WEBVTT
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Oh my god, what you will and welcome to Cinema Chat with David Heath, and I am your host.
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My name is David Heath.
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Interesting how that was arranged, right?
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Well, in this uh podcast we talk about movies from every era and just about every genre.
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And I don't cover horror films a whole lot, but this is going to be a sh a show where we're going to talk about Peter Cushing and the six Frankenstein movies that he starred in.
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So, yes, there were six movies uh that uh Peter Cushing made uh that uh involved the Frank the Dr.
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Frankenstein character and the Baron Frankenstein as he's called throughout the film series.
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We'll talk about the directors uh involved with the films, we'll talk about the actors uh involved with the films, and uh we will uh talk about the plots and the continuing saga, and of course we are going to discuss uh uh Peter Cushing.
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You're far too trust.
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I can't do I can't do a Peter Cushing impression, but in any case we're gonna talk about each one in small detail anyway.
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And uh there may be some spoilers here, so if you are listening to this, I would suggest watching the films and uh maybe checking back with me, because I'll still be talking about it when you come back if you hit pause.
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But I am going to try to navigate this.
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I did something similar to this when I talked about the Planet of the Apes series, which I consider to be a really good episode.
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Uh probably one of the best early episodes that I did.
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I think I did that before I uh took on any guests on the show, but um but uh that if you've seen the Planet of the Apes movies, um then you might enjoy listening to that episode too.
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Um if you like them, which if you've seen all of them, you probably do like them.
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But in any case, we are uh going to talk about uh the Frankenstein movies and specifically the Hammer films, the uh Peter Cushing uh starred films where he stars as Dr.
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Frankenstein.
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Uh let me first get out of the way.
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That really probably the well, uh not probably, the best adaptation in of Frankenstein is uh the early uh adaptation from 1932.
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Uh very good 31 or 32.
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Anyway, um that is the best one, and uh we have uh talked about that one in in fair detail as well on the podcast.
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And but but but but today we're going to focus on mostly just uh the hammer films and uh the yeah the ones starring Peter Cushing.
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Now the uh first uh uh film in the series, and I I I have to say, I really don't know if this was uh set out to be a ser a film series, but it turned out to be that, and it spanned 1957 to 1974.
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However, each film uh doesn't completely connect with the next one.
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I mean it sort of does, but they're more like uh episodes than sequels.
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I we could call them sequels, and I you would have a very good case in court if you called the the the other films sequels.
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Um but they are not as quite as connective as the sequels that uh we have seen made in decades later.
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Uh but uh them having a movie series was not really a thing in 1957.
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They certainly had some serials going back to you know, say Buck Rogers, uh, you know, and and uh things like that, but uh but uh the uh there's certainly some short film series uh that you know uh but but this was not really a thing in 1957.
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Matter of fact, I would say that's the decade where there just weren't uh you know sequels made you know very much at all.
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And uh the certainly uh the next decade we have the Bond films, but as we know, these those aren't sequels, those are more you know, uh more episodes.
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Um, you know, but in any case, uh they are somewhat connective and and largely connective.
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Um but uh we'll get into it.
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Okay.
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So uh the first one, of course, stars uh Peter Cushing.
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And um it's uh directed by Terrence Fisher, and we'll talk more about Peter Cushing uh later, but uh uh Terrence Fisher has has a uh a long history with horror films and with uh hammer films.
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Uh he began his film career in the 30s as uh as an editor uh and started directing films in the forties.
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Some um non-horror films for sure, a whole bunch of uh lighter films.
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Um but here we are in 1957, where the Curse of Frankenstein comes out and uh well let's see, the film also stars uh Hazel Court, who had a long career in the film industry, and then the fifties and sixties had um and uh going back going back all the way to the 40s, uh it was in a lot of TV shows, Mission Impossible, uh The Twilight Zone, uh and also appeared in uh The Raven, which was a Roger Corman film uh in the 60s, 1963.
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Uh lots of credits for Hazel Court, uh, and also stars uh Robert Urkhart Urkerhart, who is Dr.
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Frankenstein's and they really call him the Baron more than they call him Dr.
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Frankenstein, uh, which might drive Frankenstein uh fans c a little crazy.
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But of course, Frankenstein was crazy, right?
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The Baron was crazy.
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Uh but um Robert Erkerhart uh has this is probably his best known film.
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Uh but he was also uh in a number a number of other films in the 1950s and uh 1960s, uh mostly if not in total to totality, uh uh British uh films.
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Uh he had a career that lasted all the way to the 80s, and um he died in 1995, was 72.
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And by the way, I knew I should mention the Hazel Court um died in 2008, and she was 82.
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Uh now we have the wonderful Christopher Lee as the Frankenstein monster, and uh of course uh he does uh very well, which Christopher Lee always did very well, but it's a it's a difficult role to get lots of uh love for because uh you're masked and you know it's it's just you don't get to talk much, or you don't get to talk at all.
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And um, and it's it's very difficult.
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But we all know uh that uh Christopher Lee had an extremely uh prolific career and like Peter Cushing late in life, uh part of that career involved being in uh Star Wars movies, and uh so I think I don't think that's a tremendous coincidence.
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Uh but uh yeah, but Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were, of course, really good friends and starred in several Hammer films together.
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And I would suggest going back and scrolling to an episode a few years ago where we we talked about four 1970s films with Peter Cushing.
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And I think Christopher Lee was all four of those.
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But anyway, really good episode.
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Uh, after I've done listening to this, go back to that and listen, just go listen to all the episodes.
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You're fine.
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Uh Christopher Lee uh had just an extraordinary career, um love it in the in the industry.
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Uh died in 2015.
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Uh he was uh 93, so when you think about it now, uh Christopher Lee would be uh 104 if he were alive today.
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And uh as for Peter Cushing, uh except we'll talk a little bit more about him later, but uh Peter Cushing would be if he were alive today, would be a 113.
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So it'd be pretty old.
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But in any case, uh the curse of Frankenstein uh is is really sort of the basic story uh of Frankenstein, where uh where Frankenstein decides uh I'm going to create a being out of someone dead, and we the story's been told several times, but that this is done really well, it's rich in effects, um it's rich in color uh for 1957, it's just absolutely stunning color, uh which by the way, I I I will say that because Technicolor was such a good product, I I I there are a lot of 1950s films that look better than 1980s films.
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And it's true.
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Well, 1950s films often look better than films from today, as a matter of fact, the cartoon ones that they do today.
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Uh I applaud and I said it in a previous episode a uh a couple weeks ago.
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Hard to keep track of when I said it because uh I don't release these episodes in the order that I actually recorded them.
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But I I I talked about uh how I have a little bit of hope for the film industry.
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I think it's getting better, but that doesn't necessarily extend uh to uh films that have a lot of CGI.
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Um I'm really more referring to drama and and things like that.
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However, um there was an excellent um it's a an updated version of Nosferatu uh a couple years ago that that came out.
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Uh and I just thought it was fantastic.
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And not and maybe not quite as good as the original, especially when you can from 1922, especially when you consider what they had at their disposal in 1922, but it is an excellent film, Nosferatu, if you like monster movies and and you want to see something really modern, that's pretty good.
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Uh however, uh back to the curse of Frankenstein.
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Uh so yeah, this movie is made uh with uh really good sets, really believable sets, uh, and it's rich in color, just absolutely gorgeous uh at times.
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Um speaking of gorgeous Hazel Court, um, just absolutely gorgeous in this film.
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Um but the film discusses or or well it narrates us to a level where where what's happening is the is uh the baron wants to make uh uh a person uh out of a you know a dead being.
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So uh they rob a grave, but his assistant develops a strong sense of guilt and thinks uh that the Baron uh played by Peter Cushing, Dr.
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Frankenstein, if you want to call him that.
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Uh we'll we'll keep referring to him as the Baron for the most part, because they do call him that most of the in during most of these films.
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But in any case, the the Baron, of course, uh he believes is going way overboard.
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And the film details out his guilt, tries to weigh that out with what he really wants to do, which is the the recurring theme in this series, is that the Baron has has admirers and people that really uh other men that believe he what he's doing is really great stuff, until they realize that he's demented and what his ideas are are not really science, um, but in fact more like witchcraft and and and and manner of speaking.
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But uh but uh the the curse of Frankenstein, I'm going to try not to give out too many spoilers, um, but uh we we find uh him of course uh a near the end of the movie where he's kind of caught and um this film has a different ending than let's just say the original Frankenstein in the 30s had.
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Uh but uh we of course uh okay if you don't want to hear us weather, skip 30 seconds, okay?
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But because I'm gonna tell you.
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All right.
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You got a chance.
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Had your chance.
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Okay, so the Baron uh goes to jail and is sentenced to die uh at the end.
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Uh but how cat bad of a splitter can it be?
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Because you know, the Baron is alive during the sequel, The Revenge of Frankenstein, uh, which is essentially a sequel.
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I I would say it's a true sequel.
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Um the others are are not quite as connective, but but this one it really kind of is a true sequel.
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Uh and in this one it it opens up with uh Peter Cushing uh as the Baron, and we realize, oh, he's still alive.
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And of course, what does he do?
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He escapes uh execution, I know, of course, and ends up performing more shenanigans.
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Uh this time it involves an assistant again, and he but he ends up you know, uh basically uh transplanting his assistant's brain his assistant's deformed, and he wants to he he he's a willing participant, um, but when it all comes down to it, he didn't like what happened, and of course, uh the Baron ends up in trouble again.
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Uh but uh as for the folks that had uh the uh the people that had important roles with this film, this film was also directed by uh Terrence Fisher.
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Uh but uh it starred uh uh Francis Matthews.
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One of the interesting things about this movie, by the way, is um uh which this movie uh series in general is quite a bit more intense than uh what you would see uh normally uh in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Um and part of that is is that uh the film these films were not subject to uh the William Hayes production code, which meant that they it could be a little more naughty.
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And then these films are quite a bit more gory, violent, um, and uh they uh they're a lot more intense in in general.
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Um, and this one you know begins with a boy, you know, uh seeing, you know, uh I'm I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.
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I'm talking about the wrong film here.
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Uh but anyway, uh the revenge of Frankenstein is very violent, and of course the first one is two, but this one uh is a a little bit more violent, I I think.
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It came out in 1958.
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Uh I said again, it's directed by Terrence Fisher.
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Um and I think it's a really well-acted film, really well-written film um by uh a man named uh James Sangster, who also wrote The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula in 1958.
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Also a great film.
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Uh Sangster also had a chance to direct one of the Frankenstein films, which we'll talk about in a few minutes, The Horror of Frankenstein, uh which he was uh listed as a producer and co-writer as well.
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Uh he also directed uh Lust for uh a vampire.
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Another pretty intense film uh from 1971.
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Uh this that one is uh a little uh it's a little uh little different, let's just say.
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Um very very campy.
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Um but um a lot of fun.
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Um but uh yeah, he had a very long career as as a screenwriter uh for Hammer, and uh he he wrote several films that we have talked about on this uh this podcast.
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Um Including uh a hammer film night from 1964 called Nightmare, which is just a really good psychological uh horror film.
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I definitely recommend that.
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Um had a career going all the way to well, his last theatrical release was uh the Devil and Max Devilin, and which sounds like another horror movie, but in fact it was not.
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It was a comedy starting starring um, well, maybe he is a horror actor.
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Um Bill Cosby starred Bill Cosby and Elliot Gould.
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Uh came out in 1981.
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A weird little movie that that I I saw when I was 10 years old at the movie theater.
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Um, but in any case, uh uh Back to the Revenge of Frankenstein.
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Uh the film got lots of good reviews and and got uh uh did did well at the box office.
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Uh so eventually there was a third Frankenstein film.
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Uh this one didn't come out till 1964.
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But you wouldn't believe what what the Baron was up to here.
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He was uh he was trying to uh revive uh somebody with that dead tissue.
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Amazing, right?
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We haven't heard this story before, have we?
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No, uh we have.
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Um but it's still a really engaging film.
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Uh uh this one is directed by uh Freddie uh Francis, who also uh who had a pr a pretty extraordinary career uh as a cinematographer, uh but uh uh didn't have uh didn't have a any uh a long list of uh direct direct uh directori until uh just about now.
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And but he did he did direct the movie Nightmare, which he talked about uh a minute ago, uh, but uh did a lot of uh stuff in the 70s, did a lot of TV in the 60s and 70s, including uh Tales from the Crypt episode.
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Um did a ton of work as a cinematographer, including the the French lieutenant's woman with Merrill Street.
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Uh a lot of a lot of stuff, Kier for Martin Scorsese.
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Um but uh lots of stuff.
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But in any case, uh yeah, the evil of Frankenstein came out in '64, and uh, of course, it it's basically more shenanigans.
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Uh on this one, uh, a child witnesses an intruder steal the corpse of one of her recently deceased relatives.
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That's the way Wikipedia describes it, and that's just about accurate.
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And this film uh I I rank far, uh well, maybe not far below.
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Well, a good solid um good solid uh ranking downward from the first two.
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Um it's pretty good, uh, but it doesn't grab you quite like those first two do.
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And uh this might become a recurring theme, but it is still really good, and and you see Peter Cushing just it just watching him is just such a pleasure.
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I don't know what why it's such a perverse pleasure to watch him be, you know, evil and dastardly, and just kind of uh you know, like a a very uh a very charming sort of evil, very charming, you know, you know, I it's it's just such a it's so fantastic to watch Peter Cushing.
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Uh but um but I wouldn't rank this one well below uh the the the other two uh generally uh but it does have a a good uh solid last 10 minutes, and uh which uh which I think all these films have uh really good endings, and we're trying not to do too many spoilers.
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Um but uh the uh next one was Frankenstein created woman in 1967, and this one Terrence Fisher returns back to uh the franchise, and uh we see the Frankenstein monster.
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Here's where um you know it it starts uh with a little boy while watching his his father get executed by the the guillotine.
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Is it guillotine or guillotine?
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I don't I've never known that.
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Um but uh this one is a real twist, um, even though it's still basically the same.
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Uh we have human flesh uh made by the Baron Frankenstein, and it's not natural, and which is just the main problem with the f with the the whole concept of Dr.
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Frankenstein is that he's doing all these unnatural things that are you know in the name of science as far as he's concerned, but uh the greater majority of people would say, no, this is pretty evil stuff uh that he's uh he's doing.
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Um but in this one uh it's really a twist, because this one uh the Baron Frankenstein takes the the soul of a young man that is executed and um puts puts the soul into the body of his uh lover.
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You can't make this stuff up, except somebody did make it up.
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Uh this one stars the the lovely Susan Denberg, not a great actress, let me tell you.
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Um she's uh absolutely fantastically uh gorgeous beyond a lot of levels, but uh she is not the best of actresses.
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Uh still still with us as I'm recording this.
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Um and she is 82.
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Um just turned 82.
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And if I were to rank the films so far, I'd say the first one is number one, the second one is number two, and I'd say this one is number three so far.
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Uh I think this one has uh a fun plot twist in that a man is basically inside the body of his lover.
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It's just absolutely incredible.
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Um it's not something that would have been done in Hollywood uh in 1964.
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It just wouldn't have happened with the the production code.
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We were getting close to being able to do these movies uh in in Hollywood, but not quite.
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Uh, this one is a little more campy, uh, even though it's got some pretty crude violence.
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Um, but uh Susan Denberg's fun to watch.
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Not a great actress, but she is fun to watch.
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But of course, Peter Cushing is fun to watch.
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Uh this leads us to 1969's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.
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Uh also directed by uh Terrence Fisher.
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Uh this one uh stars Simon Ward and also uh Veronica Carlson.
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Um this one, uh to give you a short synopsis, the Baron um blackmails these two young people to uh help him kidnap Dr.
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Brandt, which is one one of his former assistants, uh, from an insane asylum uh to uh steal a little brain-freezing transplant uh technique.
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Uh but uh this is uh uh a film that uh takes uh a less campy turn and more of a dark turn.
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Uh the film I don't know how they do this, but they rank they rate the movies, uh the MPA rates movies after the fact, movies that were never we before the rating system happened, uh they they ranked them or rate that or um rate them in this is rated PG 13.
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Now the PG 13 label didn't exist rating till didn't exist till 1984, but somehow this is ranked.
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Rate I kept saying ranked.
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Uh rated uh it's it's late.
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I'm recording this late at night.
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I I shouldn't be doing these late at night, but this one is uh rated PG 13 somehow.
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Uh but yeah, this one has uh yeah, the the the the lovely Veronica Carlson and uh unfortunately uh she died a few years ago, 2022.
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Uh she was 77, had a number of roles in uh the Hammer films, and uh she was also uh well I don't know if I call her a Bond girl, but uh she was in Casino Royale a small role in Casino Royale, maybe probably doesn't really count as a Bond girl.
00:32:50.319 --> 00:33:03.839
Um but she also starred in the the next Frankenstein movie, which didn't have Peter Cushing, so we're not gonna get too deep into that one uh called The War of Frankenstein.
00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:13.599
Uh that yeah, there were seven Frankenstein movies uh with uh made by Hammer, but this one did not have Peter Cushing.
00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:20.880
Uh it was directed by our our guy, Jimmy Sankser, who came back to direct another one.
00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:35.519
This one has a more of a comedic uh way about it, but uh uh a man named Ralph Bates was cast as the Baron in this movie.
00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:44.960
And according to what I read, Peter Cushing was not offered a role, the role in this one.
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.359
But you know who was offered a role in this one?
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:51.119
David Prouse.
00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:59.680
If that now name sounds familiar, if you're a Star Wars fan, you it should sound familiar.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.400
He was the actor that was inside Darth Vader.
00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:13.840
Of course, we heard James Earl Jones' voice, uh, but the actor actually physically inside the Darth Vader suit was David Prouse.
00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:26.159
And of course, what makes that very interesting is that David Prouse, of course, was also with Peter Cushing as General Tarkin.
00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:28.559
Interesting connection.
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:31.119
What a small world! But it's pretty great.
00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:43.920
Uh, I I love the fact I don't know if George Lucas decided, hey, wouldn't it be cool to team these guys up again, even though he's just in a suit that you can't see him?
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:49.119
Uh you you'll never know it's David Prowse if you don't read the credits or don't find out later.
00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:56.559
Um, but you certainly don't see David Prouse's face, don't hear his voice, but darn it, he's inside that that suit.
00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:03.119
I don't know what George Lucas was thinking, or if it's just a fantastic coincidence.
00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.639
Maybe it's that.
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:08.159
I I guess I should ask George next time I talk to him.
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:23.039
But the next one wouldn't come out till 1974, and uh this one, unlike uh the others, waits a really long time to even let you know that the Baron is even still alive.
00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:33.280
He I think it's a good 15 minutes before we see Peter Cushing, and he makes an ominous and fantastic entrance in this movie.
00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:43.360
I I do not think this movie lives up to the first two by any stretch, um, but it's pretty good stuff.
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:45.199
I mean, it's pretty good.
00:35:45.440 --> 00:36:02.400
Um, you know, we've got here the Baron is inside uh an asylum, but he he blackmailed his way into being in charge of the asylum, which is just an oddity beyond belief.
00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:03.679
But he that's what he did.
00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:14.400
He he he was sentenced to an asylum, and then he faked his death and gained control of the asylum.
00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:16.400
The inmates running the asylum.
00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:17.119
How about that?
00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:18.639
Or the inmate.
00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:40.880
Um now he ends up partnering up with somebody that also went to the asylum for the same stuff for uh sorcery, you know, trying to play with dead bodies, you know, and that's what he goes to jail or goes to the asylum for.
00:36:41.519 --> 00:36:51.360
Uh he figures out the the the that the man in charge of the asylum really fast, he figures out, you're the baron.
00:36:52.159 --> 00:37:11.440
And Peter Cushing, of course, owns up to it and says, Yes, I am, but the Baron died, explaining the the plot, which uh again the plot within the plot of the movie, which is uh I blackmailed somebody so I could gain control of this asylum.
00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:16.239
I run it, um, you know, and is what he was saying, basically.
00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:18.480
It's pretty fun stuff.
00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:24.000
Again, this doesn't live up even close to those first two.
00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:27.519
Um, but it is awfully, it is awfully fun.
00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:33.920
Uh, the assistant, and uh probably he probably had slightly more screen time than Peter Cushing.
00:37:34.159 --> 00:37:57.840
Uh actor named Shane Bryant, uh, who was in a number of uh he was in at least four Hammer films, uh Demons of the Mind, Straight On Till Morning, Captain Kronos, uh Vampire Hunter, um oh yeah, and of course Frankenstein and The Monster from Hell, which is what this last one is called.
00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.159
Uh again, 1974.
00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:12.000
Uh this one, uh, as far as uh the uh uh director goes, uh Terrence Fisher returns to the franchise, if we can call it.
00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:23.199
Uh the film also stars Madeline Smith, who uh at that point was already a Hammer veteran, but she was also a Bond girl.
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:30.480
This is sort of a uh recurring thing uh with some some of these British actresses that are in Hammer films.
00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:45.280
Uh she was also in the uh the Vampire Lovers, something we talked about uh a few years ago, uh a little bit uh uh in the yeah, the other Peter Cushing episode.
00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:49.440
Uh boy is that movie can't be in but it's also fun.
00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:54.000
Uh The Vampire Lovers, it's really good stuff.
00:38:54.960 --> 00:39:35.920
Um yeah, but uh Madeline Smith uh pretty much left uh the um left the uh acting uh profession uh in the 80s and didn't hasn't really done anything since uh nine uh well she she was in uh sh 1984 was her last significant role, but she did appear in a few uh small films here fairly recently in the 2020s and in some British TV shows.
00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:43.519
So she did appear in a little bit, but for the most part, as far as starring roles, uh she was kind of done after 1984.
00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:51.199
Um and uh she is still uh alive, and uh she is 77.
00:39:52.480 --> 00:40:04.960
Uh and in case you're wondering, the Bond film that she was in was Live and Let Die with Roger Moore, and that was his first Bond film.
00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:08.000
Uh, but uh so there you have it.
00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:16.639
The uh the uh Frankenstein movie starring Peter Cushing in a nutshell.
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:23.679
Um I I have to say I'm guilty of loving most hammer films.
00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:54.559
Uh what makes those movies good, especially the ones with Peter Cushing, uh, they're well acted and they're well written, even though sometimes they can be a little on the campy side, somehow they come off as sharper and more intellectual than uh the say like some of the 70s and 80s movies that would that would come out later, like the late 70s and 80s Hollywood films.
00:40:54.719 --> 00:41:05.280
Um they just seem a little bit little bit more um uh charming is maybe the right word.
00:41:05.360 --> 00:41:10.559
I may maybe that's the word I'm shooting for, but they're just a lot of fun.
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:20.400
Uh but as far as uh Peter Cushing goes, yeah, and and Peter Cushing, of course, we want to talk more about him.
00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:26.159
Um Peter Cushing, of course, had a really long film career.
00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:45.360
Uh spanned over 60 years, and uh he of course topped it off pretty much with his appearance in Star Wars, which came out a little later than uh the uh ones we've just talked about.
00:41:46.400 --> 00:42:03.199
And of course his last uh film role, he he was his last uh well, his last significant film role was 1984's Top Secret, which is a film starring Val Kilmer.
00:42:04.480 --> 00:42:11.280
And it was actually Val Kilmer's film debut, which is something that's a a true oddity.
00:42:11.440 --> 00:42:15.119
Uh the Zucker brothers, the guys that did Airplane and the Naked Gun.
00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:19.440
Between those movies, uh, well, they didn't do Airplane 2.
00:42:19.599 --> 00:42:34.800
Um, but uh but between uh those two movies, uh the movie series, Airplane and Naked Gun series, I should say, between those two, they did a film called Top Secret, which if you haven't seen it, it's a really good movie.
00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:40.639
Has tons of great gags, uh a fun story, even though it's nonsensical.
00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:54.079
Uh uh about a rock star uh in in you know in in the World War II time that didn't doesn't make any sense, but the none of the film makes sense, but it is a lot of fun.
00:42:54.239 --> 00:43:10.239
Uh but Peter uh Cushing uh has a significant role there as a bookstore uh owner, and uh I love, love, love seeing him in Top Secret, even though it's a fairly brief appearance.
00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:32.719
Uh of course the Frankenstein series was all based on uh the uh book uh by Mary Shelley, which of course has been turned into all kinds of different stories throughout the years, uh as far as film goes uh and TV a little bit.
00:43:33.840 --> 00:43:48.320
We see all these different incarnations, and one of the things that people always get, not people always often get wrong, is that they they look at the monster and think that's Frankenstein.
00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:53.440
Well, the Frankenstein is actually the doctor who made the monster.
00:43:54.639 --> 00:44:00.800
And in this movie series, we're talking about somebody that made six monsters.
00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:04.480
How did he keep getting away with it?
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:13.360
And there's a scene in I forget which one, where he says, if only if only they'd stop chasing me.
00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:23.599
I didn't say those exact words, but like he's like, if they just stopped chasing me, I could do something important for the science community.
00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:25.199
Oh, it's just a blast.
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:32.719
Um, but ultimately the first two Frankenstein movies are the best of this series.
00:44:34.800 --> 00:44:42.079
I would say that the 1932 version um is the best of all of them.
00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:50.400
Um but The Curse of Frankenstein 1957, the ri the first one with Peter Cushing almost as good.
00:44:50.559 --> 00:44:57.280
And if you told me it was better, I wouldn't I wouldn't put up my dukes and fight.
00:44:57.760 --> 00:44:59.840
I would just say, oh, okay.
00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:06.480
But anyway, uh so I want to thank everybody for listening.
00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:22.559
And uh, you know, sometimes I do a lot m of preparation for these episodes, and uh and in this case, uh what was it, an hour and a half times six, you know.
00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:24.480
So um yeah.
00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:30.800
So I I'm done watching Frankenstein movies for a while, but they are a lot of fun.
00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:38.000
And I I'm probably gonna watch more hammer films in the very, very near future.
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:40.480
Uh nonetheless, these won't be Frankenstein.
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:43.199
Oh, it's peaceful.
00:45:43.360 --> 00:45:44.159
We have no weapons, you can't.
00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:50.159
Name it now.
00:01:34.239 --> 00:02:22.960
Oh my god, what you will and welcome to Cinema Chat with David Heath, and I am your host.
00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:25.199
My name is David Heath.
00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.400
Interesting how that was arranged, right?
00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:37.520
Well, in this uh podcast we talk about movies from every era and just about every genre.
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:58.159
And I don't cover horror films a whole lot, but this is going to be a sh a show where we're going to talk about Peter Cushing and the six Frankenstein movies that he starred in.
00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:06.960
So, yes, there were six movies uh that uh Peter Cushing made uh that uh involved the Frank the Dr.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:15.439
Frankenstein character and the Baron Frankenstein as he's called throughout the film series.
00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:40.159
We'll talk about the directors uh involved with the films, we'll talk about the actors uh involved with the films, and uh we will uh talk about the plots and the continuing saga, and of course we are going to discuss uh uh Peter Cushing.
00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:42.400
You're far too trust.
00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:52.960
I can't do I can't do a Peter Cushing impression, but in any case we're gonna talk about each one in small detail anyway.
00:03:53.599 --> 00:04:14.319
And uh there may be some spoilers here, so if you are listening to this, I would suggest watching the films and uh maybe checking back with me, because I'll still be talking about it when you come back if you hit pause.
00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:23.120
But I am going to try to navigate this.
00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:29.120
I did something similar to this when I talked about the Planet of the Apes series, which I consider to be a really good episode.
00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:33.839
Uh probably one of the best early episodes that I did.
00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:47.920
I think I did that before I uh took on any guests on the show, but um but uh that if you've seen the Planet of the Apes movies, um then you might enjoy listening to that episode too.
00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:54.639
Um if you like them, which if you've seen all of them, you probably do like them.
00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:09.199
But in any case, we are uh going to talk about uh the Frankenstein movies and specifically the Hammer films, the uh Peter Cushing uh starred films where he stars as Dr.
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:10.319
Frankenstein.
00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:12.879
Uh let me first get out of the way.
00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:29.920
That really probably the well, uh not probably, the best adaptation in of Frankenstein is uh the early uh adaptation from 1932.
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:32.639
Uh very good 31 or 32.
00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:44.160
Anyway, um that is the best one, and uh we have uh talked about that one in in fair detail as well on the podcast.
00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:57.279
And but but but but today we're going to focus on mostly just uh the hammer films and uh the yeah the ones starring Peter Cushing.
00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:19.920
Now the uh first uh uh film in the series, and I I I have to say, I really don't know if this was uh set out to be a ser a film series, but it turned out to be that, and it spanned 1957 to 1974.
00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:29.279
However, each film uh doesn't completely connect with the next one.
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:36.800
I mean it sort of does, but they're more like uh episodes than sequels.
00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:45.600
I we could call them sequels, and I you would have a very good case in court if you called the the the other films sequels.
00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:56.560
Um but they are not as quite as connective as the sequels that uh we have seen made in decades later.
00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:03.279
Uh but uh them having a movie series was not really a thing in 1957.
00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:24.720
They certainly had some serials going back to you know, say Buck Rogers, uh, you know, and and uh things like that, but uh but uh the uh there's certainly some short film series uh that you know uh but but this was not really a thing in 1957.
00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:33.120
Matter of fact, I would say that's the decade where there just weren't uh you know sequels made you know very much at all.
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:45.519
And uh the certainly uh the next decade we have the Bond films, but as we know, these those aren't sequels, those are more you know, uh more episodes.
00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:53.439
Um, you know, but in any case, uh they are somewhat connective and and largely connective.
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.480
Um but uh we'll get into it.
00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:56.959
Okay.
00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.759
So uh the first one, of course, stars uh Peter Cushing.
00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:19.920
And um it's uh directed by Terrence Fisher, and we'll talk more about Peter Cushing uh later, but uh uh Terrence Fisher has has a uh a long history with horror films and with uh hammer films.
00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:29.680
Uh he began his film career in the 30s as uh as an editor uh and started directing films in the forties.
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:36.559
Some um non-horror films for sure, a whole bunch of uh lighter films.
00:08:36.799 --> 00:09:27.039
Um but here we are in 1957, where the Curse of Frankenstein comes out and uh well let's see, the film also stars uh Hazel Court, who had a long career in the film industry, and then the fifties and sixties had um and uh going back going back all the way to the 40s, uh it was in a lot of TV shows, Mission Impossible, uh The Twilight Zone, uh and also appeared in uh The Raven, which was a Roger Corman film uh in the 60s, 1963.
00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:38.159
Uh lots of credits for Hazel Court, uh, and also stars uh Robert Urkhart Urkerhart, who is Dr.
00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:42.960
Frankenstein's and they really call him the Baron more than they call him Dr.
00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:50.000
Frankenstein, uh, which might drive Frankenstein uh fans c a little crazy.
00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.360
But of course, Frankenstein was crazy, right?
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.679
The Baron was crazy.
00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:04.559
Uh but um Robert Erkerhart uh has this is probably his best known film.
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:22.960
Uh but he was also uh in a number a number of other films in the 1950s and uh 1960s, uh mostly if not in total to totality, uh uh British uh films.
00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:31.519
Uh he had a career that lasted all the way to the 80s, and um he died in 1995, was 72.
00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:39.120
And by the way, I knew I should mention the Hazel Court um died in 2008, and she was 82.
00:10:40.720 --> 00:11:12.000
Uh now we have the wonderful Christopher Lee as the Frankenstein monster, and uh of course uh he does uh very well, which Christopher Lee always did very well, but it's a it's a difficult role to get lots of uh love for because uh you're masked and you know it's it's just you don't get to talk much, or you don't get to talk at all.
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:15.279
And um, and it's it's very difficult.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:34.639
But we all know uh that uh Christopher Lee had an extremely uh prolific career and like Peter Cushing late in life, uh part of that career involved being in uh Star Wars movies, and uh so I think I don't think that's a tremendous coincidence.
00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:43.919
Uh but uh yeah, but Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were, of course, really good friends and starred in several Hammer films together.
00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:56.080
And I would suggest going back and scrolling to an episode a few years ago where we we talked about four 1970s films with Peter Cushing.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:00.000
And I think Christopher Lee was all four of those.
00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.000
But anyway, really good episode.
00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:07.360
Uh, after I've done listening to this, go back to that and listen, just go listen to all the episodes.
00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:08.720
You're fine.
00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:19.440
Uh Christopher Lee uh had just an extraordinary career, um love it in the in the industry.
00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.360
Uh died in 2015.
00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:33.600
Uh he was uh 93, so when you think about it now, uh Christopher Lee would be uh 104 if he were alive today.
00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:47.840
And uh as for Peter Cushing, uh except we'll talk a little bit more about him later, but uh Peter Cushing would be if he were alive today, would be a 113.
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.159
So it'd be pretty old.
00:12:51.200 --> 00:13:38.480
But in any case, uh the curse of Frankenstein uh is is really sort of the basic story uh of Frankenstein, where uh where Frankenstein decides uh I'm going to create a being out of someone dead, and we the story's been told several times, but that this is done really well, it's rich in effects, um it's rich in color uh for 1957, it's just absolutely stunning color, uh which by the way, I I I will say that because Technicolor was such a good product, I I I there are a lot of 1950s films that look better than 1980s films.
00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:40.799
And it's true.
00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:49.519
Well, 1950s films often look better than films from today, as a matter of fact, the cartoon ones that they do today.
00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:56.799
Uh I applaud and I said it in a previous episode a uh a couple weeks ago.
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:03.759
Hard to keep track of when I said it because uh I don't release these episodes in the order that I actually recorded them.
00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.639
But I I I talked about uh how I have a little bit of hope for the film industry.
00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:17.279
I think it's getting better, but that doesn't necessarily extend uh to uh films that have a lot of CGI.
00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:21.200
Um I'm really more referring to drama and and things like that.
00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:31.759
However, um there was an excellent um it's a an updated version of Nosferatu uh a couple years ago that that came out.
00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:35.440
Uh and I just thought it was fantastic.
00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:54.799
And not and maybe not quite as good as the original, especially when you can from 1922, especially when you consider what they had at their disposal in 1922, but it is an excellent film, Nosferatu, if you like monster movies and and you want to see something really modern, that's pretty good.
00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.000
Uh however, uh back to the curse of Frankenstein.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:14.080
Uh so yeah, this movie is made uh with uh really good sets, really believable sets, uh, and it's rich in color, just absolutely gorgeous uh at times.
00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:21.360
Um speaking of gorgeous Hazel Court, um, just absolutely gorgeous in this film.
00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:40.720
Um but the film discusses or or well it narrates us to a level where where what's happening is the is uh the baron wants to make uh uh a person uh out of a you know a dead being.
00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:55.200
So uh they rob a grave, but his assistant develops a strong sense of guilt and thinks uh that the Baron uh played by Peter Cushing, Dr.
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.440
Frankenstein, if you want to call him that.
00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:05.679
Uh we'll we'll keep referring to him as the Baron for the most part, because they do call him that most of the in during most of these films.
00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:12.879
But in any case, the the Baron, of course, uh he believes is going way overboard.
00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:50.639
And the film details out his guilt, tries to weigh that out with what he really wants to do, which is the the recurring theme in this series, is that the Baron has has admirers and people that really uh other men that believe he what he's doing is really great stuff, until they realize that he's demented and what his ideas are are not really science, um, but in fact more like witchcraft and and and and manner of speaking.
00:16:50.799 --> 00:17:18.079
But uh but uh the the curse of Frankenstein, I'm going to try not to give out too many spoilers, um, but uh we we find uh him of course uh a near the end of the movie where he's kind of caught and um this film has a different ending than let's just say the original Frankenstein in the 30s had.
00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:26.000
Uh but uh we of course uh okay if you don't want to hear us weather, skip 30 seconds, okay?
00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:28.400
But because I'm gonna tell you.
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:29.519
All right.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:30.880
You got a chance.
00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:32.000
Had your chance.
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:42.400
Okay, so the Baron uh goes to jail and is sentenced to die uh at the end.
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:49.119
Uh but how cat bad of a splitter can it be?
00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:58.240
Because you know, the Baron is alive during the sequel, The Revenge of Frankenstein, uh, which is essentially a sequel.
00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.039
I I would say it's a true sequel.
00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:08.240
Um the others are are not quite as connective, but but this one it really kind of is a true sequel.
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:19.200
Uh and in this one it it opens up with uh Peter Cushing uh as the Baron, and we realize, oh, he's still alive.
00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:24.240
And of course, what does he do?
00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:34.319
He escapes uh execution, I know, of course, and ends up performing more shenanigans.
00:18:34.960 --> 00:19:07.839
Uh this time it involves an assistant again, and he but he ends up you know, uh basically uh transplanting his assistant's brain his assistant's deformed, and he wants to he he he's a willing participant, um, but when it all comes down to it, he didn't like what happened, and of course, uh the Baron ends up in trouble again.
00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:22.559
Uh but uh as for the folks that had uh the uh the people that had important roles with this film, this film was also directed by uh Terrence Fisher.
00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.799
Uh but uh it starred uh uh Francis Matthews.
00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:46.000
One of the interesting things about this movie, by the way, is um uh which this movie uh series in general is quite a bit more intense than uh what you would see uh normally uh in the 1950s and 1960s.
00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:59.200
Um and part of that is is that uh the film these films were not subject to uh the William Hayes production code, which meant that they it could be a little more naughty.
00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:10.079
And then these films are quite a bit more gory, violent, um, and uh they uh they're a lot more intense in in general.
00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:21.839
Um, and this one you know begins with a boy, you know, uh seeing, you know, uh I'm I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.
00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.599
I'm talking about the wrong film here.
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:36.799
Uh but anyway, uh the revenge of Frankenstein is very violent, and of course the first one is two, but this one uh is a a little bit more violent, I I think.
00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:39.200
It came out in 1958.
00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.960
Uh I said again, it's directed by Terrence Fisher.
00:20:43.200 --> 00:21:03.519
Um and I think it's a really well-acted film, really well-written film um by uh a man named uh James Sangster, who also wrote The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula in 1958.
00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.480
Also a great film.
00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:19.920
Uh Sangster also had a chance to direct one of the Frankenstein films, which we'll talk about in a few minutes, The Horror of Frankenstein, uh which he was uh listed as a producer and co-writer as well.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:25.359
Uh he also directed uh Lust for uh a vampire.
00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.079
Another pretty intense film uh from 1971.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:37.519
Uh this that one is uh a little uh it's a little uh little different, let's just say.
00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:40.480
Um very very campy.
00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.880
Um but um a lot of fun.
00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:57.680
Um but uh yeah, he had a very long career as as a screenwriter uh for Hammer, and uh he he wrote several films that we have talked about on this uh this podcast.
00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:07.759
Um Including uh a hammer film night from 1964 called Nightmare, which is just a really good psychological uh horror film.
00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:09.680
I definitely recommend that.
00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:24.079
Um had a career going all the way to well, his last theatrical release was uh the Devil and Max Devilin, and which sounds like another horror movie, but in fact it was not.
00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:30.880
It was a comedy starting starring um, well, maybe he is a horror actor.
00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:36.000
Um Bill Cosby starred Bill Cosby and Elliot Gould.
00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.319
Uh came out in 1981.
00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:44.240
A weird little movie that that I I saw when I was 10 years old at the movie theater.
00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:50.880
Um, but in any case, uh uh Back to the Revenge of Frankenstein.
00:22:51.680 --> 00:23:00.480
Uh the film got lots of good reviews and and got uh uh did did well at the box office.
00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:04.880
Uh so eventually there was a third Frankenstein film.
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:10.400
Uh this one didn't come out till 1964.
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:28.400
But you wouldn't believe what what the Baron was up to here.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:38.720
He was uh he was trying to uh revive uh somebody with that dead tissue.
00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:40.480
Amazing, right?
00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.680
We haven't heard this story before, have we?
00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:46.319
No, uh we have.
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.200
Um but it's still a really engaging film.
00:23:49.440 --> 00:24:14.960
Uh uh this one is directed by uh Freddie uh Francis, who also uh who had a pr a pretty extraordinary career uh as a cinematographer, uh but uh uh didn't have uh didn't have a any uh a long list of uh direct direct uh directori until uh just about now.
00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:31.119
And but he did he did direct the movie Nightmare, which he talked about uh a minute ago, uh, but uh did a lot of uh stuff in the 70s, did a lot of TV in the 60s and 70s, including uh Tales from the Crypt episode.
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:41.200
Um did a ton of work as a cinematographer, including the the French lieutenant's woman with Merrill Street.
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.039
Uh a lot of a lot of stuff, Kier for Martin Scorsese.
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:48.400
Um but uh lots of stuff.
00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:59.279
But in any case, uh yeah, the evil of Frankenstein came out in '64, and uh, of course, it it's basically more shenanigans.
00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:13.920
Uh on this one, uh, a child witnesses an intruder steal the corpse of one of her recently deceased relatives.
00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:19.440
That's the way Wikipedia describes it, and that's just about accurate.
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:27.920
And this film uh I I rank far, uh well, maybe not far below.
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:37.599
Well, a good solid um good solid uh ranking downward from the first two.
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:44.640
Um it's pretty good, uh, but it doesn't grab you quite like those first two do.
00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:57.680
And uh this might become a recurring theme, but it is still really good, and and you see Peter Cushing just it just watching him is just such a pleasure.
00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:21.200
I don't know what why it's such a perverse pleasure to watch him be, you know, evil and dastardly, and just kind of uh you know, like a a very uh a very charming sort of evil, very charming, you know, you know, I it's it's just such a it's so fantastic to watch Peter Cushing.
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:44.480
Uh but um but I wouldn't rank this one well below uh the the the other two uh generally uh but it does have a a good uh solid last 10 minutes, and uh which uh which I think all these films have uh really good endings, and we're trying not to do too many spoilers.
00:26:44.640 --> 00:27:00.640
Um but uh the uh next one was Frankenstein created woman in 1967, and this one Terrence Fisher returns back to uh the franchise, and uh we see the Frankenstein monster.
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:13.680
Here's where um you know it it starts uh with a little boy while watching his his father get executed by the the guillotine.
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:15.599
Is it guillotine or guillotine?
00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:17.680
I don't I've never known that.
00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:28.799
Um but uh this one is a real twist, um, even though it's still basically the same.
00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:46.160
Uh we have human flesh uh made by the Baron Frankenstein, and it's not natural, and which is just the main problem with the f with the the whole concept of Dr.
00:27:46.240 --> 00:28:06.079
Frankenstein is that he's doing all these unnatural things that are you know in the name of science as far as he's concerned, but uh the greater majority of people would say, no, this is pretty evil stuff uh that he's uh he's doing.
00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:37.119
Um but in this one uh it's really a twist, because this one uh the Baron Frankenstein takes the the soul of a young man that is executed and um puts puts the soul into the body of his uh lover.
00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:43.119
You can't make this stuff up, except somebody did make it up.
00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:52.319
Uh this one stars the the lovely Susan Denberg, not a great actress, let me tell you.
00:28:52.640 --> 00:29:07.279
Um she's uh absolutely fantastically uh gorgeous beyond a lot of levels, but uh she is not the best of actresses.
00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:10.960
Uh still still with us as I'm recording this.
00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:14.240
Um and she is 82.
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.599
Um just turned 82.
00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:33.039
And if I were to rank the films so far, I'd say the first one is number one, the second one is number two, and I'd say this one is number three so far.
00:29:33.519 --> 00:29:46.559
Uh I think this one has uh a fun plot twist in that a man is basically inside the body of his lover.
00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:50.480
It's just absolutely incredible.
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.000
Um it's not something that would have been done in Hollywood uh in 1964.
00:29:56.160 --> 00:30:00.640
It just wouldn't have happened with the the production code.
00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:07.759
We were getting close to being able to do these movies uh in in Hollywood, but not quite.
00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:17.200
Uh, this one is a little more campy, uh, even though it's got some pretty crude violence.
00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:21.119
Um, but uh Susan Denberg's fun to watch.
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.359
Not a great actress, but she is fun to watch.
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.799
But of course, Peter Cushing is fun to watch.
00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:32.079
Uh this leads us to 1969's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:36.000
Uh also directed by uh Terrence Fisher.
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:46.400
Uh this one uh stars Simon Ward and also uh Veronica Carlson.
00:30:47.039 --> 00:31:05.039
Um this one, uh to give you a short synopsis, the Baron um blackmails these two young people to uh help him kidnap Dr.
00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:18.000
Brandt, which is one one of his former assistants, uh, from an insane asylum uh to uh steal a little brain-freezing transplant uh technique.
00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:28.079
Uh but uh this is uh uh a film that uh takes uh a less campy turn and more of a dark turn.
00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:48.160
Uh the film I don't know how they do this, but they rank they rate the movies, uh the MPA rates movies after the fact, movies that were never we before the rating system happened, uh they they ranked them or rate that or um rate them in this is rated PG 13.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:55.200
Now the PG 13 label didn't exist rating till didn't exist till 1984, but somehow this is ranked.
00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:57.519
Rate I kept saying ranked.
00:31:57.680 --> 00:32:01.519
Uh rated uh it's it's late.
00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.200
I'm recording this late at night.
00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:09.759
I I shouldn't be doing these late at night, but this one is uh rated PG 13 somehow.
00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:22.079
Uh but yeah, this one has uh yeah, the the the the lovely Veronica Carlson and uh unfortunately uh she died a few years ago, 2022.
00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:48.000
Uh she was 77, had a number of roles in uh the Hammer films, and uh she was also uh well I don't know if I call her a Bond girl, but uh she was in Casino Royale a small role in Casino Royale, maybe probably doesn't really count as a Bond girl.
00:32:50.319 --> 00:33:03.839
Um but she also starred in the the next Frankenstein movie, which didn't have Peter Cushing, so we're not gonna get too deep into that one uh called The War of Frankenstein.
00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:13.599
Uh that yeah, there were seven Frankenstein movies uh with uh made by Hammer, but this one did not have Peter Cushing.
00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:20.880
Uh it was directed by our our guy, Jimmy Sankser, who came back to direct another one.
00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:35.519
This one has a more of a comedic uh way about it, but uh uh a man named Ralph Bates was cast as the Baron in this movie.
00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:44.960
And according to what I read, Peter Cushing was not offered a role, the role in this one.
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.359
But you know who was offered a role in this one?
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:51.119
David Prouse.
00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:59.680
If that now name sounds familiar, if you're a Star Wars fan, you it should sound familiar.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.400
He was the actor that was inside Darth Vader.
00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:13.840
Of course, we heard James Earl Jones' voice, uh, but the actor actually physically inside the Darth Vader suit was David Prouse.
00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:26.159
And of course, what makes that very interesting is that David Prouse, of course, was also with Peter Cushing as General Tarkin.
00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:28.559
Interesting connection.
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:31.119
What a small world! But it's pretty great.
00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:43.920
Uh, I I love the fact I don't know if George Lucas decided, hey, wouldn't it be cool to team these guys up again, even though he's just in a suit that you can't see him?
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:49.119
Uh you you'll never know it's David Prowse if you don't read the credits or don't find out later.
00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:56.559
Um, but you certainly don't see David Prouse's face, don't hear his voice, but darn it, he's inside that that suit.
00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:03.119
I don't know what George Lucas was thinking, or if it's just a fantastic coincidence.
00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.639
Maybe it's that.
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:08.159
I I guess I should ask George next time I talk to him.
00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:23.039
But the next one wouldn't come out till 1974, and uh this one, unlike uh the others, waits a really long time to even let you know that the Baron is even still alive.
00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:33.280
He I think it's a good 15 minutes before we see Peter Cushing, and he makes an ominous and fantastic entrance in this movie.
00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:43.360
I I do not think this movie lives up to the first two by any stretch, um, but it's pretty good stuff.
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:45.199
I mean, it's pretty good.
00:35:45.440 --> 00:36:02.400
Um, you know, we've got here the Baron is inside uh an asylum, but he he blackmailed his way into being in charge of the asylum, which is just an oddity beyond belief.
00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:03.679
But he that's what he did.
00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:14.400
He he he was sentenced to an asylum, and then he faked his death and gained control of the asylum.
00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:16.400
The inmates running the asylum.
00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:17.119
How about that?
00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:18.639
Or the inmate.
00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:40.880
Um now he ends up partnering up with somebody that also went to the asylum for the same stuff for uh sorcery, you know, trying to play with dead bodies, you know, and that's what he goes to jail or goes to the asylum for.
00:36:41.519 --> 00:36:51.360
Uh he figures out the the the that the man in charge of the asylum really fast, he figures out, you're the baron.
00:36:52.159 --> 00:37:11.440
And Peter Cushing, of course, owns up to it and says, Yes, I am, but the Baron died, explaining the the plot, which uh again the plot within the plot of the movie, which is uh I blackmailed somebody so I could gain control of this asylum.
00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:16.239
I run it, um, you know, and is what he was saying, basically.
00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:18.480
It's pretty fun stuff.
00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:24.000
Again, this doesn't live up even close to those first two.
00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:27.519
Um, but it is awfully, it is awfully fun.
00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:33.920
Uh, the assistant, and uh probably he probably had slightly more screen time than Peter Cushing.
00:37:34.159 --> 00:37:57.840
Uh actor named Shane Bryant, uh, who was in a number of uh he was in at least four Hammer films, uh Demons of the Mind, Straight On Till Morning, Captain Kronos, uh Vampire Hunter, um oh yeah, and of course Frankenstein and The Monster from Hell, which is what this last one is called.
00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.159
Uh again, 1974.
00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:12.000
Uh this one, uh, as far as uh the uh uh director goes, uh Terrence Fisher returns to the franchise, if we can call it.
00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:23.199
Uh the film also stars Madeline Smith, who uh at that point was already a Hammer veteran, but she was also a Bond girl.
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:30.480
This is sort of a uh recurring thing uh with some some of these British actresses that are in Hammer films.
00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:45.280
Uh she was also in the uh the Vampire Lovers, something we talked about uh a few years ago, uh a little bit uh uh in the yeah, the other Peter Cushing episode.
00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:49.440
Uh boy is that movie can't be in but it's also fun.
00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:54.000
Uh The Vampire Lovers, it's really good stuff.
00:38:54.960 --> 00:39:35.920
Um yeah, but uh Madeline Smith uh pretty much left uh the um left the uh acting uh profession uh in the 80s and didn't hasn't really done anything since uh nine uh well she she was in uh sh 1984 was her last significant role, but she did appear in a few uh small films here fairly recently in the 2020s and in some British TV shows.
00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:43.519
So she did appear in a little bit, but for the most part, as far as starring roles, uh she was kind of done after 1984.
00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:51.199
Um and uh she is still uh alive, and uh she is 77.
00:39:52.480 --> 00:40:04.960
Uh and in case you're wondering, the Bond film that she was in was Live and Let Die with Roger Moore, and that was his first Bond film.
00:40:06.079 --> 00:40:08.000
Uh, but uh so there you have it.
00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:16.639
The uh the uh Frankenstein movie starring Peter Cushing in a nutshell.
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:23.679
Um I I have to say I'm guilty of loving most hammer films.
00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:54.559
Uh what makes those movies good, especially the ones with Peter Cushing, uh, they're well acted and they're well written, even though sometimes they can be a little on the campy side, somehow they come off as sharper and more intellectual than uh the say like some of the 70s and 80s movies that would that would come out later, like the late 70s and 80s Hollywood films.
00:40:54.719 --> 00:41:05.280
Um they just seem a little bit little bit more um uh charming is maybe the right word.
00:41:05.360 --> 00:41:10.559
I may maybe that's the word I'm shooting for, but they're just a lot of fun.
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:20.400
Uh but as far as uh Peter Cushing goes, yeah, and and Peter Cushing, of course, we want to talk more about him.
00:41:20.719 --> 00:41:26.159
Um Peter Cushing, of course, had a really long film career.
00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:45.360
Uh spanned over 60 years, and uh he of course topped it off pretty much with his appearance in Star Wars, which came out a little later than uh the uh ones we've just talked about.
00:41:46.400 --> 00:42:03.199
And of course his last uh film role, he he was his last uh well, his last significant film role was 1984's Top Secret, which is a film starring Val Kilmer.
00:42:04.480 --> 00:42:11.280
And it was actually Val Kilmer's film debut, which is something that's a a true oddity.
00:42:11.440 --> 00:42:15.119
Uh the Zucker brothers, the guys that did Airplane and the Naked Gun.
00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:19.440
Between those movies, uh, well, they didn't do Airplane 2.
00:42:19.599 --> 00:42:34.800
Um, but uh but between uh those two movies, uh the movie series, Airplane and Naked Gun series, I should say, between those two, they did a film called Top Secret, which if you haven't seen it, it's a really good movie.
00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:40.639
Has tons of great gags, uh a fun story, even though it's nonsensical.
00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:54.079
Uh uh about a rock star uh in in you know in in the World War II time that didn't doesn't make any sense, but the none of the film makes sense, but it is a lot of fun.
00:42:54.239 --> 00:43:10.239
Uh but Peter uh Cushing uh has a significant role there as a bookstore uh owner, and uh I love, love, love seeing him in Top Secret, even though it's a fairly brief appearance.
00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:32.719
Uh of course the Frankenstein series was all based on uh the uh book uh by Mary Shelley, which of course has been turned into all kinds of different stories throughout the years, uh as far as film goes uh and TV a little bit.
00:43:33.840 --> 00:43:48.320
We see all these different incarnations, and one of the things that people always get, not people always often get wrong, is that they they look at the monster and think that's Frankenstein.
00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:53.440
Well, the Frankenstein is actually the doctor who made the monster.
00:43:54.639 --> 00:44:00.800
And in this movie series, we're talking about somebody that made six monsters.
00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:04.480
How did he keep getting away with it?
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:13.360
And there's a scene in I forget which one, where he says, if only if only they'd stop chasing me.
00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:23.599
I didn't say those exact words, but like he's like, if they just stopped chasing me, I could do something important for the science community.
00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:25.199
Oh, it's just a blast.
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:32.719
Um, but ultimately the first two Frankenstein movies are the best of this series.
00:44:34.800 --> 00:44:42.079
I would say that the 1932 version um is the best of all of them.
00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:50.400
Um but The Curse of Frankenstein 1957, the ri the first one with Peter Cushing almost as good.
00:44:50.559 --> 00:44:57.280
And if you told me it was better, I wouldn't I wouldn't put up my dukes and fight.
00:44:57.760 --> 00:44:59.840
I would just say, oh, okay.
00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:06.480
But anyway, uh so I want to thank everybody for listening.
00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:22.559
And uh, you know, sometimes I do a lot m of preparation for these episodes, and uh and in this case, uh what was it, an hour and a half times six, you know.
00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:24.480
So um yeah.
00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:30.800
So I I'm done watching Frankenstein movies for a while, but they are a lot of fun.
00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:38.000
And I I'm probably gonna watch more hammer films in the very, very near future.
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:40.480
Uh nonetheless, these won't be Frankenstein.
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:43.199
Oh, it's peaceful.
00:45:43.360 --> 00:45:44.159
We have no weapons, you can't.
00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:50.159
Name it now.
