Themes: Experiments Gone Awry, Out For Revenge, Mad Scientists
Main Cast: Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters, Robert Morris, Peter Blythe
Release Year: 1965
Country: UK
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
Hammer Studios followed up Evil of Frankenstein with this entertaining sequel, again starring Peter Cushing as the quintessential mad scientist obsessed with the reanimation of dead bodies and the creation of superhuman creatures. His latest project involves transferring the mind of a wrongly-executed man into the body of his lover (former Playboy centerfold Susan Denberg), whose own suicide left her horribly disfigured. After restoring her beauty, the Doctor performs the mind-transference, which comes off without a hitch... until the lust for revenge against his executioners begins to surface. He/she then pursues this vendetta by seducing and murdering those who wronged him. Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher directs this quirky entry with his usual flair -- aided considerably by a decent budget -- and spices things up with a fair share of titillation (courtesy of Ms. Denberg). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Review
Frankenstein Created Woman is among the best of Hammer Film's horror classics, stylishly directed by Terence Fisher and featuring a subtle but sinister performance from Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein. The woman created is Playboy playmate Susan Denberg, fondly remembered by Star Trek fans as one of "Mudd's Women." As with many Hammer Films, part of the fun is enjoying Arthur Grant's rich cinematography and the production designs of Bernard Robinson. The screenplay features an interesting gender switch, unusual for the mid-1960s. Ideas for these characters had pretty much run their course by the late 1960s, and four years would pass before the next film in the series, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Barry Warren - Karl; Derek Fowlds - Johann; Alan MacNaughton - FJeve; Peter Madden - Police Chief; Duncan Lamont - Prisoner; Colin Jeavons - Priest; John Maxim - Police Sergeant; Philip Ray - Mayor; Kevin Flood - Chief Gaoler; Alec Mango - Spokesman; Bartlett Mullins - Bystander
Credit
Don Mingaye - Art Director, Rosemary Burrows - Costume Designer, Larry Stewart - Costume Designer, Terence Fisher - Director, James Needs - Editor, Spencer Reeve - Editor, James Bernard - Composer (Music Score), Philip Martell - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Partleton - Makeup, Bernard Robinson - Production Designer, Arthur Grant - Cinematographer, Anthony Nelson Keys - Producer, Les Bowie - Special Effects, Anthony Hinds - Screenwriter, John Elder - Screenwriter
Where Hammer's previous Frankenstein films had concerned the physical aspects of the Baron's work, the interest here is in the metaphysical dimensions of life, such as the question of the soul, and its relationship to the body.
Frankenstein Created Woman was originally mooted as a follow-up to The Revenge of Frankenstein during its production in 1958, at a time when Roger Vadim's Et Dieu créa la femme (And God Created Woman) was successful. The film finally went into production at Bray Studios on 4 July, 1966. It was Hammer's penultimate production there.
Plot synopsis
Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) revives the dead body of a disfigured girl, Christina (Susan Denberg), who has committed suicide following the wrongful execution of her lover, Hans (Robert Morris), for murder. The Baron's further experiments succeed in transplanting Hans's soul into Christine, who then takes revenge on the young dandies who framed Hans for their own crime.
Critical Reaction
Frankenstein Created Woman is one of the most critically acclaimed Hammer films, with some commentators appreciating its fairy tale atmosphere and revenge plot. Martin Scorsese picked the movie as part of a 1987 National Film Theatre season of his favourite films, saying "If I single this one out it's because here they actually isolate the soul... The implied metaphysics are close to something sublime."[1]
