The Evil of Frankenstein 1964

If I'm beginning to sound like a broken record it's only because I'm running out of ways to describe what a great actor Peter Cushing is. He brings so much to the roles that he plays in the Hammer films. He's got such a presence on-screen. He brings an intelligence to the roles he plays as Dr. Frankenstein. His character is also charming, calculating, and athletic. He plays Frankenstein with a very short fuse and a great deal of victimization. Throughout this movie, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pull for him or dislike him, but either way, his Frankenstein is the best representation of the questionably intentioned doctor that's been done by any studio.

"The Evil of Frankenstein" doesn't work for me quite as well as Hammer Horror's "The Revenge of Frankenstein". TEoF starts out with a great scene of Cushing's Dr. F'Stein cutting the heart out of a still warm cadaver. This dissection is performed during the opening credits. We see Cushing grunting and pulling at the corpse trying to remove the heart from its chest. This opening scene is so effective because Cushing is so good. It's definitely a gruesome scene, but there is absolutely no gore to be found. We don't see the results of Frankenstein's autopsy until he drops the heart into a tub of liquid. This is another great example of how well these old movies incite a horrific reaction without the mindless gore.

This movie actually has a monster but I was underwhelmed with it. Mostly because the makeup job was so bad. The monster was a sympathetic enough character and I liked that this took a different direction with Cushing actually losing control of the situation, and the monster itself. The castle and the town of Karlsbaad were satisfying creations and they brought a feel of authenticity to the whole affair.

The ending is all too abrupt which seems to be the norm for Hammer. The ending wasn't bad it was just too sudden.

In "The Evil of Frankenstein", Peter Cushing, as doctor Frankenstein tries to reanimate corpses but is hindered by the people of the village he lives in. Frustrated he decides to move back to his hometown Karlstadt, which he had to leave after successfully creating his famous monster, which was killed by the town folk. While returning, he finds out that all his possessions where stolen - and there is another suprise...

This movie is somewhat interesting. While telling a known story, it twistest the roles of good and evil; while normally Frankenstein is precieved as crazy man that creates evil, in this movie he is rather portrayed as victim of the evil leadership consisting of church, police and the mayors - who not only persecute him but also steal all his belongings. And even the town folks are portrayed evil (when of course a somewhat lesser evil) - they are not only the lynch mob but also bully the poor deaf-mute town girl.

Frankenstein on the opposite together with his helping hand Hans are the misjudged heroes who achiev the unbelievable. Who manage to cheat death and lead mankind to scientific wonders. The main evil is a human hypnotist Zoltán, who instrumentalizes Frankensteins monster for his own revenge and enrichment - and degrades the deaf-mute town girl by trying to rape her and then not going through with it, because she's not worth the trouble. The monster on the other hand is the victim.

I think this is - especially for its time - a really progressive story. Normally there is a typical black-and-white idea of good and evil which seem to be static in movies from that era. The story is interestingly told, and never forseeable, the acting varies.

Peter Cushing is of course the star, and this movie is one of his greatest, because he has a lot of screen time (compared to, i.e. his portrayals of van Helsing). Katy Wild has also great potential even though she plays a deaf-mute girl. The acting of Kiwi Kingston as the monster is however extremely poor, and with exception of Peter Woodthorpe (Zoltán) the acting is pretty bad. However, all in all the movie is enjoyable and can be seen numerous times; I liked it!