10 Offbeat And Frequently Silly Frankenstein Films

4. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed! (1969)

The fifth film in a series from Hammer that focuses on Frankenstein. In this instance, Baron Victor Frankenstein is staying in a boarding house. His associate is incarcerated in a nearby asylum, dying from a brain disease. After finding out that his landlady's boyfriend is stealing drugs to support his ill mother, Frankenstein blackmails them into helping him transplant his associate's brain into a body. When the deed is done, they move the body to a deserted manor as the police are closing in on them. The creature wakes up and isn't very happy with his appearance. He goes to his wife for comfort but she freaks out when she sees him. He douses the house with petrol and waits for Frankenstein to come so he can strike the match.. Frankenstein is exceptionally mean and nasty in this incarnation of his story. It is a testament to Hammer that they had a Frankenstein franchise that they managed to keep so fresh and original. Peter Cushing sparkles in the role of Baron Victor Frankenstein - cold hearted and ruthless. He is the real reason to watch the film, Frankenstein has lost his humanity to the degree that he actually rapes the heroine in the film, 45 minutes into the running time. It is not a graphic scene and it was put in to please American audiences, but it is still a nasty poke in the ribs. Cushing was apparently very displeased with having to do this scene which he felt was extremely sleazy. It doesn't sit well with the rest of the film and because it is an insert, there is no mention of what happened to Anna after the deed is done. Nevertheless, the film is an interesting dissection of Frankenstein's character as a manipulative, irredeemable psychopath.