Curse of Frankenstein, The

This page is similar in name or subject to other pages. See also Frankenstein for a complete list of references to clarify differences between these closely named or closely related articles.

"I've harmed nobody, just robbed a few graves!"

―Baron Frankenstein

The Curse of Frankenstein
Credits
Title:	The Curse of Frankenstein
Directed by:	Terence Fisher
Written by:	Jimmy Sangster
Produced by:	Michael Carreras; Anthony Hinds; Max Rosenberg; Anthony Nelson-Keys
Music by:	James Bernard John Hollingsworth
Cinematography:	Jack Asher
Edited by:	James Needs
Production
Distributors:	Hammer Film Productions; Warner Bros.
Released:	May 2nd, 1957 (UK) June 25th, 1957 (US)
Rating:	X
Running time:	82 min.
Country:	UK
Language:	English
Budget:	£65,000 (UK) $500,000 (US)
Gross:	$7,000,000 (US)
Navigation
Previous:	—
Next:	Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)

The Curse of Frankenstein is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster. Released in 1957, the film is loosely based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. It was produced by Hammer Film Productions and is the first film to spawn a franchise designed to revitalize the popularity of the classic monsters as depicted in the films of the 1930s and 40s by Universal Pictures. The movie stars Peter Cushing in the role of Doctor Frankenstein and brings the viewer along the journey of Victor's youth as an intelligent boarding school student up until middle-age, where he grows into a scientific genius, obsessed with the notion of creating life from nothingness. The film also stars Robert Urquhart as Frankenstein's non-deformed assistant Paul Krempe and Hazel Court as his betrothed Elizabeth. Christopher Lee dons the scars and makeup of the Frankenstein Monster and the film signals the beginning of many such productions in which Lee and Cushing play opposite one another, including other Hammer Horror franchises such as the Dracula and Mummy film projects. A sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein was produced in 1958 entitled Revenge of Frankenstein.

Cast

Actor	Role
Peter Cushing	Victor Frankenstein
Hazel Court	Elizabeth
Robert Urquhart	Paul Krempe
Christopher Lee	The Creature
Melvyn Hayes	Young Victor
Valerie Gaunt	Justine
Paul Hardtmuth	Professor Bernstein
Noel Hood	Aunt
Fred Johnson	Grandpa
Claude Kingston	Little boy
Alex Gallier	Priest
Michael Mulcaster	Warder
Andrew Leigh	Burgomaster
Ann Blake	Wife
Sally Walsh	Young Elizabeth
Middleton Woods	Lecturer
Raymond Ray	Uncle
Josef Behrmann	Fritz
Henry Caine	Schoolmaster
Marjorie Hume	Mother
Ernest Jay	Undertaker
Eugene Leahy	2nd priest
Bartlett Mullins	Tramp
Raymond Rollett	Father Felix

Notes & Trivia

• Frankenstein was created by English author Mary Shelley, and first appeared in the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

• Curse of Frankenstein, The Curse of Frankenstein, Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Curse of Frankenstein, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Frankenstein (1957) and Curse of Frankenstein, The (1957) all redirect to this page.

• The tagline for this film is "The creature created by man and forgotten by nature!"

• This film is included in the Hammer Horror Classics Collection DVD set.

• Production on The Curse of Frankenstein began on November 19th, 1956 and concluded on December 24th, 1956. It was filmed primarily at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England. Other shooting locations include Black Park, Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire and Oakley Court on Windsor Road in Oakley Green, Windsor.

• The Curse of Frankenstein was re-released to theaters in the UK in 1961 and in the US in 1963.

• Grossing more than $7,000,000 (US), The Curse of Frankenstein held the largest box-office profit for a British studio for many years.

• The Curse of Frankenstein is the first horror film work for director Terence Fisher. Following this film, Fisher reinvigorates the world's most infamous vampire in 1958's The Horror of Dracula.

• This is writer Jimmy Sangster's second horror project for Hammer. He also wrote the script for the 1956 sci-fi thriller X the Unknown. He teams up with Terence Fisher for The Horror of Dracula in 1958.

• Playing the monster is the first horror film work for actor Christopher Lee. It is the first of fifteen films that Lee will do for Hammer Film Productions, but his only work in a Frankenstein film.

• Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee both appeared in previous film roles together, but never a horror feature. They both appeared in Hamlet in 1948 and in Moulin Rouge in 1952. They both appear next in The Horror of Dracula. Lee plays the title role of Count Dracula, while Cushing plays the part of vampire hunter Van Helsing.

• First Frankenstein movie to be filmed in color.

• Actress Valerie Gaunt also played a vampire woman in Horror of Dracula in 1958. These two films are her only known film works.

• This is the final film work for Andrew Leigh, who played the Burgomaster. Leigh passed away in East Sussex, England on April 21st, 1957 at the age of 69.

• Previous actors who have portrayed the Frankenstein Monster include Boris Karloff, who played the creature in Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein. Actor Lon Chaney, Jr. played the monster in Ghost of Frankenstein. He would go on to play a different version of the creature in the "Frankenstein" episode of the sci-fi anthology series Tales of Tomorrow. Bela Lugosi played him in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and Glenn Strange played the creature in House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

See also

Frankenstein Frankenstein films Frankenstein comics Frankenstein characters

Frankenstein images Frankenstein cast & crew Frankenstein appearances Frankenstein miscellaneous

External Links

The Curse of Frankenstein at AMG The Curse of Frankenstein at TCM The Curse of Frankenstein at IMDB The Curse of Frankenstein at Wikipedia The Curse of Frankenstein at the Terror Trap

The Curse of Frankenstein at Eccentric Cinema The Curse of Frankenstein at Themoviedb.org The Curse of Frankenstein at Rotten Tomatoes The Curse of Frankenstein at Popcorn Pictures The Curse of Frankenstein at Horrormovies.org

References

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Hammer Horror This article relates to the films produced under the "Hammer Horror" banner of Hammer Film Productions. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Hammer Film Productions category. Dracula Dracula (1958) • Brides of Dracula (1960) • Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) • Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) • Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) • Scars of Dracula (1970) • Dracula 1972 A.D. (1972) • The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) • Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) Frankenstein Curse of Frankenstein (1957) • Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) • Evil of Frankenstein (1964) • Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) • Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) • Horror of Frankenstein (1970) • Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) The Mummy The Mummy (1959) • Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) • Mummy's Shroud, The (1967) • Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) Others X the Unknown (1956) • The Abominable Snowman (1957) • The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) • Curse of the Werewolf (1961) • Scream of Fear (1961) • Phantom of the Opera (1962) • Kiss of the Vampire (1963) • Paranoiac (1963) • Nightmare (1964) • The Old Dark House (1963) • The Gorgon (1964) • Plague of the Zombies (1966) • The Reptile (1966) • The Devil Rides Out (1968) • The Vampire Lovers (1970) • Lust for a Vampire (1971) • Hands of the Ripper (1971) • Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) • Countess Dracula (1971) • Twins of Evil (1972) • Demons of the Mind (1972) • Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) • To the Devil a Daughter (1976)