The Curse of Frankenstein 1957 M
When
6.00 pm, Wed 8 May 2024 (87 mins)Where
Gallery of Modern Art & Cinema A
Accessibility
- Wheelchair Accessible
About
Inside a gloomy prison cell, the brilliant Baron Victor Frankenstein laments his scientific misadventures to a local priest whilst awaiting sentencing. After inheriting the Frankenstein family fortune, a young Victor hires a tutor to verse him in scientific theory. Following many years of study, Frankenstein convinces the tutor to help him build a contraption that will give him the power to restore life, setting the pair on an all-consuming quest to manufacture a human being.
What follows is a series of covert grave robberies and shady deals with local undertakers to create a grisly storeroom of ‘spare’ parts that Frankenstein uses to build his creation. As with most unorthodox experiments, things seldom go to plan, which Frankenstein soon learns when his monstrous creation escapes into the nearby woodlands.
One of the now iconic ‘Hammer Horror’ films from British production company Hammer Film Productions, The Curse of Frankenstein is filled with blood-spurting gore set against a backdrop of whirling generators, mysterious red frothing liquids and body parts pickled in formaldehyde, all of which are vividly brought to life in Hammer’s very first colour feature. The film also boasts Peter Cushing’s breakthrough role as the enigmatic Victor Frankenstein and an unforgettable performance from Christopher Lee as Frankenstein’s monster.
Production Credits
- Director: Terence Fisher
- Script: Jimmy Sangster
- Based on: the novel ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
- Cinematographer: Jack Asher
- Editor: James Needs
- Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court
- Rights: Roadshow Films
- Year: 1957
- Runtime: 87 minutes
- Country: United Kingdom
- Language: English
- Colour: Colour
- Shooting Format: 35mm
- Screening Format: DCP