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Frankenstein Created Woman

Frankenstein Created Woman

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Baron Frankenstein starts playing those mind games...
Review: Although you might think from the title that "Frankenstein Created Woman" is Hammer films version of "The Bride of Frankenstein," it is really a strong return to the studio's original Frankenstein series after the dreadful mistake of "The Evil of Frankenstein." Baron Victor Frankenstein, played by Peter Cushing of course, has become bored with stitching together corpses and is now interested in transplanting souls by occult methods (with a little help, believe it or not, from a small atomic pile). This new direction is due in some small part to the fact his hands were damaged in the fiery conclusion of the previous film. Dr. Hertz (Thorley Walters), the local doctor in the village where the Baron now lives, willingly serves as Victor's hands. Meanwhile, a pair of young lovers named Hans (Robert Morris) and Christina (Susan Denberg), meet tragic fates. He is mistakenly executed for murdering her father, and the heartbroken girl drowns herself. Victor acquires the bodies and transfers Han's soul into Christina's body. When a visit to the guillotine awakens Han's memories of what happened, he uses his new body to claim vengeance for what happened to them both.

Ironically, not only do we not have the traditional monster in "Frankenstein Created Woman," the mad doctor is also pretty much a secondary figure in the film, although the new twists on the character makes him much more sympathetic than he had previously been. Indeed, Victor is the film's "hero." This is arguably the best script in the series by Anthony Hinds (writing again as "John Elder") and the return of director Terence Fisher to the series is quite welcomed. The casting of former Playmate of the Month Susan Denberg as the, ah, creature did require her role to be dubbed because of her Austrian accent, a final irony since Hammer's Frankenstein films are always set in that lovely part of Central Europe that looks like Austria/Germany while everyone speaks with English/Cockney accents. "Frankenstein Created Woman" is probably the second best film in the series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Baron Frankenstein starts playing those mind games...
Review: Although you might think from the title that "Frankenstein Created Woman" is Hammer films version of "The Bride of Frankenstein," it is really a strong return to the studio's original Frankenstein series after the dreadful mistake of "The Evil of Frankenstein." Baron Victor Frankenstein, played by Peter Cushing of course, has become bored with stitching together corpses and is now interested in transplanting souls by occult methods (with a little help, believe it or not, from a small atomic pile). This new direction is due in some small part to the fact his hands were damaged in the fiery conclusion of the previous film. Dr. Hertz (Thorley Walters), the local doctor in the village where the Baron now lives, willingly serves as Victor's hands. Meanwhile, a pair of young lovers named Hans (Robert Morris) and Christina (Susan Denberg), meet tragic fates. He is mistakenly executed for murdering her father, and the heartbroken girl drowns herself. Victor acquires the bodies and transfers Han's soul into Christina's body. When a visit to the guillotine awakens Han's memories of what happened, he uses his new body to claim vengeance for what happened to them both.

Ironically, not only do we not have the traditional monster in "Frankenstein Created Woman," the mad doctor is also pretty much a secondary figure in the film, although the new twists on the character makes him much more sympathetic than he had previously been. Indeed, Victor is the film's "hero." This is arguably the best script in the series by Anthony Hinds (writing again as "John Elder") and the return of director Terence Fisher to the series is quite welcomed. The casting of former Playmate of the Month Susan Denberg as the, ah, creature did require her role to be dubbed because of her Austrian accent, a final irony since Hammer's Frankenstein films are always set in that lovely part of Central Europe that looks like Austria/Germany while everyone speaks with English/Cockney accents. "Frankenstein Created Woman" is probably the second best film in the series.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Created Woman, but forgot about suspense!
Review: As an admirer of most Hammer productions, I am hard-pressed to find many redeeming qualities in this picture. Hammer films are largely known for their eerie atmosphere. This film doesn't know the meaning of the word. The lighting is far too harsh for anything sinister to be implied. As for the script, there is not a plausible moment in this movie. Seeing is believing. What saves this film for camp-lovers are the cooky scenes of Denberg praising the severed head of her dearly departed. But overall, this movie fails as a "horror" movie. No horror, no suspense....whats the point?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Will the real Soul please stand up
Review: At the beginning of the movie a murderer is guillotine and witnessed by his young son Hans. Years later Hans is working with Dr. Hertz and Dr. Bon Frankenstein (played by Peter Cushing). Frankenstein has himself frozen for exactly one hour, down to the second, where he is trying to prove that the soul does not leave the body. He is revived and to celebrate his success sends Hans out to get some champagne at one of the local pubs. Hans is in love with the owner's daughter (Christina played by Susan Denberg) and spends the night with her but when the owner is killed Hans is accused and refuses to tell where he was when the murder took place. Hans is found guilty and himself guillotined like his father. Christina sees this and jumps off a bridge and drowns.

Dr. Frankenstein retrieves Hans's body, captures his soul, and places it in Christina body. Among Frankenstein accomplishments he is a brilliant cosmetic surgeon and turns Christina into a beautiful blond with the aid of Dr. Hertz. Now with a new body and Hans's soul revenge is sought for Hans and Christina's father's deaths.

This is another excellent Hammer film and with Peter Cushing heading the cast. The quality of the DVD is excellent.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Frankenstein's spare time
Review: Did you know that between creating his own people that Baron Victor Frankenstein also transplanted a soul from one body to another? Well that is what the Baron does in this film. The soul helps a crippled women turn beautiful, but the vengeful soul of her lover leads her to murder. This film contains enough action and terror to keep you interested, but the Baron seems out of character. Nothing against Cushing's performance at all, but he seems almost too casual here not the intense madman we had come to love. Instead he seems more like a man just tinkering around on the weekend. The ending was also very weak, when you see it you can't believe they really chose to end it like this. Still this is a very watchable film, with Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg how could it be bad.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An underrated work of great cheese
Review: For some reason, this great Hammer film(of cheese, I must admit!)is not beloved by the critics. I do not know why? Is it because they are not disciples of Hammer? Who knows!

For Hammer and non-Hammer fans, this one is a winnner. Here you have it all - all of the great things we Hammer fans love about the great studio! And, let us never forget, we have the great Peter Cushing at his cheesiest.

Maybe the critics just thought the film was too cheesy. It is - and I love it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of Terence Fisher's most stunningly mature films.
Review: Frankenstein Created Woman(1967)- A film alot of people dislike mainly becasue it's perhaps the only Fisher/Cushing/Frankenstein film to sideline the character of the Baron. I on the other hand find the premise very intresting, and a very innovative and inteligent approach. The film is less of a horror film and more of a poetic gothic mood piece, if anything else. The movie is structured as a pattern of symmetrical inversions and echoes. The first half starts with the double ritual of horror as a father is guillotined before the eyes of his son and then the son's decapitation is witnessedby his lover, while the second half, contained between Christina's two suicideds by drowning, is punctuated by two rituals of pleasure as she seduces and gruesomly kills Han's tormentors. These flamboyant explosions of violence are mingled with pleasure and death are bound together by the Baron's calm but relentless experimantation, filmed in tenderly muted technicolor, whi ch culminates in the ironic poetry of the ending as Cushing watches Denberg's body being carried away along the moutian river and, with a shrug of his shoulders, turns away, providing what must be the most understated ending ever for a horror movie. The film is filled with felictious directorial touches, the movie contains a spendidly characteristic scene which summarizes Fisher's coception of the Baron's character. Apearing as a witness in court, Cushing casually and with an air of amused condesension fingers a few pages of the bible. Enhanced by wondefully controled acting, especially by Cushing and Walters, who both give superb perfomances, this is the most touching/moving, emontional, and most oneiric of Fisher's wonderful Frankenstein series. If there is one complaint from me of this film, it would be, and only be the "tacky looking sets". The film like most Hammer Horrors of it's period come off looking rather cheap.(Due to money problems Hammer was having during the 1965-1968 period). Many of the sets appear either cramped or tacky, as some of the shooting locations seem poorly chosen. Most of the time I can forgive low budget productions and their some what "much to be desired" looking sets. But with FCW, were dealing with poor resources. And this effect very much hampers the film, which is quit unfortunate. Aside from this rather obvious quibble, the film remains a very underrated masterwork, and one of director Terence Fisher's most touching, personal films. There are many moments of delicate beauty - I swear the first time I saw this film, the scenes with Susan Denberg, and that of Thorely Walter's, coupled with one of James Bernards best film scores, almost made me shed a tear. It's one of Fisher's most powerful films on a emotional standpoint.

Grade:

Filmically: B+
Thematically: A-

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Will the real Hammer Frankenstein please stand up?
Review: Hammer's Victor Frankenstein owes little to the Universal series (where the character was named Henry and in fact the sequels featured the monster and not the Doctor) or even the original novel (whose Victor was a young college student and not a Baron).
When one follows the Baron in the Hammer series, one finds a lot of inconsistency. The insensitive, murderous Baron of CURSE is toned down a bit in REVENGE, misunderstood in EVIL, is the "hero" of CREATED WOMAN, is a killer and more evil than ever (and just transplants a brain) in MUST BE DESTROYED, and is back more or less like the Baron in REVENGE in AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL. Cushing is a wonderful actor and makes the character interesting, in spite of the scripting.
One wonders how the Baron came upon the idea to transplant souls since he seems to be an atheist or how he is able to acquire the machinery to be able to accomplish it without arousing suspicion. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN is a pretty good film overall, but the ending does seem weak. One gets the feeling they couldn't think up a more satisfying ending and just had her drown herself again. Hammer fans will probably enjoy it anyway. Others should look for a more traditional Frankenstein movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: stylish, erotic, smart- all my favorites!!!
Review: I saw this many, many years ago in the theatre... still a great movie, but the tape didn't exactly capture the lush backgrounds, the erotism of the first time. Well, I'm also not 6 (or whatever) years old.
Still, I experienced again: a delirious crush on Hans, the romantic, too-good-to-be-true, hero- who was able to love AND LUST after Christine, the flawed and mistreated servant girl (haven't we all been her at one time?)His ability to see past the scars she felt such shame from made him a big numero uno for me even way back then.
Second: yowza! I prayed that my pre-adolescent self would develop into ANY SEMBLANCE WHAT-SO-EVER of the oozing sexuality of the transformed/re-created (isn't that another wish of ours, ladies?) Christina (Susan Denberg)...
And, oh yeah... Peter Cushing is in it, too.
HA! Just kidding...the blend of old school, classic horror and repressed sexuality made for a memorable movie that I had to buy and watch again and again.
If you dig the mix... and you know who you are out there... get this movie

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: poetic gothic mood piece....nothing more....nothing less
Review: Most people shunt this film aside, or simply saying it's one of the lesser hammer frankensteins, just because it doesn't have any of the know-to-be qualites of any run-of-the-mill frankenstein film should have. But what most people don't realize that this isn't really a horror film at all, but more of a quirky, poetic, gothic mood piece. A film filled with a great quantity of intersting theamatics, which downplays horror, and plays more towards emotions, and tragides that haunt each one's personal pyche. Cushing's frankenstein this time around is'nt the center attention, but more or so light's the spark on what unfoldes during the film involving his fellow players. The film is beautifully directed by horror speacialist Terance Fisher, (with out doubt hammer's best)., who weaves a story of love, tragedy, and revenge, in such a restraint fashion. Scarificing gore, and the usual mechanics. The perfomances here are all superb, Thorely Walters, who plays frankenstin's assistant, the local town doctor, who appears to be lost and wasted on brandy most of the time in his last days of life, Gives a heart-felt and charming, and sometimes rather awe-inspiring performance, most notably his scences with susan deberg's character, with out question makes this Fisher's most touching of his masterful frankenstein films. Cushing is , and as always just such a joy to watch through every shred of diolouge, that he recites. Though his screen time is much more limited than usual, it has been said by many, myself included that this is probably one of cushng's best perfomances as the baron, though quit benign, not the ruthless SOB that he would be in the next entry in the series(FMBD). Though even me myself can't say that the film is without it's flaws. One of the things i felt worked agansit the film rather for it was(this may sound crazy) it's production design, the whole film felt rather cramped, and rather tacky, which makes the picture fell very clastrophobic, and small, not containing the great size and feel of the films , that were in the prevoius (curse of frankenstein& revenge of frankenstein), i mean don't get me wrong, the story is rather simple, but still rather cramped. the other thing was the whole premise of the film, felt rather flimsy this time around: the capturing and transplants of souls, drifting away form most frankenstein films. Though the whole point was to do something different with the character this time around, but i guess it's rather hard to get used to to the whole soul premise, after viewing other frankenstien films. Altold Frankenstein Created Woman is high hammer art, and not only one of hammer's best frankenstein's, but in my opinion the most itellegent treatment to any frankenstien movie. sO PLEASE DON'T TURN THIS FILM DOWN JUST BECAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT THAN MOST, BUT ADMIRE IT FOR IT'S POETRY.

RATING: 4 OUT OF 5 GRADE: B+ 91%


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