More than a hundred years ago, in a
mountain village in Switzerland lived
a man whose strange experiments with
the dead have since become legend.
The legend is still told with horror
the world over. . . . It is the legend of...

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN

starring
Peter Cushing |Hazel Court | Robert Urquhart (By permission of A.B.P.C.)

and
Christopher Lee
as the Creature

Screenplay
by
Jimmy Sangster

Based on the classic story by
Mary W. Shelley
COPYRIGHT MCMLVII CLARION FILM PRODUCTIONS

Music Director John Hollingsworth
Music composed by James Bernard

Director of Photography
Jack Asher
B.S.C.
Eastmancolour by Humphries Laboratories Ltd.

Editor . . . James Needs
Art Director . . . Ted Marshall
Camera Operator . . . Len Harris
Continuity . . . Doreen Soan
Hair Stylist . . . H. Montsash
Production Designer . . . Bernard Robinson
Production Manager . . . Don Weeks
Assistant Director . . . Derek Whitehurst
Casting . . . Dorothy Holloway
Make-up . . . Phil Leakey

CAST
Victor Frankenstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PETER CUSHING
Elizabeth . . . . . . .. . . HAZEL COURT
Paul Kempe . ROBERT URQUHART
Creature . . . . . CHRISTOPHER LEE
Young Victor . . . . . MELVYN HAYES
Justine. . . . . . . . . . VALERIE GAUNT
Professor Bernstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .PAUL HARDTMUTH
Aunt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOEL HOOD
Grandpa . . . . . . . . FRED JOHNSON
Little Boy. . . . . CLAUDE KINGSTON
Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . ALEX GALLIER
Warder . . . MICHAEL MULCASTER
Burgomaster . . . . .ANDREW LEIGH
Wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANN BLAKE
Young Elizabeth . . . .SALLY WALSH
Lecturer . . . . MIDDLETON WOODS
Uncle . . . . . . . . . . . .RAYMOND RAY

uncredited
Mother . . MARJORIE HUME
Kurt (the body snatcher) . . PATRICK TROUGHTON
Fritz . . JOSEPH BEHRMAN
Priest . . EUGENE LEAHY
Undertaker . . ERNEST JAY
The Schoolmaster . . HENRY CAINE
Tramp . . .BARTLETT MULLINS
Father Felix . . . RAYMOND ROLLETT

A
HAMMER
PRODUCTION

Produced at BRAY STUDIOS

Executive Producer
MICHAEL CARRERAS

REVIEW: Curse of Frankenstein was the film that launched Hammer into the Horror market proper. It gave Peter Cushing his first starring role, and terrified the world. It is a classic, that status cannot be denied whether one likes it or not.
The colour is glorious, and it makes for some horrific scenes, such as when the creature is shot in the head. The glorious blood in a beutiful rich red.
Cushing is on top form as Frankenstein, a role he would reprise no fewer than five times for Hammer. At this point, we see Frankenstein get carried away by the sheer scope of his discoveries, and his gradula meglomania. Even here, it is the Baron who is the monster. He will stop at nothing, dragging everyone down, and taking chances.
Lee, is still obvious under heavy make-up. The first pairing of Lee and Cushing, sees a moving performance of Lee as the Creature. His stilted movements, and pity and hurt visable on the face, we feel sorry for the confused creature. Even Hammer's billing makes it clear, that we are not to think of Lee as the Monster, that is the Baron's privilage, but rather as the creature, a thing to be pitied.
Urquhart is, I feel, slightly stilted as Kempe, but nevertheless, gives a good performance, as does the rest of the cast. Hazel Court and Valerie Gaunt are good as the Baron's love interests, and an uncredited Patrick Troughton, makes his first Hammer appearance (as in many others, as the body snatcher). Though one has to listen for his voice, in the copy I have at least, all we get to see of Troughton is his arms.

Curse also boasts excellent direction by Terence Fisher, as well as those brilliant colours we love from Hammer, though as this page demonstrates, the white titles on a red background are a bit much. Shot well, with vast elaborate sets, it is a must see. Everything is first class, despite the relatively low budget.

The film was produced in the autumn of 1956 in and around Bray in Hampshire. Many of the scenes were shot in the local park. Money for the venture, largely came from the success of the Quatermass series of films. Not exactly a remake, hammer's plot differs in style from the Universal feature. It was also the first Frankenstein film to be shot in colour, and as such, this is perhaps where most of the hype went.
Universal refused permission to use their costume designs for the creature, and as a result, we end up with somethng much more akin to Shelley's creation in the novel, though the same cannot be said for the story.

The film originally ran for 83 minutes, and was a smash hit in the US as well as the UK. It is now available in the UK on the Warner Terror Vision label code S036163, released in 1997, it received a 15 certificate, and a running time of 80 minutes. The release is in full screen, though reportedly good quality. The film is trimmed by some three minutes, though the rumour goes, that several scenes were cut due to the gore levels, in the years since. One is a close-up of an eyeball, another of a hand (possibly the one Pat Troughton hands over, 22mins in), the other is a scene of Cushing dropping a head into acid. This would be approximately 18 minutes into the film. Shots exist of the scene, though it is clearly cut in the film itself.

page posted Tuesday 28th September 1999
all original text, and layout of the page © RJE Simpson 1999
reformatted and reposted 22 August 2006
mail me with corrections, comments etc to info@avalard.com