Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I honestly wasn't expecting much from a movie with a silly title but, this is my favorite Hammer Frankenstein film. It never drags, has a unique plot, and made me laugh during one scene where the three young jerks sing an incredibly rude song beneath the bedroom window of the scarred girl. Peter Cushing gives a fine performance as always. If you collect Hammer films, don't even consider passing on this one.

Hammer Studios did 7 Frankenstein films from the late 50s to early 70s:

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973)

Peter Cushing played Baron Frankenstein in every one of these except "The Horror of Frankenstein." The reason is because "Horror" was a remake of the original story and they needed a much younger actor to play the role; in this case they chose Ralph Bates (who superbly played the love-to-hate OTT satanist in "Taste the Blood of Dracula" released the same year).

Until relatively recently I hadn't seen any of the films in this series with the exception of a few clips of the first one while channel surfing. This initial segment never intrigued me mainly because I'm bored with the basic Frankenstein plot and feel Christopher Lee makes a weak Frankenstein monster (sorry for my blasphemy). What got me interested in the series was "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed," which is a creative and well-done piece of gothic horror. Yesterday I viewed "Frankenstein Created Woman" on dvd and was similarly impressed.

One thing that perked my interest in this film was the appearance of Susan Denberg as the titular "woman;" she appeared in the 1966 Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women" as the blond bombshell and was also a playmate-of-the-month that same year (not that I keep up on such things).

THE STORY: Susan plays a disfigured working class young woman, Christina, who is harrassed by the locals. Hans, a local peasant, who's father was guillotined for murder when he was a boy, truly loves Christina despite her outward marring. Unfortunately Hans is falsely accused of murder and put to death; when Christina finds out she commits suicide. Baron Frankenstein gets his hands on both bodies and is able to resurrect Christina by infusing Hans' soul (his immaterial being) with Christina's soul & body; hence, he "creates woman." In the resurrection process the Baron is able to remove the girl's disfigurement through his skills. Things go awry when Hans' soul compels Christina to enact revenge on the three pompous aristocrats who falsely accused him.

I'll be honest with you, with a title like "Frankenstein Created Woman" I wasn't expecting much. I was expecting some unwanted goofiness but, no, this is a serious and moving piece of gothic horror. What a pleasant surprise.

The story hooks the viewer right away with the dilemma of both Christina and Hans. Anyone who's ever been teased for one reason or another when they were young will no doubt be able to relate to Christina. The only one who sees her true beauty and worth is the orphaned peasant, who is ostrasized because his father was guillotined for murder. By contrast the high-class mockers are brutal towards her. There's something about being poor in spirit that naturally creates true character and beauty; such is the case with both Christina and Hans. This is perhaps why Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" in the Beattitudes. Humility is beautiful; arrogance is hideous.

Another potent piece is the entire sequence culminating in Hans being falsely accused and put to death. It effectively shows how easily someone can appear to be guilty even though the charges are false.

The film drives home the point that those who commit injustice and evil will reap what they sow sooner or later. The villains are good in a love-to-hate sense and the viewer can't help but rejoice when they get their comeuppance.

Of course Peter Cushing is excellent as Frankenstein. The story emphasizes his brillance and skill, which so exceeds that of his contempories that he's accused of witchcraft.

Some complain about the ending but actually it's a quite fitting way to end the storyline if you reflect on it.

The story's runtime is perfect at an hour and a half -- not too long and not too short.

FINAL ANALYSIS: I don't know about the other five films in the Hammer Frankenstein series, but both "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" and "Frankenstein Created Woman" are excellent pieces of gothic horror -- intelligent, creative, potent, moving.

PERSONAl GRADE: A-