The Horror of Frankenstein

The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster. The original music score was composed by Malcolm Williamson.

Plot
Victor Frankenstein, a cold, arrogant and womanizing genius, is angry when his father forbids him to continue his anatomy experiments. He ruthlessly murders his father by sabotaging the old man's shotgun, consequently inheriting the title of Baron von Frankenstein and the family fortune. He uses the money to enter medical school in Vienna, but is forced to return home when he impregnates the daughter of the Dean.

Returning to his own castle, he sets up a laboratory and starts a series of experiments involving the revival of the dead. He eventually builds a composite body from human parts, which he then brings to life. The creature goes on a homicidal rampage until it is accidentally destroyed when a vat where it has been hidden is flooded with acid.

Cast

 * Ralph Bates as Baron Victor Frankenstein
 * Kate O'Mara as Alys
 * Veronica Carlson as Elizabeth Heiss
 * Dennis Price as The Graverobber
 * Jon Finch as Lieutenant Henry Becker
 * Bernard Archard as Professor Heiss
 * Graham James as Wilhelm Kassner
 * James Hayter as Bailiff
 * Joan Rice as Graverobber's wife
 * Stephen Turner as Stephan
 * Neil Wilson as Schoolmaster
 * James Cossins as Dean
 * Glenys O'Brien as Maggie
 * Geoffrey Lumsden as Instructor
 * Chris Lethbridge-Baker as Priest
 * Terry Duggan as First Bandit
 * George Belbin as Baron Frankenstein
 * Hal Jeayes as Woodsman
 * Carol Jeayes as Woodsman's Daughter
 * Michael Goldie as Workman
 * David Prowse as The Monster

Production
The film was entirely financed by EMI.

Credits

 * Produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster
 * Screenplay by Jeremy Burnham and Jimmy Sangster, based on the characters created by Mary Shelley
 * Production manager: Tom Sachs
 * Music by Malcolm Williamson
 * Photography by Moray Grant
 * Art direction: Scott MacGregor
 * Edited by Chris Barnes
 * Make-up by Tom Smith

Cast notes
Ralph Bates was cast as Victor Frankenstein, the role having, five times previously, been played by Peter Cushing. Soon afterwards, he did a take on Dr. Jekyll in the Hammer film Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), which co-starred Martine Beswick.

In the mid-1960s, David Prowse, later famous for his portrayal of Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy, had actually gone into the Hammer offices to express his desire to portray one of their movie monsters, but was rather abruptly dismissed. As several years passed by and he went about building a larger body of work through various film roles, he was eventually approached by Jimmy Sangster about being cast as this revisionist Baron Frankenstein's laboratory creation. Prowse has the distinction of being the only actor to have portrayed Frankenstein's monster in more than one Hammer film: this production marked his first such appearance; the second occasion was Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), where his overall appearance was much more horrifically elaborate. He also appeared briefly in the traditional Frankenstein's monster make-up and costume in a gag appearance in Casino Royale (1967).