With
the return of their Dracula franchise the year before
with Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), it was only fair
that in 1967 Hammer would bring the infamous Baron (Peter Cushing)
back to try his hand once again at creating life. Frankenstein
Created Woman appears to follow on from Evil of
Frankenstein (1964) in that the Baron has burnt hands, his
reputation does not seem to have followed him unlike in Revenge
of Frankenstein (1958) where he is forced to use an alias.
Back
in Hammer's own Middle Europe again, we find the Baron up to his old
tricks with yet another new set of assistants, the older Doctor Hertz
(Thorley Walters) and a young man named Hans. The Baron has had
himself frozen for an hour then brought back life, proof it would
seem that the soul remains in the body after death, and he constucts a
device that will allow a soul to be stored indefintely. To celebrate,
the
doctors send Hans into town, here we meet the other key characters:
the café landlord, his attractive but scarred daughter
Christina and a trio of 'ruffians' - Anton, Karl and Johann - the
ultra-posh and snobbish sons of village leaders they push their
weight around and after breaking into the cafe at night to
quench their thirst, they are disturbed by the landlord, and in a
panic beat him to death. Unfortunately, evidence at the scene points
to Hans being the murderer and he is subject to a trial followed by
execution. In her horror, Christina, who had been in a relationship
with Hans, drowns herself. Seeing an opportunity, the Baron captures
the soul of the newly executed Hans, and after repairing the body of
Christina, transfers his soul into her body with unfortunate
consequences...
Despite
some reservation from the censors about the gender-mix script
elements, the film was allowed to proceed and works well, Anthony
Hind's script is especially interesting. Diverging from the usual
Frankenstein story line, building or rebuilding a body, the Baron is
instead working in the meta-physical field, and investigating the
soul. How his machine works is never explained, and probably for the
better, it avoids unnecessary psycho-babble. On the down side, the script is slow at
times, and very little happens throughout much of the film, picking up
only towards the end, even then, the climax is a distinct understatement. Interestingly, Anthony
Hinds seems to have reused some of
the concept for Hammer's fourth Dracula entry, Taste the Blood of
Dracula (1970), the three rich men beating a man to death with
their canes, only to be revenged.
Terence
Fisher directs again and brings his usual assured style to the film,
although we get less tracking shots in this film than some of the
earlier pictures, possibly due to the smaller sets. However, he does
seem to have taken a lead from Freddy Francis' book, and we get a few
interesting camera angles. James Bernard is on the score and gives a
nice couple of themes that add good backing to the piece. As the
1960s progressed, the censors became a little more liberal, and we
get a good splattering of blood in this film. Nothing approaching
many of the films in the 1970s, but it is much more noticeable than
before. Nudity however is still taboo.
Frankenstein
Created Woman boasts a strong, and well performing cast.
Peter Cushing is back as the Baron and has returned to the style of
the original film, although not a heartless monster by any means, he
does not have time for trifling emotions, and sees the death of Hans
as an opportunity to be exploited rather than mourned. Thorely
Walters (fresh from his role as Ludwig in Dracula: Prince of
Darkness (1966), and later to star in Vampire Circus
(1972)) plays a very good assistant to the Baron, and his convenient
presence for some plot exposition gives the pair a Holmes and Watson
vibe. Incidentally, Cushing had already played the famous detective
in Hammer's Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) directed by
Fisher and was shortly to play him again in a BBC TV series,
while Walters had previously played Watson against Christopher Lee's
Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962),
also directed by Terence Fisher.
Susan Denham is well cast as
Christina. Although notable mostly for her 1966 appearance in Playboy
magazine, she does give a good acting turn both as the shy disfigured
girl in the beginning and the sexy seductress at the end. The rest
of the cast perform well, look out for Derek Fowlds as one of the
ruffians, he is known to many British television viewers as Bernard
in the seminal Yes Minister (1980 - 1987), his co-star in that series, Paul
Eddington would appear in The Devil Rides Out (1968).
In
all, Frankenstein Created Woman is a decent film although it
does lack a spark that would be seen in the next
sequel, Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969). It is a watchable film, even if it doesn't hold up to repeat viewings, and is certainly worth watching for
fans of the series, probably not as enjoyable if watched on its own.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
Peter Cushing - Hammer's biggest name, also starred in Shock Waves (1977)
