"Frankenstein's Daughter" is currently available on Amazon Prime. It's one of those movies I have been aware of for a long, long time. I have seen clips from it and because of the poster I was under the misunderstanding that the make-up from "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" was reused in this movie. In reality, the monster in this movie was intended to be a woman (and at some points was), and was referred to as "she", but most of the time it was painfully obvious that a man was beneath the make-up of the final incarnation of the creature.
The name "Frankenstein" got thrown around a lot in B movies during the 50s. Being in the public domain and popular culture will do that to a character. Adaptations that were either modernizations, teenage versions of or completely unrelated to Shelley's work would carry the moniker in order to sell tickets. It was name recognition with no star to pay.
Frankenstein's offspring is the mad scientist in this one. A grandson or great grandson, I believe. I lost track of the lineage. But certainly not a daughter. The "daughter" refers to the attempt to build a woman "for the first time". Apparently "The Bride of Frankenstein" movie was being ignored here, which makes sense because only the book would have been in the public domain.
There is also a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde in the movie with a criminally under utilized "serum" that turns a girl into a rampaging, swimsuit clad monster. An opportunity for an all female monster brawl is completely missed in this pre-60s camp classic.
For the most part the make-up is dated, but effective. The slight touches of "gore" were probably still effective in 1958. The final creature design, except for clearly not being female and not exuding any feminine qualities, was actually a bit original, using metal braces for support and a rubberized suit to cover most of the body so in later scenes some F/X could be played out on the lower budget.
The human villain is truly dislikeable. The victims who surround him are mostly hapless and sort of stupid or at least naïve. From a teenage girl who accepts a "bitter" drink from him minutes after he has forced himself upon her (and after she blacked out the evening before after he made her "punch") to her uncle who neglects to tell the police that his lab assistant tried to strangle him. This is literally seconds after the murder attempt. The police arrive at the door, interrupt the murder and the Uncle just sort of forgets to mention it. Horror movies would be short if the characters were smart.
As with many of these movie we're treated to a couple of musical interludes during a party populated by "teenagers" or youngsters who look to be in their mid-30s. The music might be reminiscent to some and comical to others, but it's certainly entertaining in some way to most.
The acting is drive-in quality, all of the technical specs, like movies from this time, are actually pretty high. Back when everything was shot on film, even B-features had seasoned pros working on them, just with much less time and money, but they were still, for the most part, professional affairs. The acting is similar. More of a television quality than rehearsed film stars, but not just a bunch of people found on Craigslist who never saw a script before like we get today.
Overall, I was more impressed than I expected to be. I definitely suggest it as a watch to anyone who likes old monster movies and hasn't managed to see this one yet. Especially while it's still lurking around on Prime.
I for one, keep wanting to make a Frankenstein adaptation of my own. It seems like making monster movies and not having a Frankenstein movie in my portfolio is somehow disrespectful to the genre. (I've been in, but never directed a zombie movie. I did have zombie like ghouls in my first vampire film, however.) The closest I have gotten to a Frankenstein homage actually refers back to the 1931 movie. The scene in which Frankenstein is playing with the little girl was cut short on PBS the Halloween my parents let me watch the movie as a kid. Because of that, the scene has always interested me and when I finally saw it, the whole tone of the movie was changed. I reversed the scene in "Bogged Down" with the mud mummy from "All Wrapped Up" (my only feature currently not available as "Prime").
The name "Frankenstein" got thrown around a lot in B movies during the 50s. Being in the public domain and popular culture will do that to a character. Adaptations that were either modernizations, teenage versions of or completely unrelated to Shelley's work would carry the moniker in order to sell tickets. It was name recognition with no star to pay.
Frankenstein's offspring is the mad scientist in this one. A grandson or great grandson, I believe. I lost track of the lineage. But certainly not a daughter. The "daughter" refers to the attempt to build a woman "for the first time". Apparently "The Bride of Frankenstein" movie was being ignored here, which makes sense because only the book would have been in the public domain.
There is also a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde in the movie with a criminally under utilized "serum" that turns a girl into a rampaging, swimsuit clad monster. An opportunity for an all female monster brawl is completely missed in this pre-60s camp classic.
For the most part the make-up is dated, but effective. The slight touches of "gore" were probably still effective in 1958. The final creature design, except for clearly not being female and not exuding any feminine qualities, was actually a bit original, using metal braces for support and a rubberized suit to cover most of the body so in later scenes some F/X could be played out on the lower budget.
The human villain is truly dislikeable. The victims who surround him are mostly hapless and sort of stupid or at least naïve. From a teenage girl who accepts a "bitter" drink from him minutes after he has forced himself upon her (and after she blacked out the evening before after he made her "punch") to her uncle who neglects to tell the police that his lab assistant tried to strangle him. This is literally seconds after the murder attempt. The police arrive at the door, interrupt the murder and the Uncle just sort of forgets to mention it. Horror movies would be short if the characters were smart.
As with many of these movie we're treated to a couple of musical interludes during a party populated by "teenagers" or youngsters who look to be in their mid-30s. The music might be reminiscent to some and comical to others, but it's certainly entertaining in some way to most.
The acting is drive-in quality, all of the technical specs, like movies from this time, are actually pretty high. Back when everything was shot on film, even B-features had seasoned pros working on them, just with much less time and money, but they were still, for the most part, professional affairs. The acting is similar. More of a television quality than rehearsed film stars, but not just a bunch of people found on Craigslist who never saw a script before like we get today.
Overall, I was more impressed than I expected to be. I definitely suggest it as a watch to anyone who likes old monster movies and hasn't managed to see this one yet. Especially while it's still lurking around on Prime.
I for one, keep wanting to make a Frankenstein adaptation of my own. It seems like making monster movies and not having a Frankenstein movie in my portfolio is somehow disrespectful to the genre. (I've been in, but never directed a zombie movie. I did have zombie like ghouls in my first vampire film, however.) The closest I have gotten to a Frankenstein homage actually refers back to the 1931 movie. The scene in which Frankenstein is playing with the little girl was cut short on PBS the Halloween my parents let me watch the movie as a kid. Because of that, the scene has always interested me and when I finally saw it, the whole tone of the movie was changed. I reversed the scene in "Bogged Down" with the mud mummy from "All Wrapped Up" (my only feature currently not available as "Prime").
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