SYNOPSIS | REVIEW | PRODUCTION NOTES | TRIVIA | PRESS | QUOTES | KIM NEWMAN ARCHIVE | MEDIA

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

Country of Origin: UK / USA
Year of Production: 1964
Running Times: 84 mins     86 mins
Length:
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: Eastmancolor
Ratio:
Sound: mono

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: A Hammer Film production
Copyright: © MCMLXIV Universal Pictures Company Incorporated
Produced by: Anthony Hinds
Production Manager: Don Weeks

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: John Elder (real name: Anthony Hinds)

DIRECTION
Directed by: Freddie Francis
Assistant Directors: Bill Cartlidge, Hugh Harlow (uncredited)
Continuity: Pauline Harlow

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: John Wilcox
Camera Operator: Ronnie Maasz

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Supervising Editor: James Needs

MUSIC
Music Composed by: Don Banks
Music Supervisor: Philip Martell
Musical Director: John Hollingsworth (uncredited)

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Ken Rawkins
Sound Editor: Roy Hyde
RCA Sound Recording

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make up Artist: Roy Ashton
Hair Stylist: Frieda Steiger
Wardrobe Mistress: Rosemary Burrows

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Les Bowie

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Don Mingaye

LOCATIONS
Produced at Bray Studios, England

CAST
Starring
Peter Cushing (Baron Frankenstein)

Also Starring
Peter Woodthorpe (Zoltan)
Duncan Lamont (Chief of Police)

with
Sandor Eles (Hans)
Katy Wild (beggar girl)
David Hutcheson (Burgomaster)
James Maxwell (priest)
Howard Goorney (drunk)

and
Kiwi Kingston (Creature)

Anthony Blackshaw, David Conville (policemen)
Caron Gardner (Burgomaster's wife)

Uncredited
Kenneth Cove (Curé)
Alistair Williamson (landlord)
Frank Forsyth (manservant)
Michelle Scott (little girl)
Tony Arpino (bodysnatcher)
Timothy Bateson (hypnotised man)
Robert Flynn, James Garfield, Derek Martin, Anthony Poole (roustabouts)
Patrick Horgan (David Carrell)
Steven Geray (Dr Sergado (US TV version only))
Maria Palmer (Rena's mother (US TV version only))
William Phipps (Rena's father (US TV version only))
Tracy Stratford (Rena as a child (US TV version only))

PLOT SUMMARY

Frankenstein and his assistant Hans return to the Baron's castle in Karlstad after an absence of many years to resume their work. Frankenstein is led by a young deaf-mute girl to the body of his first creation frozen in a block of ice. Frankenstein revives the creature and calls upon the services of shady hypnotist Zoltan to help him control the monster. But Zoltan is determined to use the creature for his own ends...

CAPSULE REVIEW

It was almost inevitable that Hammer should, at some point, succumb to the dread scourge of nostalgia and with this third, unimpressive installment in their long running Frankenstein series, it finally happened. Whereas the first two films, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), director Terence Fisher and writer Jimmy Sangster had gone to great lengths to distance themselves from the Universal horrors, here Francis and Hinds seem almost to revel in the recreation of lost glories. The result is much as you'd expect, a poor, retrospective retread of years old ideas. The Evil of Frankenstein is positively awash in nostalgia for those black-and-white Universal epics, from the design of Ashton's creature make-up (Hammer had struck a deal with Universal allowing them to imitate Jack Pierce's original designs) to the obligatory flame-filled finale. In every respect, the film was a step backwards for Hammer, even altering the character of the Baron to bring it more in line with the Universal Frankenstein, abandoning the unique, individual flavour that had made the first two films so memorable.

AVAILABILITY

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Finland
Rating: banned in 1965

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X

USA
Rating: unrated

TIMELINE

1964
May

8: USA - theatrical release
31: UK - theatrical release

June
13: USA - copyrighted (copyright no. LP37901)

November
23: Sweden - theatrical release

POSTER TAGS

He's never been more shocking! shocking! shocking!

Lightning raises the dead

Shock...shock...

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

L'empreinte de Frankenstein - French title
Frankensteins Ungeheuer - German title
La rivolta di Frankenstein - Italian title

LINKS

SEQUEL TO
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)

SEQUELS
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Scary Monsters 1996 Yearbook p.4 (USA)
illustrated review

BOOKS

The Hammer Story pp.80-81
illustrated article, review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes)

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.125
credits, review

Illustrated Frankenstein Movie Guide pp.65-66
credits, review (by Stephen Jones)

Nightwalkers pp.27-29
illustrated review

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

deafness, fairs, flashbacks, frankenstein, hypnotism, laboratories, monsters, mutes, police, revenge, sequels, sideshows


Last Updated: 20 October, 2008

 


All text on this page © 2000 - 2008  EOFFTV