FRANKENSTEIN (1984)

 

The excellent English actor David Warner passed away recently. While reading various internet tributes about him, I discovered that he played the Frankenstein monster in a 1984 British TV adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. I was not aware of this production, and I was even more stunned to find out that Carrie Fisher was also in it. I was able to view this movie on YouTube. 

This Frankenstein stars Robert Powell as Victor, and Carrie Fisher as his fiancee Elizabeth. It was directed by James Ormerod, and the script was written by Victor Gialanella, based on his play, which happened to be a major flop when it was staged for Broadway. 

There isn't anything about this version that makes it stand out from the others. If you know the Frankenstein legend, you'll be familiar with what goes on. Victor is obsessed with discovering the secrets of life and death, but comes to regret his creation; his best friend is careful and doubtful; Elizabeth is worried and suspicious; the creature is lonely and searching for what he is...it's a standard telling of Shelley's tale. 

This version does feature a few of Shelley's characters that almost never wind up in a Frankenstein film, such as Victor's little brother William and Justine, the Frankenstein family's maid. But the low budget and the fact that the production was shot on videotape doesn't do it any favors. It's a very talky adaptation (being based on a play), and it times it feels like a stuffy soap opera, especially when one hears the overly dramatic music score by Alan Parker. 

Robert Powell is all right as Victor, but one can't help but keep noticing his extremely bushy hairdo and sideburns (it's a look singer Tom Jones would be jealous of). Carrie Fisher looks splendid in early 19th Century garb (see picture below), and she not only gets to sing in one scene, she even gets to wander around in a nightgown during the climax, in time-honored Gothic tradition. 

David Warner's creature is more sympathetic (and more verbose) than most other portrayals. He's gangly, clumsy, and childlike, and he sports horrid burn marks over most of his face (presumably from the lightning that brought him to life). This creature is more pathetic than monstrous. 

The blind hermit character is included in this adaptation, and he's played by none other than John Gielgud. (Ironically Gielgud had a very small role in another, much more lavish TV Frankenstein movie--the 1973 FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY. In that one the blind hermit was played by Ralph Richardson.) Edward Judd, who starred in a number of 1960s British sci-fi and horror films, has a small part as a grave robber. 

This version of FRANKENSTEIN isn't bad....but one wonders why it was even made. It appears that most of its budget was used on the cast, and there's nothing else left that makes it worth seeing. David Warner does provide an interesting take on the creature. 

Carrie Fisher as Elizabeth in the 1984 TV version of FRANKENSTEIN