“I was a Teenage Frankenstein” was released on November 23, 1957. At the request of distributor Bob ODonnell, the film was commissioned by exploitation specialists American International Pictures to follow-up their success earlier in the year with “I was a Teenage Werewolf”. ODonnell, who ran the Interstate circuit of theaters in Texas, wanted two more similar horror films in time for Thanksgiving, so “Werewolf” producer Herman Cohen had only four weeks to write and shoot both “I was a Teenage Frankenstein” and “Blood of Dracula”. Says Cohen of the hectic schedules result on production values, “I had to really, really cut down. In “Frankenstein”, sometime genre star Whit Bissell (scientist Dr. Edwin Thompson in 1954s original “Creature from the Black Lagoon”; and Dr. Hill - to whom star Kevin McCarthy recounts his terrifying encounter with the “pod-people” in the 1956 classic, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”) dials up the mad (as in doctor) from his similar role in “Werewolf” to play the inexplicably British Professor Frankenstein – small town university guest lecturer and mad doctor in residence. Following a catastrophic car crash involving multiple fatalities, Frankenstein blackmails colleague Dr. Karlton (Robert Burton) into assisting him with using various body parts of the crashs several victims to assemble a male teenager. Unused pieces are disposed of as treats for the professors handy pet alligator. When brought to life by the ambitious professor, we see that while his creation (Gary Conway) has a hunky football players/wrestlers/track stars body (among others), its facial features are horribly mangled. The oversight is thankfully later rectified when the professor and his distraught monster visit a lovers lane and appropriate an unfortunate teenage boys face, which the crafty professor swaps out with the old model. The professors commendable efforts are for naught however, when, following the monsters murder of Professor Frankensteins fiancee, Dr. Karlton decides hes had enough and snitches to the police. In a crackling finale, the enraged and inappreciative monster tosses the professor to the alligator just as the cops arrive and back him into an electrical panel, where he sizzles up real good and drops dead to the floor. The film closes with a closeup of Karlton lamenting over the monsters body that hell never forget its horrific original face, while in a helpful reminder to the audience, the shot dissolves into a closeup of exactly that. Then were treated to a shot of the alligator happily gnawing away at what I believe were supposed to think is the professors body, but which really looks like only a lab-coat floating in the water. The impact of the films shocking final moments is cleverly heightened with the use of color in whats otherwise a black-and-white presentation. “New York Times” reviewer R.W.N. found the idea of assembling a teenager from the limbs of other teenagers “abhorrent”, claiming that “It forces one to acknowledge the impression that such films may aggravate the mass social sickness euphemistically termed juvenile delinquency. While AIP made no direct comment on the subject, they did release a crossover sequel to their trio of 1957 teenage horror subjects - 1958s “How to Make a Monster”. That film was released on double-feature with “Teenage Cave Man”. Notable production trivia: In part three of “Herman Cohen, the Man and his Movies”, a six-part online interview the producer, Cohen claims the alligator employed in “Teenage Frankenstein” to dispose of body parts was actually used for the same purpose by the owner of a Dallas-area motel. The man would hire waitresses who had no family, develop a relationship with them, and when he got bored of them would throw them in a basement pool where he kept the alligator. Cohen says, “That alligator had killed about seven women! This is a true story!” “I was a Teenage Frankenstein” is readily available on DVD, but a crisp copy of the 73-minute Brit release of the film, with the title shortened to “Teenage Frankenstein”, is currently posted on YouTube. The link below is to a trailer. Coincidentally - or perhaps its fate - William Henry Pratt, the actor who as Boris Karloff would play the monster in Universals 1931 production of Frankenstein, was born on November 23, 1887. Karloff the Uncanny became the reigning star of Universals Golden Age of Horror (the 1930s - 40s) and starred in genre films until his death on February 2, 1969. Career highlights include roles as Dr. Fu Manchu in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Imhotep in the first mummy movie, The Mummy (1932), the host of NBCs Thriller TV series (1960-1962), and the voice of the Grinch in the popular CBS animated TV special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). His IMDb filmography lists 200 titles as an actor. Karloff has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - one for his work in motion pictures, and one for television.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 04:34:27 +0000
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