Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
by Terence Fisher
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Freddie Jones, Peter Cushing, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters, Veronica CarlsonDirector: Terence Fisher
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Arthur Grant
Editor: Gordon Hales
Producer: Anthony Nelson Keys
Writer: Anthony Nelson Keys
Writer: Bert Batt
Writer: Mary Shelley
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Movie Review: Believe it or not, one of the BEST "Frankenstein" films!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hammer did 7 Frankenstein films from the late 50s to early 70s:
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973)
Peter Cushing played Baron Frankenstein in every one of these except "The Horror of Frankenstein." The reason is because "Horror" was a remake of the original story and they needed a much younger actor to play the role; in this case they chose Ralph Bates (who superbly played the love-to-hate OTT satanist in "Taste the Blood of Dracula" released the same year).
In any event, we all know the basic Frankenstein story: A mad scientist is obsessed with creating life from an assortment of body parts. Eventually he succeeds and his creation goes on a killing spree, although the creature is nice to kids 'cause they're innocent. Ultimately the monster must be destroyed (and the Baron usually goes with him).
Ho Hum. Forgive me if this basic plot no longer trips my trigger. Thankfully, I recently saw a couple of Frankenstein flicks that stirred my interest in this age-old predictable story.
Hammer's "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" from 1969 was, as noted above, the fifth film in their 7-film Frankenstein series. THE PLOT: Baron Frankenstein is, at this point, a fugitive who goes by a different name but is intent on continuing his gruesome work. He ultimately blackmails a young couple in assisting him. They steal a patient from the local insane asylum and successfully tranplant his brain into another body, curing his madness.
The film is highlighted by Veronica Carlson, who looks a lot like Ursula Andress, but possibly even more beautiful (if you can imagine that).
FINAL ANALYSIS: "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" is one of the best Frankenstein flicks I've seen. It's creative, labyrinthian and full of pizzazz. Being a sequel, the film retains the essential elements of the original story but is a natural progression. The REAL monster in this picture is Baron Frankenstein himself; he's no longer a basically good person obsessed with creating life from corpses. His obsession has defiled him to the point of enmity, hate, arrogance, violence, rape and murder.
Another great 70's Frankenstein film is the Italian "Lady Frankenstein" from 1971, which starred Rosalba Neri (AKA Sara Bey) as the Baron's daughter who overtakes his work after his death. See my review for details.
Summary of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
BARON FRANKENSTEIN IS ONCE AGAIN WORKING WITH ILLEGAL MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS. TOGETHER WITH A YOUNG DOCTOR, KARL AND HIS FIANCéE ANNA THEY KIDNAP THE MENTALLY SICK DR. BRANDT, TO PERFORM THE FIRST BRAIN TRANSPLANTATION EVER.Peter Cushing delivers his most cold-blooded portrayal of the mad Baron in his fifth turn as Dr. Frankenstein. Abandoning his latest experiment after a drunk stumbles into his secret lab (upsetting a severed head) he hurriedly finds new lodgings with a sweet young thing (Hammer glamour babe Veronica Carlson) whose boyfriend (Simon Ward, in his film debut) works in the local sanitarium. Frankenstein blackmails the lovers into complicity with his latest experiment, resorts to kidnapping and murder for his subjects, turns accomplice Ward into a killer, and even rapes Carlson in a coldly brutal scene. The goriest film of the series kicks off with a flamboyant beheading with a scythe (seen only as a spray of blood across a window) and is full of bloody brain surgery, conveniently offscreen but vividly suggested in the slurping sound effects of surgical saws and drills and the gallons of blood left in their wake. Freddie Jones is heartbreaking as Frankenstein's latest creature, a once-insane scientist who awakens to find himself cured but trapped in a grotesque, alien body. When he attempts to communicate with his wife, half hiding in a dark corner while she peers around and sees only a monster, director Terence Fisher offers the most affecting moment of pathos in the entire series. Cushing and Fisher reunited for one more film together, the seventh and final film in the series, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. --Sean Axmaker
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