The Curse of Frankenstein

"The creature created by man and forgotten by nature!"

1957 1h 23m EN

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6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 362

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

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Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life's secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.

“The creature created by man and forgotten by nature!”

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Cast

Peter Cushing
Baron Victor Frankenstein
Hazel Court
Elizabeth
Robert Urquhart
Paul Krempe
Christopher Lee
The Creature
Melvyn Hayes
Young Victor
Valerie Gaunt
Justine
Paul Hardtmuth
Prof. Bernstein
Noel Hood
Aunt

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Terence Fisher
Writers: Jimmy Sangster
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $8M — a 29.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Frankenstein (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Jack Asher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Needs shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Terence Fisher directs. Jack Asher behind the camera. James Bernard scores. James Needs cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $8M — a 29.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
469 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Part of the "Frankenstein (Hammer) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Jack Asher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by James Bernard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor James Needs shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Peter Cushing and Hazel Court and Robert Urquhart carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The creature created by man and forgotten by nature!".
11IMDB entry: tt0050280 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 20 themes, including "experiment", "halloween", "morgue", "guillotine".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Asher
Original score: James Bernard
Editing: James Needs
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Costume design: Molly Arbuthnot
Makeup / hair: Henry Montsash
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $270,000
Box office: $8,000,000
Return: 2963% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Part of

Frankenstein (Hammer) Collection

A Hammer Films Production film series beginning with The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 and its sequels.

Also by

Terence Fisher

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-05-20
★ 9/10
This ended up being one of my favourites, both of Hammer Films in general, and of the works of both Sir Peter Cushing and Sir Christopher Lee. It still works cinematically, three generations later, as my 13-year-old son really enjoyed it as well. Though the filmmakers were forced to use other makeup rather than that copyrighted by Universal Studios in James Whale's masterpiece, that isn't problematic in the slightest for your enjoyment of the picture. Worth a purchase and rewatches either for fans of the genre in the slightest, of period pieces in general, or of the Mary Shelley novel. A fine work which is one of the best of director Fisher's career.
John Chard2019-10-16
★ 8/10
Even if we dared to omit its landmark importance; it's still a terrific movie. The Curse Of Frankenstein is out of Hammer Film Productions and based on the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. It's directed by Terence Fisher, written by Jimmy Sangster and stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court & Robert Urquhart. Jack Asher is the cinematographer and James Bernard scores the music. The first Hammer film in colour, The Curse Of Frankenstein began the second wave of cinematic horror some 25 odd years after the Universal heyday of the 30s. Where Hammer's version differs from the Universal offerings, who were carefully watching what Hammer were doing, is by focusing on the Baron himself rather than the actual iconic creature. This approach threw many critics and observers at the time, with some either calling it too talky, or worse still, depressing and degrading. But the box office tills rang, both in Britain and America, and now the film is revered by film makers and horror historians alike. Rightly so. Plot basically sees Baron Victor Frankenstein in prison for murder, where faced with the guillotine, he tells to a priest an amazing story of how he and his mentor successfully resurrected a dead body. The resulting creation being the one who committed the murder for which the Baron is now charged. The first masterstroke from Hammer was appointing Fisher and Sangster, the former shoots in lurid Eastmancolor; thus setting the marker for the Gothic style of Hammer to come, the latter produced a crackling script that make the scientist of the piece the actual monster. The second masterstroke was in the casting of Cushing as the driven Frankenstein. Then just a classy actor on TV, Cushing plays it in turns as cold blooded and elegantly charming. Lee, only getting the gig after Bernard Bresslaw's agent demanded too much money, actually doesn't have to do much, but his marionette movements coupled with the fleshy patchwork make up of his face make it totally memorable. Both men of course went on to become horror legends from here. It's far from the best Hammer Horror film, in fact it's not the best of the Universal Creature reinventions. But it adds grit and intelligence to the Gothic atmospherics, its visuals striking as the character based narrative propels eerily forward. 8/10
JPV8522020-12-07
★ 7/10
Entertaining if not also flawed monster horror film that excels in large part for Peter Cushing and Robert Urquhart, with the gothic atmosphere. Dialogue is a bit lackluster but liked the change up with the classic story and fun to see Christopher Lee as the "Creature". 3.5/5