The Revenge of Frankenstein *** (1958, Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson, Michael Gwynn) – Classic Movie Review 2778

Terence Fisher’s 1958 horror film sequel The Revenge of Frankenstein stars Peter Cushing as the bad Baron, Dr Victor Frankenstein, and it is up to Michael Gwynn to play the Monster.

‘TERROR will seize you! TENSION will squeeze you! CHILLS will freeze you!’

Director Terence Fisher’s 1958 Technicolor British horror film sequel to the smash-hit The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) is Hammer Films’ second horror film based on the Mary Shelley characters.

The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) stars Peter Cushing as the bad Baron, Dr Victor Frankenstein, who manages to escape narrowly from the guillotine by having a priest beheaded and buried in his place with the aid of a hunchback dwarf named Karl (Oscar Quitak).

Then three years later, Frankenstein goes to work as a successful physician in Carlsbrück, Germany, where he calls himself by the alias of ‘Dr Stein’ and restarts his experiments by using parts of dead bodies. ‘Dr Stein’ is working at a clinic where he gets some spare human parts from the killer dwarf Karl, who is happy to volunteer his brain to gain a healthy body, and ‘Dr Stein’ makes a Creature called Karl (Michael Gwynn) in his new body that (as ever) goes on the rampage.

With writer Jimmy Sangster seemingly slightly struggling to find a really good new yarn and carve out a really effective screenplay, it is only a moderately successful chiller this time, but nevertheless still enjoyable.

This could be the trouble. When executive producer Michael Carreras approached Sangster to write the sequel, Sangster replied: ‘I killed Frankenstein in the first film’ and Carreras told him that he had six weeks to write it before shooting started and that ‘you’ll think of something’.

It was a rush job, then. So it is just as well that Cushing gives his usual reliable, dignified performance and holds the centre strong and firm. And there is more acting talent to boast in the support players, who add much to the pleasure the film brings. Also Terence Fisher brings much tension, colour and action to the Gothic proceedings, and action and there is an effectively creepy score from Leonard Salzedo.

With no Christopher Lee this time as the Creature, it is up to Michael Gwynn to play the Monster, and, with plenty of screen time, he manages to make something physically striking and emotionally notable out of the role. It also stars Francis Matthews as Dr Stein’s apprentice helper Doctor Hans Kleve and the first Bond girl, Eunice Gayson, aka Sylvia Trench in Dr No and From Russia with Love, as kindly Margaret Conrad, who wants to help out as an assistant at the hospital. The roles are none too exciting but actors are appealing.

Also in the cast are John Welsh as Bergman, Lionel Jeffries as Fritz, Richard Wordsworth as Up Patient, Charles Lloyd Pack as President of the Medical Council, John Stuart, Arnold Diamond, Marjorie Gresley, Anna Walmsley, George Woodbridge as Janitor, Michael Ripper as Kurt, Ian Whittaker and Avril Leslie. It is Ripper’s first Hammer horror film, though he had appeared in several of Hammer’s non-horror films. He appeared in more of the company’s films than any other performer.

Hurford Janes and George Baxt provide additional dialogue.

The BBFC cut the original UK cinema version to remove the rather quaint shots of a brain being tipped into a jar (now restored).

The film was shot at Bray Studios, starting on 6 January 1958, just three days after filming wrapped on Dracula (1958), which also starred Cushing and was also directed by Fisher.

Most of the regular Hammer crew returned, including Jack Asher as cinematographer, Bernard Robinson on design and Phil Leakey on make-up.

Sequel: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), followed by Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974). All star Peter Cushing except for The Horror of Frankenstein with Ralph Bates.

Peter Cushing appeared in 22 horror films for the Hammer Films studio, and played Baron Frankenstein in six of their seven Frankenstein films, as well as Doctor Van Helsing in five Dracula films. But his frequent Hammer Films horror co-star Christopher Lee played the monster just once, in 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein. The series saw other actors play the monster throughout its run, too, including Michael Gwynn here in The Revenge of Frankenstein, Kiwi Kingston in The Evil of Frankenstein, Susan Denberg in Frankenstein Created Woman, Freddie Jones in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, and David Prowse in The Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.

Francis Matthews died on June 14 2014, age 86.

Eunice Gayson (1928–2018).

Eunice Gayson died on 8 June 2018, aged 90.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2778

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