“Could you love me?”
“Yes. If you looked like Thomas.”
Every
now and again you come across a film that you love and can’t wait to
share with the rest of the world, and when you do, nobody has heard of
it. Such a film is Lady Frankenstein.
The
film opens with a couple of “Burke and Hare” like grave robbers digging
up a body and delivering it to Dr. Frankenstein and his old and
crippled assistant, Charles Marshall. With all the pieces in place, the
Dr. begins to prepare to reanimate the corpse. Enter the Lady of title;
Tania Frankenstein.
Tania
has been studying at the University and is returning home after
graduation. She is just as ambitious as he is and dabbles in human
experimentation herself, and that’s not the only experimenting she’s
into. She also enjoys teasing the local simpleton Thomas, if only he was
smarter…
Meanwhile
the Dr. and his assistant bring their creation to life, and thanks to a
fire, he comes out a creepy bugged eyed mongoloid, who kills the Dr.
and escapes. Tania vows to make her father immortal by creating an
avenger to hunt down the monster and destroy it! Charles confesses his
love for her and she begins to hatch a plan involving Charles, the idiot
servant Thomas, and her father’s work.
Made
in 1972, this film is perverse but subtle. She is arrogant and sexual,
without any real sense of consequence, as many rich children are. One
murder ordered by Lady Frankenstein is carried out on the victim as she
straddles him, coming to orgasm as he convulses in death. Now that’s a
scene. The scene of her making love to her creation surrounded by
growing flames is unforgettable.
Frankenstein
is a theme that has been done so many times that you really don’t care
anymore. This film is an exception, like The Bride, it takes the idea
and attempts to turn it on its ear, and does so successfully. All the
familiar Frankenstein pieces are present including the cry: “It’s
alive!”, the angry village lynch mob, and the tossing the girl in the
pond (though this time she is a sexy nude woman). It is one of the most
adult versions of this tale, but done with respect and class.
If
this film falls short in any category, it’s the creatures make up. I’m
not gonna lie and say it’s great, or even OK, it sucks ASS, and not in a
good way either. Fortunately everyone else is excellent.
Rosalba
Neri is perfect as Tania Frankenstein, a young woman that doesn’t know
what the word NO means. Rosalba made some good horror films like The
Devil’s Wedding Night and The Devil’s Lover and had many admirers. The
word is that this film was put together by a producer that was smitten
on her. She would have been great in a Hammer film, it’s a shame she
never made it to Bray.
Joseph
Cotton is fine as Frankenstein, but is given little to do. He does
however give the film a sense of class that may have otherwise been
overlooked.
Many
people overlook this film or dismiss it by the title. It is a solid
piece with a few flaws but hey, what film from the period doesn’t have
flaws. This is a film well worth tracking down in its entirety. The only
complete version was put out by DVD Drive in but I am not sure they are
still in business.
This
version is the full uncut feature from three different sources. Email
me for more info if you like. I would put this film up against any of
the other “better” Frankenstein films and it remains one of my
favorites. Do yourself a favor and don’t dismiss it based on the title.
Every film deserves to be seen before it is judged.
Lady
Frankenstein is a film of its period. Gothic, sexy, and willing to take
a classic story in a new creative direction. That’s more than we can
say today…
No comments:
Post a Comment