Dan Curtis' Frankenstein

Dark Sky Films

126 minutes

Not Rated

Directed by: Glenn Jordan

R1 DVD

Producer Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows and The Night Stalker), takes his chance at presenting a very human adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic classic Frankenstein. This film was originally produced to be shown on ABC (US) as part of The Wide World of Mystery but does stand well by itself as a feature a tad over two hours.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Robert Foxworth) is obsessed with finding the secret of creating life and undertakes his illegal research in secret. His goal is to forge a man created from various body parts which he steals from graveyards. While he had been working for some time he had not achieved the results he had hoped for. However, in a stroke of ironic coincidence Hugo suffers a fatal fall and offers his heart to complete their creation and during a fierce lightening storm at last the creature is given life.

The creature is not the stuff of usual horror movies; it is more human than monster and tends to evoke the more psychological side of the Frankenstein story. While the creature is, of course, created from many parts and hence physically deformed and extremely strong, it is gentle and emotionally naive. However as time progresses he realizes his innate strength and not only makes demands from Dr.Frankenstein but requires he makes him a mate. When Frankenstein refuses to do so, the creature vows that since he will be alone, so will Victor Frankenstein.

This is an interesting adaptation of the Frankenstein mythos. It has far more character development than found in most horror films and while it perhaps trades the scares for plot and depth of story, it is well worth the result. The acting of both Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Robert Foxworth) and Bo Svenson (the creature) is exemplary and lifts what could have been simply another “made for TV” creature film to another level. It should be said that clearly this was made on a fairly limited budget and this does show in the limited rage of special effects and sets, but when watched for what it is, it is an innovative take on the tale and worth having in your DVD library.

The quality of the print is reasonable, it is an old film (1973) and while showing some occasional colour issues (especially with reds), is generally in very good form. Dark Sky has done a very good job at clearing up and older film and making it eminently watchable. The audio is solid and the dialogue is clear and without problem.

Extras include a rather informative Audio Commentary by Actors Robert Foxworth and John Karlen (Otto Roget) and the 1973 "Frankenstein" promo, recap and preview from the original broadcast on ABC-TV's "Wide World of Mystery."