had developed a severe case of scruples, deciding that absolutely nothing good could come of their activities.
This was the film that really made the fortunes for Britains' famed Hammer Studios. They truly gave the Gothic horror a fresh coat of colorful paint in the 1950s, and set a standard in period detail and set decoration that they would maintain for over the next decade and a half. Even after period horror was no longer in vogue, they gamely continued in their pursuits. They played up the sex appeal of the material with their attractively costumed, lovely female cast members, and also upped the level of on screen violence.
Hammer makeup expert Phil Leakey gave the towering Lee an appropriately gruesome face to behold, no matter if it's not iconic as Jack Pierces' work was in the Universal horrors of the 30s and 40s. Director Terence Fisher does a commendable job that would help see him become a favorite in house filmmaker for Hammer. And that laboratory equipment is quite fun to look at; there are some potent images here for fans to enjoy.
Cushing is, as always, wonderful, and he makes a character that otherwise would come off as a coldly stubborn, dangerous fool a definite degree of likability. Lee does a fine job, equally menacing and somewhat sympathetic. Beautiful Hazel Court is our appealing leading lady, and Urquhart is excellent as the moral centre to Mary W. Shelley's classic tale. Valerie Gaunt, Paul Hardtmuth, and Melvyn Hayes are among those in an engaging supporting cast.
Although not as thickly atmospheric as it might have been in black & white, "The Curse of Frankenstein" does entertain in a straightforward, quickly paced manner.
Seven out of 10.
This was the film that really made the fortunes for Britains' famed Hammer Studios. They truly gave the Gothic horror a fresh coat of colorful paint in the 1950s, and set a standard in period detail and set decoration that they would maintain for over the next decade and a half. Even after period horror was no longer in vogue, they gamely continued in their pursuits. They played up the sex appeal of the material with their attractively costumed, lovely female cast members, and also upped the level of on screen violence.
Hammer makeup expert Phil Leakey gave the towering Lee an appropriately gruesome face to behold, no matter if it's not iconic as Jack Pierces' work was in the Universal horrors of the 30s and 40s. Director Terence Fisher does a commendable job that would help see him become a favorite in house filmmaker for Hammer. And that laboratory equipment is quite fun to look at; there are some potent images here for fans to enjoy.
Cushing is, as always, wonderful, and he makes a character that otherwise would come off as a coldly stubborn, dangerous fool a definite degree of likability. Lee does a fine job, equally menacing and somewhat sympathetic. Beautiful Hazel Court is our appealing leading lady, and Urquhart is excellent as the moral centre to Mary W. Shelley's classic tale. Valerie Gaunt, Paul Hardtmuth, and Melvyn Hayes are among those in an engaging supporting cast.
Although not as thickly atmospheric as it might have been in black & white, "The Curse of Frankenstein" does entertain in a straightforward, quickly paced manner.
Seven out of 10.