Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Encyclopedia
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film
directed by Terence Fisher
for Hammer Film Productions
from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing
, Freddie Jones
, Veronica Carlson
and Simon Ward
. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr. Frankenstein, who, in this entry, tries brain surgery to save an associate who went mad.
After discovering that the landlady's fiance has been stealing narcotics in order to support an ailing mother, Frankenstein blackmails them to help to transfer the brain of his friend into another body, thus saving him.
While he recovers, Frankenstein and the lovers relocate the Creature to a deserted manor house as the police begin to close in. The Creature awakens, and horrified by his appearance, escapes to his wife, who is too terrified to believe he is her husband. Wanting revenge, he pours paraffin
around the house and allows his wife to go free.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein notices the Creature has escaped. He then finds the Creature at its wife's house where the Creature sets it alight, stating:
"...You must choose between the flames and the police, Frankenstein..."
Cymru/Wales broadcast a version dubbed into the Welsh
language called Rhaid Dinistrio Frankenstein, a more-or-less literal translation of the English title. This was one of three films that were dubbed into Welsh, another being Shane, with Alan Ladd
.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. He was born in Maida Vale, a district of London, England.Fisher was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century...
for Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
, Freddie Jones
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
, Veronica Carlson
Veronica Carlson
Veronica Carlson is an English model and actress, famous for her roles in Hammer horror films.Born as Veronica Mary Glazer, Veronica Carlson spent most of her childhood in Germany where her father was stationed...
and Simon Ward
Simon Ward
Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr. Frankenstein, who, in this entry, tries brain surgery to save an associate who went mad.
Plot summary
Baron Victor Frankenstein is staying at a boarding house while a former fellow-scientist resides in a nearby insane asylum, slowly dying through lack of oxygen in the brain.After discovering that the landlady's fiance has been stealing narcotics in order to support an ailing mother, Frankenstein blackmails them to help to transfer the brain of his friend into another body, thus saving him.
While he recovers, Frankenstein and the lovers relocate the Creature to a deserted manor house as the police begin to close in. The Creature awakens, and horrified by his appearance, escapes to his wife, who is too terrified to believe he is her husband. Wanting revenge, he pours paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
around the house and allows his wife to go free.
Meanwhile, Frankenstein notices the Creature has escaped. He then finds the Creature at its wife's house where the Creature sets it alight, stating:
"...You must choose between the flames and the police, Frankenstein..."
Cast
- Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as Baron Victor Frankenstein - Veronica CarlsonVeronica CarlsonVeronica Carlson is an English model and actress, famous for her roles in Hammer horror films.Born as Veronica Mary Glazer, Veronica Carlson spent most of her childhood in Germany where her father was stationed...
as Anna Spengler - Freddie JonesFreddie JonesFrederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
as Professor Richter/the Creature - Simon WardSimon WardSimon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
as Dr. Karl Holst - Thorley WaltersThorley WaltersThorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
as Inspector Frisch - Maxine AudleyMaxine AudleyMaxine Audley was an English theatre and film actress. She made her professional stage debut in July 1940 at the Open Air Theatre. Throughout her career, Audley performed with both the Old Vic company and the Royal Shakespeare Company multiple times...
as Ella Brandt - George PravdaGeorge PravdaGeorge Pravda was a Czechoslovakian film and television actor.He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jirí Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom....
as Dr. Frederick Brandt - Geoffrey BayldonGeoffrey BayldonGeoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
as Police Doctor - Colette O'NeilColette O'NeilColette O'Neil is a Glasgow-born actress noted for her various roles on British television.She was a semi-regular cast member of Coronation Street in the mid-1960s as Ruth Winter, and also made frequent guest appearances in series such as Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Adam Adamant Lives!, No Hiding...
as Madwoman - Frank MiddlemassFrank MiddlemassFrancis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat...
as Guest - Plumber - George Belbin as Guest - Playing chess
- Norman ShelleyNorman ShelleyNorman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
as Guest - Smoking pipe - Michael GoverMichael GoverMichael Gover is an English actor, born in 1918 in Denmark, now living in Dorset, England, he is best known for his portrayal of Arthur Russell in the BBC television series Survivors....
as Guest - Reading newspaper - Peter CopleyPeter CopleyPeter Copley was a British television, film and stage actor.-Biography:Copley was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, son of the printmakers, John Copley and Ethel Gabain....
as Principal
Production
The scene where Frankenstein rapes Anna was filmed over the objections of both Peter Cushing and Veronica Carlson, and director Terrence Fisher, who halted it when he felt enough was enough. It was not in the original script but the scene was added at the insistence of Hammer executive James Carreras, who was under pressure to keep American distributors happy. This explains why there is no mention of the rape subsequently by Anna or Frankenstein.Welsh version
In the mid to late 1970s, the Welsh television station HTVHTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
Cymru/Wales broadcast a version dubbed into the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
language called Rhaid Dinistrio Frankenstein, a more-or-less literal translation of the English title. This was one of three films that were dubbed into Welsh, another being Shane, with Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
.