THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964, 86m 36s; Scream Factory): Of the Hammer's half-dozen Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing, this one has always been the bone of contention among its devotées. It is the only one not directed by Terence Fisher, and Freddie Francis' brief assumption of that chair (as Fisher was making THE HORROR OF IT ALL and THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING for Lippert) is a fascinating look at contrasting techniques in action.
Fisher worked his way up to director as an editor, Francis as an Academy Award-winning cameraman, and here there is a far greater assertion on the power of visuals, so much so that Francis indulges in a memorable six-minute flashback played entirely without dialogue. In contrast to Fisher's wry but never humorous work, which maintained a conservative presentation to all the better make the subversive subject matter pop, the visuals here sometimes err on the vulgar (see any scene involving David Hutcheson's burgomaster and his busty wife, Caron Gardner) and Francis' interests stray too far from Cushing's Baron to Peter Woodthorpe's barnstorming portrayal of the hypnotist Zoltan, whom the Baron recruits to make controlling contact with the damaged brain of the Monster (New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston). While there are disappointing aspects, time has treated the film well; it's attractively produced, the ragged and poorly-designed Monster has become iconic despite itself, and the dynamic score by Don Banks is a refreshing "en garde" change of pace from James Bernard onomatopoeic scoring.
The extras are more than entertaining; the packaging literally cannot list them all. They amount to a multi-authored audio-book monograph on the film and are thus necessary to any serious Hammer enthusiast. Once again, Constantine Nasr's audio commentary provides a wonderfully detailed overview of the film as well as an enlightening production account that helps to explain (and sometimes forgive) its various flaws. Some of the other extras are ported over from a 2003 release, including a "making of" featuring Hammer authority Wayne Kinsey, while the new material includes a warm 30m reminiscence of Francis by his co-biographer Tony Walton and illuminating visits with assistant director Bill Cartlidge and actress Katy Wild, who plays the deaf-mute beggar girl. Cartlidge remembers Francis as being still a bit insecure at the time of filming, and Wild recalls him and producer Anthony Hinds confessing to her on the last day of filming that they had made her character deaf-mute to save themselves the trouble of developing an actual character! It shows just how much an actor stands to bring to a "nothing" role on their own watch; at the same time, the absence of an obviously missing account of the girl's sympathetic relationship with the Monster shows that Francis was frankly unaware of the elements most important to this material - the centrality of Cushing's Baron, and its subtle metaphor of his audience's attraction to monster movies.
As an extra, the similar TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN TV pilot (1960) is included, as is the padded 97m NBC-TV version (which premiered on January 1980), regrettably source from a "best available" 16mm print, which has turned all red and yellow. Had I known they needed it, I could have provided correct color copies of all the scenes exclusive to the TV version, which I recorded from a local station on Betamax in the early 1980s.
(c) 2020 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
