Frankenstein (Hammer film series)

Lore & Background

The series began when producer Max Rosenberg approached Michael Carreras at Hammer Films with a deal to produce Frankenstein and the Monster, from a script by Milton Subotsky. Both men were later cut out of profit participation, receiving only a $5,000 fee, and subsequently established Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival in 1960s horror. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster adapted Mary Shelley's novel, keeping production costs in mind and avoiding scenes like villagers storming the castle because 'we couldn't afford it'. Sangster stated he had not seen Universal's Frankenstein films and adapted the book 'the way I saw it'.

Peter Cushing, then best known for British television roles, had his first lead film part in The Curse of Frankenstein. Christopher Lee was cast largely due to his height (6'5"), though Hammer had considered the even taller Bernard Bresslaw. Universal fought to prevent Hammer from duplicating aspects of their 1931 film, so make-up artist Phil Leakey designed a new look for the creature. Production began on 19 November 1956 at Bray Studios with a £65,000 investment, and the film opened at the London Pavilion on 2 May 1957 with an X certificate.

In 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot for a television series called Tales of Frankenstein, with Anton Diffring as the Baron and Don Megowan as his creation. The series was scrapped due to disagreements between Hammer and Columbia Pictures over its direction. Though unreleased at the time, the pilot is available on DVD from public domain sources and as a special feature on the 2012 Blu-Ray release of The Curse of Frankenstein. Several scripts commissioned for the series provided material for later films, including Frankenstein Created Woman and The Evil of Frankenstein.

Reader's Guide

The Hammer Frankenstein series holds significance as the studio's first colour horror film, whose worldwide success led to several sequels and established 'Hammer Horror' as a distinctive brand of Gothic cinema. The series helped launch the careers of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and set a template for British horror that rivaled Universal's earlier monster films. The films' legacy includes influencing the studio's subsequent versions of Dracula (1958) and The Mummy (1959), and cementing Hammer's reputation for vivid colour, gothic atmosphere, and a more explicit approach to horror. The series also indirectly led to the formation of Amicus Films, Hammer's main competitor in the 1960s horror market. Despite being loosely based on Mary Shelley's novel, the series created its own mythology around Baron Victor Frankenstein, focusing on his obsessive and amoral scientific experiments rather than the creature's perspective.

Did You Know?

• Peter Cushing starred as Baron Victor Frankenstein in six of the seven original films.
• Christopher Lee was cast as the creature largely because of his height (6'5").
• The series began with a £65,000 investment and opened at the London Pavilion on 2 May 1957.
• A television pilot for 'Tales of Frankenstein' was shot in 1959 but the series was never produced.