Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
Hammer Film Productions, since the mid 1950s had built itself up as THE name in horror films, and they reigned king of horror from the mid 1950s to the 1970s. If you say Hammer Horror it conjures up images of Christopher Lee as Dracula, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and of course as Frankenstein. Today I am taking a look at Hammer Horror's 1969 film Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed starring Peter Cushing as that mad Dr Frankenstein. This is definitely a different take on the classic tale of man playing God, and creating life from dead tissue. This is really a very original take on the story, where Frankenstein doesn't create a monster, he IS a monster, in the most real sense of the word. He does transplant a brain from one man into the body of another, but he doesn't create life, as he did in the classic Universal Films, or even as he did in Mary Shelley's classic novel. Here he is a cruel, evil person who wants the doctor who was his ex partner, who is in a lunatic asylum, so that he can get the notes to their work so that he can create the monster as he did in the classic Frankenstein story, but he is pure evil. In here we see Frankenstein blackmailing a young doctor and his fiance into being his accomplices, we see him rape, steal, and murder in his obsessive quest for scientific power. There is no real Frankenstein's monster in this film, because Frankenstein is the true monster, is is one of the most truly evil monsters in this new era of classic monsters. 
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed was directed by Terence Fisher with a screenplay by Bert Batt. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros-Seven Arts, and released in 1969. The rape scene in the film was not originally scripted by Batt, nor was it wanted by Fisher, and the actors didn't want to do it either, but Hammer under pressure from US distributors forced the scene into the film. Also the comedic parts with the inspector were not originally intended or desired either, but found their way forced into the film. Both of these elements I feel work against the film, there shouldn't be a comedic element in such a dark story, it undermines the tone of the film. Though the rape scene is powerful, and shows just how evil Frankenstein is, I as well as most critics, and the writer, director, and actors felt that it just went to far, and wasn't necessary. The film already showed Frankenstein to be very evil, it wasn't necessary to take it that one extra step. The film was met with moderate success both box office and critically, and holds quite a high score on film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed stars Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Simon Ward as Dr Karl Holst, Veronica Carlson plays Karl's fiance Anna Spengler, Freddie Jones as Professor Richter, George Pravda as Dr Frederick Brandt, Maxine Audley plays his wife Ella Brandt, and Thorley Walters plays Inspector Frisch. The film has a great cast, especially with Peter Cushing playing the very evil character of Frankenstein, I am not sure if ever such an evil character was portrayed so well on screen. Simon Ward and Veronica Carlson are also great as their characters get drawn deeper into the depths of Frankenstein's plans, and to avoid getting in trouble for drug smuggling to raise money for the care of Anna's sick mother, Frankenstein blackmails them into doing his bidding, which includes theft, murder, and even worse deeds, damning their very souls. It kind of shows the potential snowballing affect of doing crimes, starts off with a little stealing cocaine from work and selling it to help to afford the care of your fiance's sick mother, then it snowballs out of control when someone takes advantage of that secret, and holds it over you, to make you do their bidding, which include far worse crimes. Overall these are some great characters, that struggle with some pretty heavy moral dilemmas, both well written and well acted.
Overall Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a great classic monster film, with a nice twist from the original story, that makes it stand on its own as its own unique work. I like that unlike in The Mummy, Hammer didn't just retell the classic novel or the Universal films, but instead took a new and fresh direction, and for me it really worked. In the book and the original films, there was always the element that the Monster was a pitiful victim to everything, but that it was Frankenstein that was the true monster, in this film, it takes that idea and runs with it, and explores it in a very deep way, though with the rape scene it does go a step too far, but it doesn't hurt the overall film as it shows what a true and utterly evil monster that Frankenstein really is. The true hero of the film is the poor doctor who gets his mind swapped into another man's body, he does have some of the traits of the classic Frankenstein's Monster, but he is intelligent, and still has his brain, just a new body, he is both tragic and heroic. I feel like the part of Dr. Brandt, and the surgery done to him, teaches us a little about consent, and even if something is done to save that person (albeit for selfish and greedy ends), if it is done without consent, it is still wrong. Overall this is a great classic monster film, and one that should definitely be in every film collector's library, and I would say that this is one of the must see classic Hammer Horror films, and if you have not seen it, I highly recommend checking it out.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed was directed by Terence Fisher with a screenplay by Bert Batt. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros-Seven Arts, and released in 1969. The rape scene in the film was not originally scripted by Batt, nor was it wanted by Fisher, and the actors didn't want to do it either, but Hammer under pressure from US distributors forced the scene into the film. Also the comedic parts with the inspector were not originally intended or desired either, but found their way forced into the film. Both of these elements I feel work against the film, there shouldn't be a comedic element in such a dark story, it undermines the tone of the film. Though the rape scene is powerful, and shows just how evil Frankenstein is, I as well as most critics, and the writer, director, and actors felt that it just went to far, and wasn't necessary. The film already showed Frankenstein to be very evil, it wasn't necessary to take it that one extra step. The film was met with moderate success both box office and critically, and holds quite a high score on film review sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed stars Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Simon Ward as Dr Karl Holst, Veronica Carlson plays Karl's fiance Anna Spengler, Freddie Jones as Professor Richter, George Pravda as Dr Frederick Brandt, Maxine Audley plays his wife Ella Brandt, and Thorley Walters plays Inspector Frisch. The film has a great cast, especially with Peter Cushing playing the very evil character of Frankenstein, I am not sure if ever such an evil character was portrayed so well on screen. Simon Ward and Veronica Carlson are also great as their characters get drawn deeper into the depths of Frankenstein's plans, and to avoid getting in trouble for drug smuggling to raise money for the care of Anna's sick mother, Frankenstein blackmails them into doing his bidding, which includes theft, murder, and even worse deeds, damning their very souls. It kind of shows the potential snowballing affect of doing crimes, starts off with a little stealing cocaine from work and selling it to help to afford the care of your fiance's sick mother, then it snowballs out of control when someone takes advantage of that secret, and holds it over you, to make you do their bidding, which include far worse crimes. Overall these are some great characters, that struggle with some pretty heavy moral dilemmas, both well written and well acted.
Overall Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a great classic monster film, with a nice twist from the original story, that makes it stand on its own as its own unique work. I like that unlike in The Mummy, Hammer didn't just retell the classic novel or the Universal films, but instead took a new and fresh direction, and for me it really worked. In the book and the original films, there was always the element that the Monster was a pitiful victim to everything, but that it was Frankenstein that was the true monster, in this film, it takes that idea and runs with it, and explores it in a very deep way, though with the rape scene it does go a step too far, but it doesn't hurt the overall film as it shows what a true and utterly evil monster that Frankenstein really is. The true hero of the film is the poor doctor who gets his mind swapped into another man's body, he does have some of the traits of the classic Frankenstein's Monster, but he is intelligent, and still has his brain, just a new body, he is both tragic and heroic. I feel like the part of Dr. Brandt, and the surgery done to him, teaches us a little about consent, and even if something is done to save that person (albeit for selfish and greedy ends), if it is done without consent, it is still wrong. Overall this is a great classic monster film, and one that should definitely be in every film collector's library, and I would say that this is one of the must see classic Hammer Horror films, and if you have not seen it, I highly recommend checking it out.
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