FRANKENSTEIN
US, 1973, 100 minutes, Colour.
Robert Foxworth, Bo Svenson, Susan Strasberg.
Directed by Glenn Jordan.
Frankenstein is one of several television versions of the classic story. Credit is given to Mary Shelley as the originator of the story. The film is interesting in itself, but more especially in comparison with the range of versions from the famous James Whale classic of the early 30s through the various parodies to more recent versions with Peter Cushing and a classic TV version with Leonard Whiting and Michael Sarrazin and a strong supporting British cast.
Producer-director Dan Curtis (House of Dark Shadows) brought many of the famous classics of horror to the television screen during the '70s, sometimes producing, sometimes producing and directing Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This version of Frankenstein is interesting in Robert Foxworth's tormented portrait of the scientist, a young and strong man preoccupied with scientific investigation and working feverishly with his assistants rather than being interested in his fiancee Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a rather too Americanised Susan Strasberg. The familiar details of the story have been used - Frankenstein, bodies and the creation of the monster, his assistants in the laboratory, trying to cope with the monster getting out of hand, the destruction. There is also the criticism of the scientist peers.
Where the film is different is in its presentation of the monster, portrayed by Bo Svenson. Svenson, a very large man, gives the creature a great deal of strength but he is characterised as being gentle. He is terrified by his existence and doesn't understand it. The torment of the discovery of his identity is a strong feature of the film. The creature is, in many ways, childlike especially seen in his attraction towards a young woman and his learning from her, and because she is a visitor from another country, he even learns language. When he is recaptured, the screenplay has echoes of The Bride of Frankenstein but it ultimately leads to death and destruction. The Frankenstein story works on the level of myth, the archetype of control and 'playing God'. This telemovie does not have the stature and impact of the cinema classic, but it is a competent version for the television and home audience.
