Year: 

1957

Directed by: 

Terence Fisher

Rated: 

Not Rated

Country: 

United Kingdom

Runtime: 

1 hr. 22 min.

Production Company: 

Hammer Film

Written by: 

Jimmy Sangster

Starring: 

Peter Cushing

Robert Urquhart

Christopher Lee

Hazel Court

Similar Films: 

The Revenge of Frankenstein

The Evil of Frankenstein

Frankenstein Created Woman

Son of Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1931)

This Frankenstein movie is a little different from most. It focuses not so much on its monster or the creation of its monster as it does on the man who endeavors to create life. It therefore lacks the electrical arcs, suspended platforms, and mad screaming that characterizess many such films, but it makes up for these absences with an adept script and an original imagining of the monster. This movie succeeds mostly through the characterization of Victor Frankenstein and the talent of Peter Cushing, with the typical grisly elements of the Frankenstein story providing a few nice dynamics. This is a measured tale of a man who neglects moral duty in favor of self-satisfaction, in a Frankenstein setting.

You know the basic Frankenstein story: man becomes drunk with scientific ambition, creates living being from dead parts, pays the price for meddling with the power of life. This one is the same as far as that goes, but there is a little more to it. The Baron Victor Frankenstein this time is portrayed not only as a reckless mad scientist but as a truly bad person who will stop at no means to attain his ends. His tutor, Paul Krempe, after originally following Frankenstein into the game of reanimation, eventually realizes the two are headed in a bad direction, and though he repeatedly warns him of the consequences of playing God, Frankenstein ignores him, uncaring as to what the results of his endeavors might be. All he cares about is successfully harnessing the power of life.

The evil of Frankenstein¹ is the focus of the film. Other Frankenstein films have shown the grittiness of harvesting dead body parts, for instance, but this one emphasizes the depravity of doing so. This, in turn, also emphasizes the moral deficiency of someone who would go to such lengths. Further highlighting Frankenstein's moral decrepitude, we have Krempe to provide us with a voice of disgust every time Frankenstein takes a step toward his goal, like the numerous times he shows up with a new body part. We also have a fairly dark and gritty short scene of a clandestine eyeball purchase, in which, to emphasize the characters' shame of partaking in such an exchange, neither's face is shown. This is not merely a misguided soul.

In fact, Frankenstein is a decidedly deceitful character, one who displays an affable façade during the small percentage of time he spends in public but who has fully given himself to the evil side that he hides from the world. He, like most other manifestations of Frankenstein, consistently hides his great experiment from everyone, even those closest to him, with his reluctant assistant being the one exception. When he is with Krempe (or alone with just about any other single character, for that matter), he's as bad as he wants to be. When he is in the company of guests, however, he plays the role of obliging host, partaking in friendly conversation and generously pouring brandy. He also has a secret side to his romantic life. When his cousin Elizabeth arrives after many years, expecting to marry him, he makes no indication that he has other romantic involvements and in fact leads her blindly on. In the meantime, his true romantic interests remain exclusively with his maid, Justine. Also, while he spends virtually all of his time creating his monster, Elizabeth believes he is performing mundane, everyday scientific experiments. I at first viewed him as something of a Jekyll/Hyde character in this film but after some consideration realized that I was wrong; Dr. Jekyll was a genuinely good half of a man -- this Frankenstein's "good" half is nothing but a disguise.

Peter Cushing's acting brings this character perfectly to life. He can switch back and forth from unrepentantly evil to cloyingly friendly with ease, depending on what his surroundings require (though they most often require the former). While he rarely indicates that there is another side to his character than the persona he is wearing at the given time, there is one scene that brilliantly combines both sides. When Justine asks him, while necking, why Elizabeth has arrived, he replies only "Are you jealous?" with a smile that only the viewer can see, clearly relishing the thought of being the object of a woman's jealousy. It is a perfect, subtle showing of the character -- a man who not only is bad but delights in being so.

Even when admitting weakness, he retains a regality of character and a core of evil. After Krempe has refused to continue his aid in the experiment, Frankenstein makes an attempt to bring the creature to life on his own. Unsuccessful, he asks Krempe directly for help, saying frankly, "I thought I could work [the apparatus] myself, but I can't." When Krempe refuses, Frankenstein responds with a perfectly placid tone underneath which we can sense a distinct threat: "You're going to help me, Paul, whatever you say." This dialogue, and even much of the rest of the Frankenstein-Krempe relationship, creates in the character an aura that is both subtle and commanding. The performance is everything you would expect from Cushing.