TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Lady Frankenstein [1972]


Our Price: £11.44 (subject to change)

Only the Monster she made could satisfy her strange desires!
Review date: 2005-02-04 Rating: 8 out of 10

The title character in "Lady Frankenstein" ("La Figlia di Frankenstein") turns out to be the daughter of the mad scientist and not his wife. Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotton) has been trying unsuccessfully for two decades to bring dead tissue to life. Using the corpse of a recently hung man as his test subject (note the interesting place they pick to hang the guy), the Baron finally succeeds. But there is something wrong with the brain and the monster kills the Baron and goes off to wreck more havoc on the countryside. Now that she is in control of the laboratory, having watched her father work since she was a little girl and having graduated medical school herself, the Baron's daughter Tania (Rosalba Neri, a.k.a. Sara Bay), wants revenge. However, Lady Frankenstein wants to do more than fight fire with fire.

Her plan is to take the brain of Dr. Charles Marshall (Paul Müller), her father's old lab assistant and the man who loves her, and put it into the hulking body of Thomas (Paul Whiteman), a manservant who is mentally retarded, so that she can have both brains and brawn. The plan is that this new creation will get revenge by killing the first creation, and then return to Tania's bedroom to find other ways of making her really, really happy. Meanwhile, Captain Harris (Mickey Hargitay) is investigating the Baron's death (Tantia makes up a story about a robber) and spouting interesting lines of dialogue to the suspects. It also turns out that Tania is not the only one seeking revenge. The original monster is going after the grave robbers, so there is a constant body count in this one. Actually it is not the dead people but the naked people who count more in this one.

Despite the cartoonish poster art for "Lady Frankenstein," director Mel Welles (a.k.a. Ernst R. von Theumer) creates an appropriately gothic looking horror film. However, the story is an uneven mix of interesting ideas (e.g., chemical batteries are better that lightning for reanimating dead tissue) and sundry plot holes (e.g., how Marshall's brain finally puts two and two together). Simply in terms of Eurotrash this is an above average example of the genre, in terms of both the story and the acting in addition to the bodies. Then again, as good as Neri looks that is about how bad the monster (the first one) looks. Overall, the ending is the weakest part of "Lady Frankenstein," but that it is actually a plus because normally it is the set up that has you rolling your eyes. That is once you put your eyes back in your head, because when you cast Rosalba Neri as the lead character who are clearly deemphasizing the horror aspects of this particular horror film.

The DVD has some pretty good extras considering what the movie is, with a lot more than the theatrical trailer and televison spot for "Lady Frankenstein." Also included by DVD Drive-In are the trailers for other Italian horror movies from "Beyond the Darkness" to "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave!" with "Revenge of the Living Dead," "Curse of the Living Dead," and "Fangs of the Living Dead" thrown in between. There are all sorts of production photographs, movie posters, and candid shots, several of which will make Neri's fans rather, ah, happy. There is also a short interview with the actress, as well as a longer walk down memory lane with the director Mel Welles, who tells a lot of stories about the production of the film (Roger Corman to the rescue). The deleted scenes are in Italian, so be prepared for that and make up your own dialogue. For me the extras are good enough to decide to round up on "Lady Frankenstein." Note: The Easter Egg on this one is the candle.

Similar Products

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Joseph Cotten
Herbert Fux
Paul Whiteman
Rosalba Neri
Paul Muller

Creators:
Joseph Cotten (Primary Contributor)
Rosalba Neri (Primary Contributor)
Aureliano Luppi (Writer)
Mel Welles (Writer)
Dick Randall (Writer)
Edward Di Lorenzo (Writer)
Egidio Gelso (Writer)
Mary Shelley (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: St. Clair Entertainment
Manufacturer: St. Clair Entertainment
EAN: 0777966846095
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, DVD-Video, PAL,
Release date: 2004-03-02
Universal product code (UPC): 777966846095
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Running time: 99 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1971
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional