The Silver Screen Oasis

Frankenstein 1970 (1958) - HBO Max

w/ Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund, Donald Barry and Charlotte Austin. Screenplay by Richard Landau and George Worthing Yates. And directed by Howard W. Koch.

I've caught this one before. But back in my so-called tween years. So, needless to say, it has been a while.

The last of the von Frankensteins years after being disfigured by the Nazis during World War II for refusing to assist them in their brand of horror is still attempting to complete the work of his long-departed ancestor. Who, in need of money to fund that work, rents out his castle to a crew of film makers who just happen to be making (what else) a horror movie. Which results in that crew being a source of not only the money for his experiments but also the spare parts for it.

After 27 years, Boris Karloff finally gets to be Frankenstein himself. Which is about the best thing you can say about this movie.

Even with the borrowed sets and improved cinematography, this movie demonstrates that Allied Artists of the 1950s is a direct descendant of Monogram of the 1940s. The script is weak and the acting, with the usual exception of Mr. Karloff, is not much better. And the laboratory just screams "Where is Kenneth Strickfaden when you need him?!?"

But I do enjoy the ending. I find it interesting that this movie and The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) were released a few weeks apart and both deal with different methods of how Frankenstein's work could be used to continue his legacy.

Needless to say, this one is not going to impact my recent posting over in Det. Jim's Top Ten Boris Karloff Films topic.

And now for the big question. Why the heck am I watching horror movies in December? I need to find something holly jolly to watch next.

This is a longtime favorite since I was a kid. When Boris is not around, the movie lags. The perfect time to get the popcorn. Karloff's expressions of contempt, annoyance and lechery are priceless. The terrific, fakeout opening sets the bar too high for the rest of the film.

I love that movie. I saw it in the theater when I was a kid and it creeped me out good. That flat-headed bandage-wrapped monster with holes for eyes silently prowling around - shivery stuff for a kid. It was one of the first movies I recorded to DVD from a TCM showing.

Frankenstein 1970 was one of two horror flicks that were produced by Aubrey Schenck and Howard W. Koch (who together helmed Bel-Air Productions) and which starred Boris Karloff. According to info on the Web, Karloff was supposed to have signed a three-picture deal with Schenck and Koch. But, it seems that the trio collaborated on only two movies: Frankenstein 1970 and the rather dull Voodoo Island. Perhaps Karloff was considered as part of the star-studded cast of The Black Sleep (the best of the Bel-Air chillers, IMO) but was unable -- or refused -- to join the party.

For me, the most memorable moment in Frankenstein 1970 was the ending, which -- as LiamCasey hinted at -- is similar to the finale of The Revenge of Frankenstein.

The Pharoah's Curse with the always welcomed Ziva Rodan was also a Bel Air film. It's an okay time-spinner with a prune-faced combination mummy/vampire.

jameselliot wrote: ↑April 13th, 2023, 9:47 pm The Pharoah's Curse with the always welcomed Ziva Rodan was also a Bel Air film. It's an okay time-spinner with a prune-faced combination mummy/vampire.

I've never even heard of that one before. And far be it for me to pass up a good mummy movie. Or a bad one for that matter!

LiamCasey wrote: ↑April 14th, 2023, 8:54 pm I've never even heard of that one before. And far be it for me to pass up a good mummy movie. Or a bad one for that matter!

Enjoy!

In addition to Frankenstein 1970, Charlotte Austin graced two other fine horror films: The Bride and the Beast; and The Man Who Turned to Stone.

In The Man Who Turned to Stone, from that great year for horror, 1957, Austin plays a social worker investigating the mysterious deaths of young women in a sort of a school/prison. Turns out the people who run the school (Victor Jory, Ann Doran), are sucking the youth juices out of the girls, so that the old folks can live forever.



In The Bride and the Beast (1958), Austin plays a newlywed who is more interested in her husband's ape than in her new husband. Turns out she was Queen of the Gorillas in another life. This is a fairly kinky film, what Ingagi (1930) might have been, if they hadn't loaded it down with all that African travelogue stuff.

Liam - when are you gonna give us a thread for Astounding She Monster?

That shapely radium-coated chick was hypnotic to me - and actually gave me recurring nightmares about her that lasted into my late teens.

Love that one too!

Intrepid37 wrote: ↑April 14th, 2023, 10:51 pm Liam - when are you gonna give us a thread for Astounding She Monster?

That shapely radium-coated chick was hypnotic to me - and actually gave me recurring nightmares about her that lasted into my late teens.

Love that one too!

Ah, yes! Shirley Kilpatrick. Surrounded in radium almost as much as she is surrounded in mystery. Nobody seems to know exactly what became of her after this movie.

Intrepid37 wrote: ↑April 15th, 2023, 8:33 am Ah, yes! Shirley Kilpatrick. Surrounded in radium almost as much as she is surrounded in mystery. Nobody seems to know exactly what became of her after this movie.

She grew & became Divine:

TikiSoo wrote: ↑April 16th, 2023, 6:16 am She grew & became Divine:

LOL.

Actually, there was a rumor for years that she did gain weight and changed her name to Shirley Stoler - the actress who played that horrible woman in The Honeymoon Killers.

Intrepid37 wrote: ↑April 16th, 2023, 8:05 am

TikiSoo wrote: ↑April 16th, 2023, 6:16 am She grew & became Divine:

LOL.

Actually, there was a rumor for years that she did gain weight and changed her name to Shirley Stoler - the actress who played that horrible woman in The Honeymoon Killers.

I remember Shirley Stoler from Lina Wertmuller's Seven Beauties.

I don't know about the rest of you. But the fact that Lina Wertmuller gets mentioned in a thread regarding Frankenstein 1970 (1958) simply amazes me.