Review of Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) by Stephen M — 31 Oct 2008

If one of the great ironies of Hammer is that their best 'Dracula' movie doesn't even feature Dracula (Brides of Dracula), yet another is that their best 'Frankenstein' movie is the one with the female monster! Colourful, atmospheric, well acted and boasting an ingenious revenge plot involving the transference of souls (which I'm trying hard not to spoil here), what makes Frankenstein Created Woman particularly memorable is the surprisingly poignant love story between Frankenstein's servant, Hans (Robert Morris), and the deformed daughter of the local innkeeper, Christina (Susan Denberg).

Denberg's excellent performance in this movie is a notable exception to the rule that Hammer were generally at their dullest when attempting to showcase some European starlet or other, though a good portion of the credit must go to whoever dubbed her voice.

Unnecessary or bad dubbing in movies is one of my pet peeves, but this is perhaps the only example I can think of where the dubbing process unquestionably enhances a performance, lending a disembodied, otherworldly strangeness to Denberg entirely appropriate to her character, both before and after Frankenstein gets his hands on her.