While Guillermo del Toro prepares to launch his epic new Frankenstein adaptation, wrapped in deliberate artistry and mythic self-importance, this rereleased 1957 Hammer shocker from screenwriter Jimmy Sangster and director Terence Fisher illustrates the correct way – with unpretentious energy and sly macabre gusto. Filmed in bright Eastmancolor, the film thrives on its dramatic boldness, unburdened by good taste and with no intention of making either Frankenstein or his creature in any way tragically sympathetic.
The Cast and Characters
Peter Cushing embodies the genius yet arrogant scientist Dr. Frankenstein; the young Melvyn Hayes appears in a notable juve-lead role through flashbacks as the arrogant young Victor. Collaborating with his regretfully hesitant partner and former tutor Paul (Robert Urquhart), Frankenstein covertly builds a human from macabre remains, plundering gallows and paying off mortuary workers along the way; he discards extra body parts into his acid pool, a horrible item that ultimately serves a deadly purpose.
The Monster and Storyline
The finished human is portrayed by the tall and rather distinguished-looking Christopher Lee. But Dr Frankenstein needs a superior intellect from the kind of high-calibre individual not typically executed, so the movie ingeniously contrives for him to embark on a strange killing scheme, involving a gasp-inducingly effective stunt and a reference to Rembrandt’s artwork The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, which Frankenstein is incidentally supposed to have bought. Moreover, this Dr Frankenstein is no romantic hero; he betrays his gentle fiancée Elizabeth (Hazel Court) with his smirking maidservant Justine (Valerie Gaunt) – and both women meet a dreadful end by the distorted hands of this clumsy creature.
Overall Tone and Impact
The monster is not a sorrowful or miserable being: he is purely aggressive; and the narrative is succinctly delivered in a brisk 83 minutes – ideal for a double feature – and yet it is delivered with absolute seriousness and conviction. The spinning wheel that channels the electricity might have inspired the design for the time machine in the Rod Taylor movie released three years after.
