The Bride of Frankenstein is among my top ten films. I'll welcome being corrected but I think of it as the first perfect film. I've never been able locate with certainty a Frankenstein film from the mid-late 70s which was very realistic. Not over-the-top gory realistic but somewhat low key. I think it was a British made-for-TV affair and had quite an affect of me.
I don't see Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein on your list! Does anybody else remember the Flintstones episode where they meet up with Dr. Glen Frankenstone? I think it's in Son Of Frankenstein that Basil Rathbone actually complains about people referring to the monster as Frankenstein.
They showed this on PBS not too long ago. I programed the satellite, but forgot to program the VCR to tape it! Yes, I still use a VCR!
We've recently watched most of the Hammer Frankenstein movies and we love the total arrogance that Cushing's character has. Yes Victor, why would any one be angry when you take their loved one and turn their body into an abomination?!"
Universal's "Man Made Monster" was a Frankenstein derivative. It's also not a bad flick about a man who's electrocuted in a great opening bus crash and thereafter becomes a *Man Made Monster*.
Love the book, awesome triple first person narration with an eloquent, persuasive monster. It mentions the doc had discovered the secret of life but the narration was done in such a way that the reader feels no sense of loss for its non-revelation. And Bride of Frankenstein, the greatest of all the Universal Horror films, a beautiful framed narrative with a great finish. When the subject of sequels superior to the original arises I always point to this. It's not just better, it's leaps and bounds above its predecessor. After this one, the Universals drop as the monster becomes less of a character and more of a plot device. Saw the Hammer film on a double bill with Horror of Dracula as a kid in the early 80s. Loved it! Marvel had a series in the early 70s, the first couple issues somewhat followed the book then the story continued- IIRC the last few issues took place in the present. Bet these can be had fairly cheaply.
If you've not seen Ken Russell's Gothic, it is about the night that the characters of Frankenstein and vampires were thought about and subsequently turned into literature. I saw it when it was new, in 1986. I was pretty young (20) and thought it was boring, but I'd probably look at it differently now. Here's more info: Gothic (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia » Russell also directed The Lair Of The White Worm. This movie has the same gothic (clever huh?) feel.
A post of mine from five years ago, along those lines: (I guess it wasn't a heart, per se, but audacious nonetheless. Saw it at the Uptown Theatre in Seattle as part of an all-night 3D festival back in 1985 or so.) In Seattle "back in the day," (1965-1978) our local late-night fright-movie host was a character called, simply, "The Count," and only one videotape of The Count has ever surfaced, and that is what turned out to be his final TV appearance, on halloween, 1978, showing Frankenstein: The True Story. I remember watching this that night. Here's the video:
I'm fascinated how every local American television market in the 1960s and 70s had their own special way to introduce the showing of a horror flick (often from the Universal or Hammer cannon). In Chicago it was "Creature Features" with a great opening montage set to music by Henry Mancini (below). Later this was displaced by a comedic vampire character named "Son of Svenghoolie".
Looks good. I can recommend an excellent similar book titled "Mary Shelley's Monster - TheStory Of Frankenstein" by Martin Tropp:
This is a good point. In fact, I've been winning bar bets for years regarding this. I'll ask someone...are you familiar with Frankenstein? Sure, they'll respond. I'll bet you a drink you can't describe what he looks like. It doesn't have to be exact. Just close. They take the bet just knowing they're going to win. They then go on to describe a large dude, green skin, flat head, and bolts sticking out of his neck. Are you happy with that answer? Yep, sure am. Well, you lose. You just described Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein was an older scientist in a lab coat. I'll have an Absolut black Russian, please. Or a bourbon, neat. Works 95% of the time.
Or "Frankenstein 1970" from 1958. Starred Karloff as a modern day descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, and even though I saw it with my father as an 8 year old kid in 1958, it seems to be completely forgotten today, which makes sense since it wasn't very good.
Anybody else hate Robert DeNiro's Frankenstein movie? And where's the love for 2 of my favorite 'Frankies'; Lurch & Herman Munster!?
It came off as a little artsy for me. But I don't know if I'd say I hated it. Wasn't it pretty faithful to Mary Shelly's book?
...or this partly dramatised docu: The True Story Of Frankenstein (screened for the BBC's Everyman arts series) Christopher Guard as Viktor Frankenstein Clive Russel as the creature "Everyman" The True Story of Frankenstein (1986) »
