UK, USA, 1973
1 series, 2 episodes, average 90m
35mm film, Technicolor, 1.33:1
mono, English
Reviewed at The EOFFTV Review
A British/American horror television mini-series directed by Jack Smight.
Plot Summary
Dr Victor Frankenstein, working from research performed by his friend Dr Henry Clerval, develops a way to restore life to the dead and creates a patchwork creature that he gives life to using solar power. The creature is initially handsome but starts to decay – and things get worse when Frankenstein teams up with Dr John Polidori to make a female creature…
Credits
Crew
Directed by: Jack Smight
Copyright MCMLXXIII by Universal Pictures Television Limited
Produced by: Hunt Stromberg Jr
Associate Producer: Ian Smith
Production Manager: Brian Burgess
Teleplay: Christopher Isherwood & Don Bachardy
From the classic novel by Mary Shelley
Director of Photography: Arthur Ibbetson
Cameras and Lenses by: Panavision
Film Editor: Richard Marber
Music Composed by: Gil Melle
Musical Supervisor: Philip Martell
Sound: Don Sharpe, Gordon Everett, Ken Barker
Costumed by: Elsa Fennell
Special Effects: Roy Whybrow
Production Designer: Wilfred Shingleton
Art Director: Fred Carter
Assistants to the Producer: Sally Nicholl, Jacque Shelton
Choreographer: Sally Gilpin
Studio: Pinewood Studios, England, UK
Cast
James Mason (Dr John Polidori)
Leonard Whiting (Dr Victor Frankenstein)
David McCallum (Dr Henry Clerval)
Jane Seymour (Agatha/Prima)
Nicola Pagett (Elizabeth Fanschawe)
Michael Sarrazin (the creature)
Michael Wilding (Sir Richard Fanshawe)
Clarissa Kaye (Lady Fanschawe)
Agnes Moorehead (Mrs Blair)
Margaret Leighton (Francoise DuVal)
Ralph Richardson (Mr Lacey)
John Gielgud (Chief Constable)
Tom Baker (sea captain)
Julian Barnes (young man)
Arnold Diamond (passenger in coach)
Yootha Joyce (Mrs McGregor)
Peter Sallis (priest)
Dallas Adams (Felix)
Alternative Titles
Frankenstein, wie er wirklich war – West Germany
La verdadera historia de Frankenstein – Spain
Links
Extracts included in
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)
References
Periodicals
- Castle of Frankenstein no.21 pp.18-24
Books
- Armchair Cinema: A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981 by Sheldon Hall p.437
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.276
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.311
- Chopped Meat: British Horror of the 1970s by Eric McNaughton and Darrell Buxton (eds) pp.182-184 – illustrated review (by Ian Taylor)
- Cyborgs, Santa Claus and Satan: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Made for Television by Fraser A. Sherman pp.68-69
- Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams by Andrew L. Grunzke p.55
- English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.358, 358
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.298
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.142
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.65 – credits, review
- Movies Made for Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964-1979 by Alvin H. Marill pp.161-162 – illustrated credits, synopsis
- Uneasy Dreams: The Golden Age of British Horror Films, 1956-1976 by Gary A. Smith p.108
