Review: The Revenge of Frankenstein

Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is saved from the gallows by disabled hangman Karl (Michael Gwynn), whom he has promised a way out of his physically deformed state. Back in Karlsbruck, Frankenstein sets up practice where he serves both the poor voluntarily and also earns a pretty penny from upper-crust clients. Frankenstein and his assistant Hans (Francis Matthews) get to work in transplanting Karl’s brain into a newly configured body. The results are successful…at first. Eunice Gayson plays an assistant at the hospital, while the trio of Michael Ripper, Lionel Jeffries, and Richard Wordsworth play disreputable characters.

 

Although I’ll take Hammer’s “The Horror of Dracula” over Universal’s Bela Lugosi version any day of the week, it’s a different story with both company’s respective “Frankenstein” flicks. The two James Whale/Boris Karloff films for Universal are unquestionable horror classics, whereas Hammer’s initial “Curse of Frankenstein” is just OK at best. Well, they stepped up their game for this 1958 sequel from director Terence Fisher (“Curse of Frankenstein”, “The Horror of Dracula”) and screenwriter Jimmy Sangster (ditto). It’s an unquestionably superior film to the previous one, and possibly one of Hammer’s best films overall.

 

The cast here is pretty terrific across the board. Peter Cushing is perfect as the arrogant, single-minded scientist who manages to avoid the guillotine’s blade to start all over again. There’s not even the hint of a heart to this guy, it’s all 100% focus on his work. The underrated Francis Matthews is pretty good as his loyal assistant, one of the more interesting versions of this type of standard character. Michael Ripper and Lionel Jeffries give fun, ghoulish performances as basically this film’s version of grave-robbers Burke and Hare. There’s also a fine scummy turn by an unscrupulous Richard Wordsworth, though leading lady Eunice Gayson (later a Bond Girl) is a touch wasted I think in an underwritten role. A heavily made-up Michael Gwynn is unrecognisable as poor unfortunate Karl, and it’s the best performance I’ve ever seen from him. The makeup by the way, is a vast improvement over the previous pavlova-looking job poor Christopher Lee was caked with on “Curse”. The interesting thing here is that Gwynn’s Karl looks less horrific after the operation, and although it’s just a brain transplant Gwynn plays both hunchback Karl and he also plays the ‘creature’, with Karl’s brain inside a new body. Gwynn’s ‘monster’ is somewhat meek and sympathetic, closer to Karloff than Christopher Lee’s version.

 

Really nicely shot by Jack Asher (“The Horror of Dracula”, “Curse of Frankenstein”) and typically well scored by James Bernard (“The Horror of Dracula”, “Curse of Frankenstein”, “Scars of Dracula”). It’s also quite a grisly film for 1958, I was rather surprised. There’s a priceless version of the requisite ‘torch-bearing villagers’ scene where this time it’s angry hospital patients who attack Dr. Frankenstein. I think the film is a touch short to be housing so many characters properly, otherwise I’ve really got no complaints here. It’s a superior Hammer film with several fine performances and some interesting ideas. Jolly good fun.

 

Rating: B

 

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