frankenstein
...rance in Universal’s Frankenstein series. At the same time, Frankenstein had become extremely profitable for Universal which continued to cash in on the name Frankenstein with 4 more sequels: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), and ended with Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). After a decade of the last Universal release of Frankenstein a new series emerged from British production company Hammer Films. The first movie in the series, The Curse of Frankenstein, starred Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the Monster. The Hammer series differed from Universal’s in many ways. Hammer made it a point to try and disgust their audience with gory scenes and more emphasis on Dr. Frankenstein rather than the Monster. Hammer Films set a new tone in the film industry for sexuality and graphic violence in science fiction/horror films. Peter Cushing and Hammer Films cashed in their success after The Curse of Frankenstein hit the box office as a commercial product directed towards a younger audience moving further away from the retelling of Shelley’s novel. Threats from Universal for using any ideas from their series left Hammer Films with a revitalizing makeover for the Frankenstein phenomenon. The 1958 sequel, Revenge of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing returning as Dr. Frankenstein, followed the first Hammer Film release, The Curse of Frankenstein. The next release, The Evil of Frankenstein, was a downfall for Hammer Films because of a change in the film’s directors in 1964. However, in 1967 the original director, Terence Fisher, returns which revived Hammer’s Frankenstein series with Frankenstein Created Women. This movie is known to be the favorite of the Hammer series because of its switch of gender role and the evil female. Hammer Films and Peter Cushing continued to make Frankenstein into the 1970’s with sequels Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), Horror of Frankenstein (1970), and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974). After the fall of the Hammer films there were many low budget attempts at re-birthing Frankenstein. However, it was up to two comedies to revive the Frankenstein genre. Both Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein (1964) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1965) were takeoff of the Frankenstein films bringing new ideas into the genre. Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein has little to do with Shelley’s story. Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder’s film is a spoof of the old Universal Frankenstein films from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Some examples are the monsters “abnormal brain” which makes him dumb and violent. Also, Gene Wilder, Dr. Frankenstein, is seen in the laboratory bringing the monster to life with electricity. The monster is afraid of fire and also encounters a young little girl he becomes friends with as seen in Frankenstein (1931). Unlike many of Mel Brooks' other films, Young Frankenstein is not only a series of hilarious slapstick scenes but a perfect service to the films it parodies. The Monster is treated with dignity and not ridiculed. But the most important achievement of this film is the fact that it adds a new dimension to the Frankenstein story. For the first time in the history of Frankenstein films the Monster gets the kind of comfort he is looking for. In the end the Monster is transformed into a human being, is accepted by the people of the village and shakes hand with his former enemy police inspector Kemp. All the Monster wanted in Mary Shelley's novel is given to him in Mel Brooks' film. Of course this could only have been done under the guise of a parody. In a horror film intended to be serious these incidents would be too ridiculous and unbelievable. While Young Frankenstein was a parody of the old Universal films, the musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, directed by Jim Sharman and musically composed by Richard O'Brien, can partly be seen as a parody of the Hammer Frankenstein films. The main theme of the film is the bisexual Dr. Frank'n Furter, who creates the artificial being Rocky. Frank'n Furter is the logical consequence of Peter Cushing. Frank'n Furter is a bisexual monster who creates a monstrous muscleman in a Hammer and cures the American middle class of its morale, when he introduces the couple Brad and Janet to unknown sexual pleasures. Often cited as a remake of Bride of Frankenstein, The Bride (1985) is more of a sequel to James Whale's 1935 classic. The relationship between Charles Frankenstein and Eva, is often reminiscent of Pygmalion. Frankenstein did not only create Eva physically in his laboratory, but is also the creator of her mind when he educates her and introduces her to the secrets of life. The acting is also fine, especially Clancy Brown as the Monster and David Rappaport as the dwarf. Both rock singer Sting and Jennifer Beals of Flashdance fame show surprisingly solid performances. Despite the strong casting and excellent production values The Bride was a box office failure, most probably because it disappointed the horror fans, who awaited a gory splatter fest, but ended up with having to endure a 120 minute long gothic romance, that dealt more with human emotions and feelings than with horror. The 1994 version of Frankenstein was done by director Kenneth Branagh's in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Intended as a companion to the highly successful Bram Stoker's Dracula Francis Ford Coppola aimed at sticking as closely as possible to the literary source. Although director Branagh, who also played Victor Frankenstein, and writers Steph Lady and Frank Darabont still changed some parts of the plot, they nevertheless ended up with a film that was at least made in the spirit of Mary Shelley. Branagh's faithfulness to the literary original particularly shows in his presentation of the Monster. Like no film before, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein presents the Monster as the victim of its circumstances, as a pitiful creature, who is driven to evil by society and its maker. By casting Robert de Niro, an actor of average height, as the Monster and not making him an 8 foot tall giant, t...