_**Hammer borrows from Universal to reboot the series**_

Hammer did seven Frankenstein films from 1957-1973: “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), “The Revenge of Frankenstein” (1958), “The Evil of Frankenstein” (1964), “Frankenstein Created Woman” (1967), “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” (1969), “The Horror of Frankenstein” (1970) and “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” (1973). Peter Cushing plays Baron Frankenstein in every one of these except "The Horror of Frankenstein" because it was a remake of the original story and they needed a much younger actor for the role

With "The Evil of Frankenstein" it had been six years since the previous installment and it reboots the series after a distribution deal made with Universal. Before this, Hammer went out of its way to make their version different from Universal (for legal reasons); here, the monster has the iconic Universal look and Dr. Frankenstein’s lab is similar to the classic one, albeit everything’s in color.

While Terence Fisher directed five of the installments, Freddie Francis does the honors here (his only directing job for Frankenstein) and I found it superior to the previous “The Revenge of Frankenstein.” Yet it’s not great like the next two entries, “Frankenstein Created Woman” and, especially, “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.”

The basic Frankenstein story is intact: a mad scientist from Western Europe in the late 1700s/early 1800s is obsessed with creating life from an assortment of body parts and so sets up shop in a secret lair and is successful, but the confused, grotesque creature ends up going on a killing spree. Thankfully, this one adds the entertaining village carnival element as well as the interesting involvement of a selfish hypnotist from the fair (Peter Woodthorpe). Sandor Elès plays the Baron’s assistant while Katy Wild and Caron Gardner are on hand on the feminine front.

Although people gripe about the lack of continuity with the two previous installments from 6-7 years earlier, it can be resolved with a little imagination and filling in blanks: The Baron secretly built an alternative lab at his chateau outside Karlstaad which, if you think about it, he would’ve HAD to do during the events of “Curse.” He simply omitted these clandestine undertakings from his explanation to the cleric. The flashback in this movie, told by Frankenstein to new helper Hans (Sandor Elès), is the doctor’s fixed-up version of events in Karlstaad wherein he leaves out most of the details and lies about being exiled rather than condemned to execution. Since Hans isn't Hans Kleve from “Revenge,” he knows only what Victor wants him to know about what went down.

The movie runs 1 hour, 24 minutes and was shot at Bray Studios, just west of London.

GRADE: B

In "The Evil of Frankenstein", Peter Cushing, as doctor Frankenstein tries to reanimate corpses but is hindered by the people of the village he lives in. Frustrated he decides to move back to his hometown Karlstadt, which he had to leave after successfully creating his famous monster, which was killed by the town folk. While returning, he finds out that all his possessions where stolen - and there is another suprise...

This movie is somewhat interesting. While telling a known story, it twistest the roles of good and evil; while normally Frankenstein is precieved as crazy man that creates evil, in this movie he is rather portrayed as victim of the evil leadership consisting of church, police and the mayors - who not only persecute him but also steal all his belongings. And even the town folks are portrayed evil (when of course a somewhat lesser evil) - they are not only the lynch mob but also bully the poor deaf-mute town girl.

Frankenstein on the opposite together with his helping hand Hans are the misjudged heroes who achiev the unbelievable. Who manage to cheat death and lead mankind to scientific wonders. The main evil is a human hypnotist Zoltán, who instrumentalizes Frankensteins monster for his own revenge and enrichment - and degrades the deaf-mute town girl by trying to rape her and then not going through with it, because she's not worth the trouble. The monster on the other hand is the victim.

I think this is - especially for its time - a really progressive story. Normally there is a typical black-and-white idea of good and evil which seem to be static in movies from that era. The story is interestingly told, and never forseeable, the acting varies.

Peter Cushing is of course the star, and this movie is one of his greatest, because he has a lot of screen time (compared to, i.e. his portrayals of van Helsing). Katy Wild has also great potential even though she plays a deaf-mute girl. The acting of Kiwi Kingston as the monster is however extremely poor, and with exception of Peter Woodthorpe (Zoltán) the acting is pretty bad. However, all in all the movie is enjoyable and can be seen numerous times; I liked it!

If I'm beginning to sound like a broken record it's only because I'm running out of ways to describe what a great actor Peter Cushing is. He brings so much to the roles that he plays in the Hammer films. He's got such a presence on-screen. He brings an intelligence to the roles he plays as Dr. Frankenstein. His character is also charming, calculating, and athletic. He plays Frankenstein with a very short fuse and a great deal of victimization. Throughout this movie, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pull for him or dislike him, but either way, his Frankenstein is the best representation of the questionably intentioned doctor that's been done by any studio.

"The Evil of Frankenstein" doesn't work for me quite as well as Hammer Horror's "The Revenge of Frankenstein". TEoF starts out with a great scene of Cushing's Dr. F'Stein cutting the heart out of a still warm cadaver. This dissection is performed during the opening credits. We see Cushing grunting and pulling at the corpse trying to remove the heart from its chest. This opening scene is so effective because Cushing is so good. It's definitely a gruesome scene, but there is absolutely no gore to be found. We don't see the results of Frankenstein's autopsy until he drops the heart into a tub of liquid. This is another great example of how well these old movies incite a horrific reaction without the mindless gore.

This movie actually has a monster but I was underwhelmed with it. Mostly because the makeup job was so bad. The monster was a sympathetic enough character and I liked that this took a different direction with Cushing actually losing control of the situation, and the monster itself. The castle and the town of Karlsbaad were satisfying creations and they brought a feel of authenticity to the whole affair.

The ending is all too abrupt which seems to be the norm for Hammer. The ending wasn't bad it was just too sudden.

The Evil of Zoltan!

The Evil of Frankenstein is directed by Freddie Francis and written by John Elder. It stars Peter Cushing, Sandor Eles, Peter Woodthorpe and Katy Wild. Music is by Don Banks and cinematography by John Wilcox.

Returning back to Karlstad after a ten year absence, Baron Frankenstein (Cushing) hopes that the town has forgotten his monstrous impact on the town previously. With assistant Hans (Eles) in tow, it's not long before the Baron stumbles upon his monster creation frozen in a glacier of ice...

Anything they don't understand, anything that doesn't conform to their stupid little pattern...they destroy.

With Hammer Films finally getting friendly with Universal Pictures, The Evil of Frankenstein forgets the two previous Hammer Frankenstein movies and goes for what is in all essence a rehash of Karloff's stomping days. That's not necessarily a bad thing if one can judge the film as a standalone movie? But creativity is sparse and it's left to the cast and technical department to create an above average Frankenstein movie.

Yep, it sure does look nice, with impressive costuming and well dressed sets, it's a Hammer movie for sure. Bank's score is also classic Hammer strains. Cushing gives his usual dose of quality, though he is a touch restrained here in terms of committed emotion, and you have to smile at his James Bond moment during one getaway scene while a buxom babe looks on with kinky lustation in her eyes. Elsewhere it's a safe turn of cast performances, with future Dad of Delboy Trotter, Woodthorpe, camping it up as the scheming and revenge fuelled hypnotist Zoltan, Wild isn't asked to do much, and neither is Eles, who seems to be in it for some continental flavour. Francis is no Terence Fisher, but he has a good visual flair and he can construct a very good action sequence, such as the excellent finale here.

There's problems for sure; familiarity of Frankenstein movies in general hurts, the make up for the creature is very poor, one back screen projection sequence is very cheap even by low grade Hammer standards, while some of the Baron's reactions to situations don't bear up to logical scrutiny. It's not hard to understand why it's a very divisive movie amongst the Hammer Horror faithful. Yet its merits hold up well and it never once sags or becomes tiring. Cushing, Wilcox and that finale ensure it's a decent night in by the fire. 6.5/10