Review of Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) by Byron B — 16 Jan 2019

With Terence Fisher at the helm again this is the best of the Hammer Frankenstein franchise films that I've seen so far. This is a more complex story and I enjoyed it that way. Frankenstein is even experimenting with cryogenically extending his own life.

Peter Cushing and Thorley Walters have a Holmes and Watson dynamic that was appealing (strangely I did not find that they played those characters opposite each other in any Sherlock films). Frankenstein's other young assistant Hans (Robert Morris) begins the movie as a younger boy witnessing his father being put to death with a guillotine.

He holds revenge in his mind and is looked down upon by many villagers for being low class and the son of a criminal. He loves a barkeep's daughter named Christina (Susan Denberg). Denberg did not pursue a long film career, but she may be my favorite of Hammer's glamorous beauties.

Christina is scarred and has a limp. Both Christina and Hans are mercilessly bullied by a trio of drunken fops. These are characters with timeless recognizability to anyone who has felt ostracized. The Baron's experiments turn more metaphysical than scientific as he strives to transfer souls/consciousness from one body to another.

It is more than just a brain transplant. Of course this was a concept that Universal tackled with some sequels and the ending of Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks uses this mind transfer idea too. Eventually Frankenstein repairs Christina's deformities and keeps Hans "alive" by putting his mind in her head.

This leads to a very intriguing dual personality murderer, a twist on the bride of Frankenstein idea, which Hammer avoids otherwise, and many visually creative and darker scenes in Hammer's DeLuxe color than has previously been seen in this franchise.