4.11.2007

The Evil of Frankenstein




Kiwi Kingston (or possibly a dummy wearing his costume and makeup) and Peter Cushing in The Evil of Frankenstein (dir. Freddie Francis, 1964).

The third installment in the Hammer Frankenstein series is the only one that Terence Fisher didn't direct. Cinematographer Freddie Francis does a pretty good job of carrying on his style, right down to the cleavage fetish (when I think about it, that was probably more of a general Hammer thing than a Fisher thing per se). The monster in this one is terribly dull and lumpish: his head looks like a shoebox coated in papier-mâché. Cushing, as usual, is the reason to watch, although he doesn't really live up to the evil of the title: in fact, compared to his murderous demeanor in the first two films, here he's an affable, misunderstood guy. Katy Wild plays a sweet-natured deaf-mute village girl whose face, for some reason, is as pasty and seasick-looking as the creature's. Honestly, beyond some attractive matte paintings and such, there's not much to recommend this, but now I'm committed to finishing out the series.

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