Ranking The Hammer Frankenstein Films Starring Peter Cushing

 

On this day in 1913, Peter Cushing was born. I usually write a Cushing-themed post on this day, and for this year I decided to rank the six Hammer films in which the actor portrayed Baron Frankenstein. 

Playing Victor Frankenstein in Hammer's first color Gothic film, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, changed Cushing's life--you could also say it sealed his fate. The thing about the Hammer Frankenstein series of films is that other than the first two entries, there is no story continuity. Most of the series appears to take place in the 1850s-1870s, but the last film, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL, seems to be set in the 1830s-40s. The Baron himself also acts somewhat differently in each film. I've often wondered how such a fastidious actor as Cushing reconciled himself to all the various inconsistencies in the series. 

This ranking does not take into account Hammer's HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, which starred Ralph Bates as the Baron. If it did, that film would come in last. 

The movies are ranked in order of preference. I must point out that this isn't meant to be a serious critical observation--my thoughts on this list might change a couple weeks from now. The movies at the top and the bottom of the list were easy to pick, but the other films on this list could change positions quite easily, depending on how I feel at the moment. 

1. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969)

This truly is a horror film, with Cushing at his most chilling and cunning as the Baron. It's as if all his other experimental failures have driven Frankenstein to the brink--he's now willing to kill or ruin any one or any thing in order to perfect his attempts to "serve" humanity. This is one of Terence Fisher's best directorial efforts, with a number of standout sequences. I'm totally biased when it comes to the subject of Veronica Carlson, but she gives one of the best performances of any leading lady in any Hammer film. Freddie Jones, as the Baron's pathetic "patient", as a standout as well. Bert Batt and Anthony Nelson Keys deserve mention for their work on screenplay (with contributions from Fisher). 

2. THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958)

A direct sequel to THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and, in my opinion, a better film. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay is much tighter this time around, and he also sets up what would be the main theme of the Hammer Frankenstein series: what is the true identity of a person who is the subject of a brain transplant? Francis Matthews is the best of the Baron's assistants, and he's also the only one in the entire series that succeeds in a major experiment. Michael Gwynn does a fine job as Cushing's creation. 

3. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)

The film that started it all. It's not as refined as the other Hammer Gothics, but it's an impressive first attempt at this genre, with the gathering of what would be known as the Hammer Gothic team (director Terence Fisher, writer Jimmy Sangster, producer Anthony Hinds, cinematographer Jack Asher, composer James Bernard). For Cushing's part, you feel when watching him here that he had already been making horror films for years. Christopher Lee still doesn't get enough credit for his version of the monster, and Hazel Court and Valerie Gaunt provide some glamour to the proceedings. Robert Urquhart is saddled with one of the worst parts an actor can play with the role of the annoying Paul Krempe. 

4. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967) 

This is one of Anthony Hinds' (billed as John Elder) better scripts for Hammer, as he attempts to explore the definition of a soul. The Baron transfers the essence of a wrongly executed young man into his girlfriend (Susan Denberg), while at the same time using surgery to change the girl into a voluptuous beauty. Director Terence Fisher makes it work by presenting it as a tragic romance. Cushing's Baron and Thorley Walters' befuddled Dr. Hertz make a wonderful team. 

5. FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1973)

A elegiac air hangs over this last entry in the Hammer Frankenstein series, as the company itself was nearing its end of making decent product. The Baron is hiding out in an insane asylum, which is appropriate considering that by now all his experiments seem pointless. Cushing is still as precise and charismatic as ever, while Terence Fisher gets as much out of Anthony Hinds' script as he can. David Prowse is buried under the most outlandish makeup in the entire series, but he is still able to inject some pathos in the role of this entry's monster. 

6. THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1963)

This entry is the outlier. It was directed by Freddie Francis instead of Terence Fisher, and it reboots the Baron's adventures, giving him a different backstory than that detailed by THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. It also feels more like a black & white Universal monster rally instead of a color Hammer Gothic. Kiwi Kingston's monster is the most generic of Cushing's creations. It must be pointed out that Francis does try to give some visual energy to the production, with an impressive laboratory sequence. If you want an old fashioned monster flick, this is the Hammer Frankenstein movie you want to watch. 

THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN

 

The Mexican legend of "La Llorona", or the Crying Woman, has been the basis of several films. THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (original title LA MALDICION DE LA LLORONA) is an excellent black & white 1961 Mexican film dealing with the character. 

The movie starts with a pre-title sequence that Mario Bava would be proud of. A horse-drawn coach travels through a forbidding forest in the middle of the night. The driver and the three passengers are murdered by two strange beings. After the opening credits, another coach arrives at a remote large house, carrying a young woman named Amelia (Rosita Arenas) and her new husband Jaime (Abel Salazar). Amelia has been asked to come to the house by its occupant, her aunt Selma (Rita Macedo). Amelia is unnerved by the house's weird atmosphere, and by her aunt's servant, a club-footed disfigured hunchback. Selma soon reveals the real reason why she asked her niece to arrive: she and Amelia are direct descendants of the Crying Woman, and Amelia is to be used in a midnight ritual to revive the horrible creature, whose remains happen to be in the house's cellar. As the clock moves toward 12, Amelia tries to fight off urges to carry on the legacy of the Crying Woman, while trying to save herself and her husband at the same time. 

Devotees of classic Gothic horror will find plenty to enjoy here, with an expressionistic haunted wood, a creepy-sounding organ, rats, bats, cobwebs, an imposing bell tower, and a climax that literally brings the house down. Rita Macedo gives a rip-roaring performance as Selma, a woman determined to gain ultimate power by bringing the Crying Woman back to life. She reveals the Crying Woman's history in an eerie sequence where the picture is in negative image, and Selma has also reduced her husband to a bestial wretch who is kept chained in a cell (of course he manages to get out). 

Director Rafael Baledon keeps things hopping--the entire story takes place in one night. Not only did Abel Salazar play a major role in the movie, he also produced it (by this time he had plenty of experience with south of the border Gothic horror). 

Rosita Arenas played the damsel in distress in THE WITCH'S MIRROR, and she does the same thing here--but at least she didn't have to suffer as much. The art direction and cinematography are up to par with many more famous American and English Gothics made during the same period. 

This was the first time I had viewed THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN, and like THE WITCH'S MIRROR, I was very impressed with it. The Mexican Gothic horrors made during this period have a energetic quirkiness all their own, and while they certainly have a unique take on traditional elements, they're never boring. If you think you've seen everything when it comes to classic monster movies, a few examples of Mexican Gothic will broaden your horizons. 

THE WITCH'S MIRROR

 

THE WITCH'S MIRROR is a 1960 Mexican Gothic horror film, directed by Chano Urueta (who had an important acting role in THE WILD BUNCH) and produced by Abel Salazar (who starred and produced in the incredible THE BRAINIAC) . The film's original Mexican title is EL ESPEJO DE LA BRUJA. 

I bought a discounted DVD of this film, and it was a first-time viewing for me. Like many Mexican horror-fantasy films of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, it's filled to the brim with all sorts of classic terror tale elements, and it has enough plot for two or three movies. 

The story appears to be set during the 19th Century. A middle-aged woman named Sara (Isabela Corona) is a maid to a Dr. Ramos (Armando Calvo). Sara is also a witch, and a acolyte of Satan. Through a magic mirror Sara discovers that her goddaughter Elena (Dina de Marco) is fated to be murdered by Ramos, who happens to be the girl's husband. Sara pleads with the forces of darkness to help save Elena, but this is not allowed. This doesn't stop Elena from plotting revenge after Dr. Ramos fatally poisons Elena. Some time later Ramos brings home a new wife, a young woman named Deborah (Rosita Arenas). Sara uses her dark powers to call upon the spirit of Elena to haunt Ramos and his new bride. Ramos' attempt at smashing the mirror causes a fire which severely burns Deborah's face and hands. Ramos makes it his mission to restore Deborah's health and beauty by using human cadavers--but Sara and Elena's revenge is far from complete. 

That's a lot of plot for a 75 minute film, but THE WITCH'S MIRROR keeps things flowing. The beginning immediately shows Sara and Elena looking into the magic mirror, even before the viewer even knows who these characters are. After Elena is quickly dispatched, the movie starts to feel like REBECCA, with a bit of THE TOMB OF LIGEIA thrown in, as a beautiful young woman feels overwhelmed by the presence of her husband's late first wife. After Deborah's brutal burning, the story goes into "obsessed doctor tries to restore the beauty of his disfigured loved one" mode, as Ramos and his assistant venture into morgues and graveyards to find material for his experiments. Ramos even comes upon a prematurely buried woman, and decides that a living subject will be even better than a dead one. 

The movie gets a bit nasty when Ramos starts his quest to restore his second wife. Deborah's burn makeup is rather gruesome, and bandages are wrapped around her head in a way that makes her appearance even more grotesque. A number of surgically removed hands feature in the climax, including a pair that are beyond Deborah's control--bringing to mind of course another classic horror tale, THE HANDS OF ORLAC. 

Not only does THE WITCH'S MIRROR offer up plenty of elements favored by Gothic fans (such as most of the story taking place inside Dr. Ramos' residence, which resembles an old castle), it also offers up a few twists on the typical good person-bad person characterizations. Sara is an avowed devil worshiper (which doesn't seem to bother Elena), but she is the one that takes up the fight against Ramos and his evil actions. The most put upon character in the entire movie is Deborah, and she's only guilty of making a bad choice in a husband. 

THE WITCH'S MIRROR is in black & white, with a full-frame aspect ratio. For the most part Chano Urueta's direction is quite basic, but there's a few times where an atmospheric shot sneaks in (such as the one pictured below). What this film really needed was a more charismatic performer as Dr. Ramos. Armando Calvo is just too ordinary to play a wife murderer who steals corpses and experiments on them. The role calls for a Lugosi-Atwill type. (One can say that type would be hard to find in 1960 Mexico--but what about German Robles, who played El Vampiro?)

I enjoyed THE WITCH'S MIRROR. There's a weirdness and a wildness to classic Mexican fantastic cinema that makes the films in that category seem familiar yet also fresh at the same time. 

One of the more expressionistic shot compositions in THE WITCH'S MIRROR

ROGER MOORE'S JAMES BOND DIARY

 

On my latest excursion to Half Price Books, I picked up this little paperback item for $3. ROGER MOORE'S JAMES BOND DIARY was written to coincide with the theatrical release of LIVE AND LET DIE, the first Bond film that Moore starred in. 

I assume that Moore had some ghostwriting help on this...but having listened to a few audio commentaries featuring the actor, I have to say the writing style matches his persona perfectly. He comes off as a witty, charming fellow who doesn't take life (or himself) too seriously. 

Without getting too technical or detailed, Moore charts the production history of LIVE AND LET DIE, starting in the fall of 1972 with location shooting in Louisiana and Jamaica, to interior sets at Pinewood Studios in England, and back to America for more locations in New York City. 

At times, Moore makes it seem that he's on a bizarre vacation instead of playing the leading role in a major feature film franchise. He spends a lot of time going over what he had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and how it was served. He also goes into great detail about his living conditions at each location. 

Ironically, Moore has very little to say about his approach in playing 007, or even how he feels about the character (he constantly refers to Bond as "Jim" or "Jimmy"). If you are expecting a intimate examination of how one performs Ian Fleming's hero on the screen, or a thorough analysis of the script, you won't find it here. (Needless to say, Daniel Craig wouldn't have written this type of book.)

This book reveals that much of Moore's average working day was taken up by posing for publicity photos and doing interviews. Even 50 years ago, the press coverage for a Bond film--and a new Bond--was immense. One of the running gags of the book has Moore trying to figure out how many ways he can answer the question "How will your Bond be different than Sean Connery's?" 

Despite the trials and tribulations he had to endure as the new 007, Moore still found a way to keep up with his social obligations. The actor drops plenty of famous names who happen to be his friends or acquaintances (among the many are Sir James Carreras and Christopher Lee). Moore confides that he prefers to be at home with his wife and children, but he never seems to actually spend much time there. 

There's not much dirt or gossip to be had in this diary--Moore was too much of a gentleman for that--but it one reads between the lines, it seems there was a bit of tension between Yaphet Kotto, who played the villain, and director Guy Hamilton. Moore certainly exudes a sardonic sense of humor here, but for the most part he keeps things PG rated. (Some folks, however, might raise a Roger Moore-like eyebrow to his nickname for co-star Gloria Hendry.) 

One has to remember that the main reason for this book was to sell the film, and sell Roger Moore as the new 007. He certainly wasn't going to give a "warts and all" expose of the Bond series, and he certainly wasn't going to write anything that might get him removed from his new job. 

All in all, this was a fun, breezy read, and James Bond movie fans will find a lot of interesting details in it. My feelings about Roger Moore have changed a number of times over the years. He was the James Bond of my childhood (for a while I considered him the James Bond, because he was the first one I saw in the role). When I became a teenager and started actually reading the Ian Fleming novels in the mid 1980s, I began to feel that Moore was too old and too goofy for the role. 

My feelings for the Bond movies that Moore starred in haven't changed--most of them are very mediocre. But in the ten years or so my appreciation for Moore has grown. He believed his main job was to entertain the audience--and he certainly did that. I also admired the fact that after he left the role he didn't seem embarrassed to discuss it, and he never acted as if 007 was beneath him. One other factor is that my friend Veronica Carlson, who knew and worked with Moore, absolutely adored him. 

A new edition of this book was published a couple years ago (I assume that it has the same text as the original version). Whatever edition is available, I highly recommend it. 

THE DEVIL'S AGENT

The 27th of this month marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Christopher Lee. During my time writing this blog I've done plenty of posts on Lee's films--there's plenty to choose from. 

One of Lee's more obscure movie appearances is a 1961 German-Irish-British production called THE DEVIL'S AGENT. One would assume that this is a German Krimi story, since the leading role was played by Peter van Eyck, and the executive producer was Artur Brauner (both men were veterans of the genre). It is, however, a mediocre spy drama, set in 1950 Europe. 

George Droste (van Eyck) is a Austrian wine merchant who lives in Vienna. Droste is coerced into spying for the Americans after he is informed that an old friend who is a German aristocrat (Christopher Lee) is an agent for the Soviets. Droste travels to Hungary, Hamburg, and back to Vienna, attempting to use both the West and the East in an effort to enrich himself and provide a better life for his son. Droste's schemes catch up with him in the end. 

THE DEVIL'S AGENT isn't a badly made film, but it's a very lackluster Cold War thriller. Droste isn't a James Bond type--he doesn't really want to be a spy, and he's not very enthusiastic about what he does. Peter van Eyck is much better as a villain than a leading man, and even the twist ending doesn't make the viewer care much about Droste's fate. 

The movie has a very notable supporting cast, with such performers as Macdonald Carey, Billie Whitelaw, and Niall McGinnis. The problem is that those three have very little screen time, and very little chance to make an impression. Christopher Lee only shows up at the very beginning and the very end, and his role could have been played by just about any actor. A very young Jeremy Bulloch (the original Boba Fett) is Droste's teenage son. 

Marianne Koch (who played Marisol in A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) plays a woman who escapes from Hungary with Droste, and becomes his love interest. She brings some much needed charisma to the story, but it isn't enough. 

One other famous name attached to this film is Peter Cushing. The question is whether he actually worked on it, or whether the scenes he did work on were cut out. Numerous sources have mentioned how press reports of the time stated that Cushing was signed for the production, but no one seems to know what he did on it, if anything (even Cushing himself apparently didn't remember it). If Cushing did shoot some scenes for it, it made no sense at all to cut him out of the picture, as his name could have been added to the roster of all the other notable actors involved. And...if Cushing had been in this movie, it would have made THE DEVIL'S AGENT an official Cushing-Lee film, and it probably would have gotten a special edition home video release by now. 

THE DEVIL'S AGENT was directed by John Paddy Carstairs (brother of Anthony Nelson Keys) and the crisp black & white cinematography was by Gerald Gibbs. The British technical proficiency by these men is welcome, but what this movie could have used was the weird wildness of the German krimis. Christopher Lee fans will not be impressed by his tiny part. 

Christopher Lee and Peter van Eyck in THE DEVIL'S AGENT

The VCI Santo Blu-ray Box Set: Disc Four

 

I finally got around to viewing the fourth and final disc of VCI's Santo Blu-ray box set, which contains two cinematic adventures of the Mexican masked wrestler. 

SANTO AND BLUE DEMON VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1974) has a lot in common with SANTO VS. FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER. Once again Santo (along with fellow masked wrestler Blue Demon) fights a member of the Frankenstein family--this time, it's the original Dr. Frankenstein's grandson. The grandson, who is named Irving (seriously), also has developed a youth serum like his aunt, and he also kidnaps Santo's girlfriend, and he has created a muscular being to fight the heroes. 

This movie is a typically wacky affair for Santo to be involved in, but the various sub-plots and ideas are not carried out properly. The story establishes that Irving Frankenstein has killed 12 different women due to practicing brain transplants on them (the doc states he is perfecting his technique, but considering that all these women died, maybe he should change tactics?). These victimized women then become murderous zombies, controlled by Frankenstein, but this idea unfortunately doesn't go anywhere. 

Irving Frankenstein, as played by Jorge Russek, acts more like a crime boss than a scientist--he has a pack of thugs who constantly get beat up by Santo and Blue Demon. At the climax the doc decides to use his creation, which he calls Golem, as an actual wrestler so he can fight and kill Santo in the ring, that way it will be "legal". The doc even puts on a mask and poses as Golem's manager--putting this Dr. Frankenstein on the same level as Bobby Heenan. (What would Colin Clive think of this?) 

Miguel M. Delgado directed this outing, and one wishes he brought some more flair and inventiveness to the proceedings. 

THE REVENGE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (1974) was also directed by Miguel M. Delgado. This outing deals with La Llorona, the "Crying Woman", a Mexican legend about a lady who after a tragic death roams about wailing over her lost children. This time Santo is teamed up with Cuban boxer Jose "Mantiquella" Napoles, who was the world welterweight champion at the time the film was made. (This means that not only do we get to see the usual wrestling matches involving Santo, we also have to watch one of Napoles' boxing matches.) 

The legend of La Llorona has been dealt with in numerous (and much better) movies. Here a professor has researched the legend, and has found evidence of where the actual woman was buried. He asks Santo and Mantiquella to help find the grave, and the map of a treasure that is supposed to be entombed with the woman. Santo and friends find the grave, but they inadvertently revive the Crying Woman, while a group of gangsters (led by Mexican movie legend Rene Cardona Sr.) scheme to make off with the treasure, which Santo intends to give to a children's hospital. 

Ironically Santo never actually personally confronts the Crying Woman--the scenes involving her feel as if they come from another movie. The Crying Woman here is impressively realized--she's quite creepy--and she's accompanied by a black-garbed young woman who is an emissary of the devil. I have to admit this film would have been much better if it focused on the Crying Woman and left Santo and Mantiquella out of it. 

There are no extras on this disc, but as in the rest of the set, Mexican movie expert Dr. David Wilt gives informative introductions to both films. Both titles on this disc appear to be in the 1.85:1 ratio, and the colorful transfers are very good. Both movies have the same mediocre English dubbing as the rest of the titles in this set do. 

Overall I enjoyed this VCI Santo box set, despite the silly-sounding English dubbing. The movies are certainly diverting enough, although it would be a good idea to spread out your viewing of them (all the story lines follow a basic pattern). I also appreciated the introductions by David Wilt, and the booklet included with the set, which was written by Wilt, and which gives a quick look at all eight movies. I do wish that at least one of the films here had an audio commentary--watching these Santo adventures made me want more info on the man and his cinematic career. 

If you enjoy movies that involve the weird, strange, and fantastic, and you're looking for something different, this Santo box set is a great introduction to the wild world of the famed masked wrestler. 

IT!

 

The generically named IT! is a 1967 horror film I caught up with on TCM yesterday. The movie was written, produced, and directed by Herbert J. Leder, who was responsible for the underwhelming THE FROZEN DEAD. 

What makes IT! notable is the fact that IT is the Golem, the fabled creature from Jewish lore. The story, set in contemporary London, details how the Golem is found after a fire to a museum warehouse. The Golem is used for nefarious purposes by the museum's curator, a strange young man named Arthur Pimm (Roddy McDowall). 

A modern movie using the Golem in the English-speaking world seems to be a promising idea, but the script spends most of its time dealing with the twitchy, fussy, nervous Pimm. The young man is written to be a Norman Bates clone--he even keeps the remains of his late mother in his house, fully dressed, and he still talks to her. Pimm also claims to have access to the "spirit world", which supposedly allows him to communicate with the Golem. (Both the dead mother and spiritual elements of the story are not developed enough, and only seem to exist just to make Pimm stranger than he already is.) 

The Golem here does have a striking design (see picture below). This Golem is made of stone, not clay...and it cannot be destroyed. The authorities even use a "small" nuclear device on it at the climax of the film, only to see it walk into the ocean. 

The creature doesn't get much to do, except look threatening when standing still. This was probably due to the fact that when it does move about, it comes off as rather clunky, and the movie's low budget didn't allow for intricate special effects. At one point Pimm has the Golem destroy the Hammersmith bridge, but we never actually see it go down, we are just shown the results with a matte painting. During the climax, the creature is "attacked" by a British army that is represented by a few soldiers and a couple of pieces of military equipment. 

Jill Haworth plays the damsel in distress here. She's the blonde beauty working in the museum that Pimm desires (of course she doesn't take him seriously). Pimm winds up kidnapping her--she's dressed in a nightgown at the time--and in time-honored fashion, the Golem carries her off. 

More of Haworth and the Golem would have better served the film. IT! is a talky, slow-moving affair, unless you like to spend a lot of time watching Roddy McDowall act weird. The supporting cast is rather bland, and any decently creative person can think of all sorts of ways the idea of the Golem being set loose in the modern world could have been used to better effect. 

At one point in IT!, Roddy McDowall's Pimm mentions that he went to see a 1920s German silent film about a Golem. He's obviously referring to the Paul Wegener classic, but he's giving good advice to audience. If you want to see a great tale about the Golem, IT! isn't it. 

The Golem (Alan Sellers) and Jill Haworth