Frankensteins Fluch (1957)

Frankensteins Fluch: Directed by Terence Fisher. With Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee. While awaiting execution for murder, Baron Victor Frankenstein tells the story of a creature he built and brought to life – only for it to behave not as he intended.

“u0026#39;The Curse Of Frankensteinu0026#39; is a landmark horror movie for several reasons. Firstly, though Hammer had already released u0026#39;The Quatermass Xperimentu0026#39;, a science fiction movie with some horror elements, it was the studios first real entry into the genre which it is still revered around the world for. Secondly, it was the first movie inspired by Mary Shelleyu0026#39;s u0026#39;Frankensteinu0026#39; made in colour. And thirdly, while it wasnu0026#39;t the first movie to feature both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it was their first horror movie together, and one which introduced one of THE great screen duos, who eventually made over twenty movies together. Lee doesnu0026#39;t have as much on screen time as one might expect, but his Monster is memorable and visually striking (after Universal threatened to sue if the image of Karloffu0026#39;s monster was copied). As well as Lee, the supporting cast includes good performances from Robert Urquhart and Hazel Court. Urquhart plays Paul Krempe, initially the young Baronu0026#39;s tutor (the Baron being briefly portrayed by Melvyn Hayes before Cushing), and later his often unwilling assistant. Court, best remembered for her roles in some of Roger Cormanu0026#39;s Poe series, plays the Baronu0026#39;s cousin/fiancee. The standout performance of the movie is by Peter Cushing. I still think Karloff is the definitive Monster but Cushing is the definitive Baron Frankenstein. There were six sequels to u0026#39;The Curse Of Frankensteinu0026#39; and Cushing played Frankenstein in all but one, the second last in the series u0026#39;The Horror Of Frankensteinu0026#39;, which was actually a tongue in cheek remake of u0026#39;Curse..u0026#39; starring Ralph Bates as the Baron. The movie wasnu0026#39;t completely successful and thankfully Cushing returned for the final movie u0026#39;Frankenstein And The Monster From Hellu0026#39;. For me the first and last in the series tie as the best Hammer Frankenstein movies and Cushing is remarkable in them both. I highly recommend u0026#39;The Curse Of Frankensteinu0026#39;, one of Hammeru0026#39;s greatest horror movies. No-one can truly call themselves a horror movie fan if they havenu0026#39;t seen it.”