Director: Terence Fisher
Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster
Based on: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Starring: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee, Melvyn Hayes, Valerie Gaunt, Paul Hardtmuth, Noel Hood, Sally Walsh, Raymond Ray, Fred Johnson
Country: UK
Running Time: 83 min
Year: 1957
BBFC Certificate: 15
In 1957 the world of British horror was changed forever with the release of the first Hammer Horror, The Curse of Frankenstein, and the rest, as they say, is history. Hammer had, undoubtedly, crafted tales of horror before but these were rooted in the genres of sci-fi, thriller or noir. The Curse of Frankenstein was all-out gothic horror, in full colour.
Hammer would go on to be famed the world over for their gothic chillers, with lurid colour schemes, lashings of claret, heaving bosoms, evocative set design and soundtracks and performances by a delightful stock cast featuring acting greats like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
The studio would tackle the likes of Dracula, the Mummy, the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story, zombies, werewolves and much more throughout the next couple of decades as their legacy was cemented.
But their formula was already set in motion with that first gothic horror release, The Curse of Frankenstein, which featured all that made the studio so famous, including the magical pairing of Cushing and Lee in the first of the Hammers they would appear in together. It wasn’t the first time they had appeared in the same film, though; that occurred in a couple of non-Hammer films, beginning with Laurence Olivier’s 1948 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
Now, before we get going in earnest, I must admit to The Curse of Frankenstein holding a very special place in my heart, being the very first Hammer film I saw and indeed the first horror film I ever viewed, after it was recorded for me off the TV by my late Grandad. I therefore jumped at the chance to review this phenomenal new Hammer edition.
The plot follows Baron Victor Frankenstein (Cushing) who inherits his family estate as a teenager (played in a few brief scenes by the delightful Melvyn Hayes) following the death of his mother, and is tutored in science by Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart).
Frankenstein learns fast and the pair soon begin to conduct scientific experiments, bringing a puppy back from the dead. Krempe wants to use this scientific gift to save hundreds of lives. Frankenstein, however, only had one goal: to create life, and so begins to scavenge for body parts to create a human being, despite the protestations of Krempe who attempts to get his prodigy to stop, fearing it won’t make them famous, but infamous.
In the meantime, Frankenstein’s childhood sweetheart and cousin Elizabeth (Hazel Court), now his fiancé, moves in to his home. Krempe tries to encourage Elizabeth, who doesn’t know what type of experiments Frankenstein is conducting, to leave, whilst also continuing to try to get Frankenstein to see the error of his ways. The Baron won’t be stopped, though, and is hungry to create life at any cost.
This hunger turns to murder as Frankenstein kills a Professor (Paul Hardtmuth) in order to harvest his brain. Following the Professor’s funeral, Frankenstein steals the body and removes the Professor’s brain to finish his creation, but Krempe attempts to stop him and the brain is damaged in the process. Frankenstein goes through with his experiment despite this, and it is a success, but the creation (Christopher Lee) is violent and dangerous thanks to the damaged brain and escapes from the laboratory.
This tale is bookended by sequences of Frankenstein telling his story to a priest, as he awaits his execution for the murder of his maid, Justine (Valerie Gaunt), who in reality he has allowed the creature to kill when she threatens to report him because he refuses to marry her.
The tale is well told and, despite it having been filmed before and based on Mary Shelley’s novel, it feels fresh thanks to the components that make a Hammer film. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster’s script zips along at pace and is very focused, delivering a thrilling tale in under 90 minutes.
Cushing is excellent as Frankenstein, all wide eyed and enthusiastic at first at the chance to create life, but becoming more sadistic, power hungry and unstoppable as he moves forward with his plan.
Lee gives a mute but equally good performance as the creature, beneath some striking makeup by Phil Leakey, which feels unique and distinct, to avoid it looking like Jack Pierce’s iconic flat top head and bolt neck makeup which was used for Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the creature in the 1931 Universal adaptation of the story.
Lee’s portrayal is scary and vicious, but also childlike at times, and the mute performance is enhanced by Lee’s movements, really making you believe these are the first steps of a new life. Lee’s performance is equally as memorable as Karloff’s in my book, although he doesn’t show up until around the 50-minute mark and has just a few minutes of screentime in total.
Melvyn Hayes portrays the Young Victor memorably, too – he’s wonderful in the early sequences – and special mention for a great supporting cast, headlined by Hazel Court and Robert Urquhart. Urquhart is the moral compass of the film, the good to Frankenstein’s bad.
Back to the creature and its eventual ‘birth’. There is no music; the soundtrack is a thunderstorm and the mechanical sounds of the scientific contraptions, alongside test tubes bubbling. Frankenstein has left the room, thinking he’s failed to bring the creature to life as the scientific equipment needs two people to operate. He goes to Krempe’s room to attempt to get him to help him, but meanwhile lightning strikes the equipment back in the laboratory and we see the creature is breathing, with its heavily bandaged chest rising and falling.
Frankenstein returns to the room and sees the creature, covered from head to toe in bandages, before him. The creature then takes the bandages off his head and the camera zooms in to show his grisly face, in one of the most iconic shots and images in Hammer’s history.
Some of the elements I adore about Hammer films are fully formed here, including legendary production designer Bernard Robinson’s gorgeous work. Robinson’s production design is iconic and here, as in all the Hammer Films he works on, it is impeccable and helps to create so much atmosphere.
The laboratory set is a marvel of set design, lights, electrical currents, jars full of different coloured liquids and smoke, and the rest of the Frankenstein home is brought to life beautifully, too.
Supporting this is excellent costume design by Molly Arbuthnot; each of the costumes are wonderfully delighted. The production design and costumes complement each other well and I particularly enjoyed seeking out the bold colour scheme – lots of reds and greens, predominantly, with red tints on Frankenstein’s costume, in his furniture, and as the predominant colour in the lab, plus greens, particularly in Krempe’s early costumes.
You can have all the quality of production design and costumes in the world but if it’s not lensed well, it’s all for nothing. Thankfully, The Curse of Frankenstein is photographed beautifully by cinematographer Jack Asher, who worked on a number of Hammer films in the 1950s and 1960s.
Equally strong is the score by the esteemed James Bernard, another who would be revered as a Hammer stalwart. His compositions help underscore the blood and thunder evocatively and ratchets up the tension and terror.
We, of course also have the assured direction by Terence Fisher. If he is named as the director on a film I’ll seek it out; he was very talented and another key reason for the success of the Hammer formula.
Finally, back to the story and this time its themes. The Frankenstein story is famed for its theme of man wanting to be god and create, of scientific ambition and this is what drives Cushing’s Baron in this version of the story. Frankenstein is hellbent on creating life from the dead, yet there’s an irony – he has already created life, as his maid, Justine, has become pregnant through her affair with Frankenstein. He cares not about this and leaves her to her death at the hands of the creature.
The Curse of Frankenstein is a gothic gem and a very fine horror film, launching the era of Hammer Horror in style. Sangster’s script creates a thrilling adaptation of Frankenstein, brought to the screen by a wonderful cast, headlined by the magical pairing of Cushing and Lee, and featuring the Hammer trademark atmosphere generated by production design, costumes, make-up and music. This stunning new edition from Hammer Films breathes new life into a stone-cold classic.
Film: 
The Curse of Frankenstein is released by Hammer Films on limited edition dual format 4K UHD and Blu-ray on 13th October 2025. Hammer have restored the film in 4K for this release and the restoration is simply stunning. There’s so much detail and the vivid colours, so important in Hammer Horrors, pop like never before. Hammer continue to release superlative transfers and this is no different. The audio is also excellent with the film sounding fabulous. Dialogue is clear, and sound effects and music each shine through. It is a first-class audio-visual presentation all round.
Special features:
Six discs in a stylish digipak: two UHDs and four Blu-rays, with the film and new special features content duplicated on both UHD and Blu-ray.
Disc six is only featured in the Limited Collector’s Edition and will not be available in the retail versions of this film.
The Curse of Frankenstein is available in the three aspect ratios: widescreen 1.66:1 UK Theatrical, fullscreen 1.37:1 as-filmed and widescreen 1.85:1 US Theatrical
Brand-new 5.1 mix for all three iterations alongside the original mono film soundtrack.
English, French, Italian, Spanish and German subtitles on all versions of the film.
Packaged in a high-end, leather-feel slipcase with debossed red and green foil titling.
Rigid inner box featuring new artwork by fan favourite artist Greg Staples.
Double-sided poster of original one-sheets.
Eight art cards featuring facsimiles of the original UK cinema lobby cards.
168-page booklet featuring new and reprint articles.
68-page comic featuring a reprint of the comic strip from legendary 1970s magazine The House of Hammer.
The discs feature:
Commentary with author and critic Kim Newman, horror anthologist and writer Stephen Jones and Barry Forshaw, author of British Gothic Cinema.
Commentary with Heidi Honeycutt, writer, filmmaker and film programmer, and cult movie expert Toby Roan.
Archive commentary with Hammer experts Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby.
Archive commentary with writer/producer Dr Steve Haberman and film-maker and film historian Constantine Nasr.
Recreating the Creature: Phil Leakey’s creature make-up is the stuff of legend and an inspiration to generations of budding make-up artists. Academy Award-winner Dave Elsey, from make-up/FX wizards Igor Studios, creates his version of this iconic make-up on actor James Swanton alongside comments from Phil himself courtesy of a previously unheard audio interview and a newly-recorded interview with Phil’s son Peter.
A Fitting Vocation/ Topped and Tailed: A two-part programme that looks at Molly Arbuthnot’s contribution to Hammer’s gothics, which is often overlooked but cannot be underestimated. Professor Melanie Bell and the BFI’s Jo Botting discuss Molly and her work alongside contributions from actor Melvyn Hayes, who was costumed by Molly at Bray for his role as young Victor.
Good or Tuesday?: Jimmy Sangster rose through the production ranks at Hammer to become one of their key creatives and an influence on many who followed. Writer/ actor Mark Gatiss, writer/ publisher Dick Klemensen, author Stephen Laws, screenwriter/ novelist Stephen Gallagher, screenwriter/ producer David Pirie and writer/ publisher Wayne Kinsey discuss the man and the impact of his work.
Painting with Fine Brushes: Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Dick Klemensen introduces this previously unheard audio interview with cinematographer Jack Asher, who gives a personal insight into one of his best-known works.
Beside the Seaside: Actor Madeline Smith visits Peter Cushing’s beloved home town of Whitstable in the company of Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey, to learn more about the man behind the actor.
A Gothic History of Frankenstein: Scriptwriter and novelist Stephen Volk discusses Shelley’s original novel, its adaptation to cinema and the legacy of Hammer’s genre-defining 1957 film.
Reviving The Curse of Frankenstein: A look behind-the-scenes at how the new 4K restoration of The Curse of Frankenstein was made.
Hammer Horror for Hugh Harlow: In this brief archive interview, 3rd assistant director Hugh Harlow reflects on Cushing, Lee and his time working on The Curse of Frankenstein.
Jimmy Sangster 1997 Interview: Manchester’s Festival of Fantastic Films interview with writer Jimmy Sangster from 1997.
Frankenstein Reborn: Archive featurette that looks at the making of this iconic film with actor Melvyn Hayes, Hammer experts Denis Meikle and Jonathan Rigby and James Bernard’s biographer David Huckvale. Also includes archive footage of Michael Carreras and Jimmy Sangster.
Life With Sir: Archive featurette that gives a gentle and heartwarming portrait of Peter Cushing by Joyce Broughton, his secretary and friend.
The Resurrection Men: Archive featurette where Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Dick Klemensen explains the revolutionary nature of The Curse of Frankenstein and how it gave birth to a new type of horror.
Hideous Progeny: Archive featurette where Christopher Frayling discusses the transgressive nature of the English gothic literary tradition and its monstrous offspring, gothic cinema.
Torrents of Light: Archive featurette where cinematographer David J. Miller examines Jack Asher’s artistry as a lighting cameraman on the Hammer gothics.
Diabolus in Musica: Archive featurette where composer Christopher Drake reflects on the skill and talent of James Bernard and his ongoing influence as the sound of Hammer Horror.
Alternative eyeball scene: The alternative, censored version of the eyeball scene, as featured by Warner Bros. in the US theatrical version.
Promotional materials: Trailer materials were compiled (and restored where possible) as part of the 4K restoration process of the main feature. Also featured is one of the 8mm cutdown versions of the film that were commercially available in the 1960s.
Image gallery: An image gallery, including behind-the-scenes shots, alongside tracks from James Bernard’s iconic score.
Flesh and Blood (LCE exclusive): Made in conjunction with Hammer and first transmitted on TV in 1994, Ted Newsom’s fascinating feature-length documentary features a wealth of interview material and joint narration by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Mr Cushing and Mr Lee (LCE exclusive): A behind-the-scenes recording made during the narration sessions for Flesh and Blood. It was Peter Cushing’s last work for Hammer and is a unique record of a strong friendship between himself and Lee that lasted four decades.
Flesh and Blood narration outtakes (LCE exclusive): During the recording of the narration, not everything went to plan… 20 minutes of audio outtakes alongside candid pictures taken on the day.
Tales of Frankenstein (LCE exclusive): The success of The Curse of Frankenstein saw Columbia entering into a production deal with Hammer to create a pilot for a new anthology series starring Anton Diffring as Frankenstein. The pilot did not go to series and ultimately lapsed into Public Domain.
Tales of Frankenstein commentary (LCE exclusive): 2001 commentary with Ted Newsom, Gary Smith and Stuart Galbraith
The Tale of Tales of Frankenstein (LCE exclusive): An examination of the circumstances surrounding the production of Tales of Frankenstein by Hammer expert and documentarian Ted Newsom.
The booklet features:
New article on the making of the film that put Hammer on the map by Bruce G. Hallenbeck.
Archive interview: Peter Cushing reflects on his time as the villainous Baron.
Archive article: Christopher Lee reminisces about his time as the Creature in this article from The Christopher Lee Fan Club Journal.
New article on Christopher Lee’s film work prior to The Curse of Frankenstein by Barry Forshaw.
New article on set designer Bernard Robinson, a key figure in Hammer’s global success but who often goes unnoticed, by Sarah Morgan.
New article examining the BBFC’s long-standing issue with combining sex and violence by Sarah Appleton.
Archive interview with director Terence Fisher in this wide-ranging discussion from 1973.
New article on the film’s script development by Wayne Kinsey: the Subotsky drafts (part 1 of 2)
New article on the script development by Wayne Kinsey: the Sangster screenplay and revisions (part 2 of 2)
Archive article by 3rd assistant director Hugh Harlow about his time working on The Curse of Frankenstein.
Wow! That list of extras is long. Very long! The above isn’t my take on the extras, it’s the listing on the Hammer website. I’ll give a quick rundown of the extras and a headline view on them to save on space, but suffice to say, this set is definitive!
Disc One (4KUHD) and Disc Three (Blu-ray):
These discs contain the widescreen 1:66:1 UK theatrical version and full screen 1:37:1 as filmed version.
The 2025 commentary with Kim Newman, Barry Forshaw and Stephen Jones is top notch, with all three on fabulous form, chatting as if they’re just discussing the film together down the pub. They’re easy to listen to and pack in loads of background to the original story and the film. All of the commentaries are good, but I’d say this might be my favourite, followed by the next one.
That next commentary dates from 2012 and features Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby. There’s a scene-specific focus to proceedings here which gives an encyclopedic background to sequences, shooting locations, the cast, crew and much, much more. All five of those featured on these two commentaries are experts in their fields and their knowledge shines through in entertaining and informative ways.
Beside the Seaside sees author Wayne Kinsey and Madeline Smith, who would feature with Peter Cushing in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, discuss Cushing in a fantastic 50-minute piece. Kinsey’s knowledge shines through, touching on Cushing’s early life and vocations, his art, and his film career. There’s plenty to glean, and Smith proves to be an enthusiastic audience, apparently learning plenty about Cushing’s life from Kinsey, but also sharing her warm memories of the actor. We also see some of Cushing’s gorgeous artwork, particularly inspired by Walt Disney, and some important locations in Cushing’s hometown of Whitstable. I really enjoyed this feature and learnt plenty about Cushing’s life away from the big screen.
Reviving The Curse of Frankenstein is a brief but insightful eight-minute look at the challenges of restoring the film. There are some interesting insights into the censorship troubles the film encountered, including a lost scene and the eyeball sequence.
Then we have an alternative version of that eyeball sequence, which runs for one minute and is the censored version featured in the US theatrical version. We also get the UK censor card, which plays for around 10 seconds. Both are neat inclusions.
The original UK trailer features an evocative voiceover and runs through a few sequences to sell the film over two minutes.
Disc Two (4KUHD) and Disc Four (Blu-ray):
Both of these discs contain the widescreen 1:85:1 US theatrical cut.
Kicking off the extras on this disc we have two further commentaries. First a 2020 track with Dr Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr, which compares the finished film with the scripts, including one by Milton Subotsky, who would later find fame as one of the masterminds behind Hammer’s rival Amicus. It’s a detailed commentary, which provides a lot of background to the film, missing scenes, and how the finished article compares to early scripts and the original Mary Shelley novel. It’s another very good listen.
The second commentary on these discs is a new one with Heidi Honeycutt and Toby Roan. They’re clearly big fans of the film and talk eloquently and enthusiastically about the movie, sharing a number of their own thoughts and takes on the movie and characters. So, there are four commentary tracks in total, each well worth a listen, but with inevitable crossover.
Recreating the Creature is another new extra which runs for 35 minutes and looks at Phil Leakey’s iconic makeup for the creature. Academy Award-winner Dave Elsey creates his version of this make-up on actor James Swanton and whilst he does this the pair discuss the make-up design, alongside an archival interview with Leakey. It’s a decent extra, as Elsey and Swanton talk about their recollections of first seeing The Curse of Frankenstein and we get a glimpse into the process to put such elaborate makeup on an actor. Elsey, in particular, gives us some detail about his own career and how he got started, which is fascinating.
A Fitting Vocation packs a lot into 10 minutes, with the BFI’s Jo Botting looking at costume designer Molly Arbuthnot’s contribution to Hammer’s gothics. Arbuthnot lived an interesting life and it’s an education to hear Botting describe this (Arbuthnot was an actress before moving into costume design) and contribution to Hammer’s gothics. Arbuthnot’s brother Don Weeks also worked at Hammer as a production manager and assistant director. It’s the first of a two part featurette and does a marvellous job of showcasing the importance of Arbuthnot’s work to Hammer gothics.
Topped and Tailed is the second part of the featurette on Molly Arbuthnot. Running for 16 minutes, it again features the BFI’s Jo Botting, this time joined by Professor Melanie Bell, to talk a bit more about The Curse of Frankenstein and Arbuthnot’s role in the masterpiece of gothic horror. Melvyn Hayes, who played Young Victor in the film, also pops up with some warm and delightful anecdotes about the movie and Arbuthnot. It continues the high quality of new extras.
Good or Tuesday? is an outstanding 39-minute look at the life and work of the film’s screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, who rose through the production ranks at Hammer and became a key member of the creative team. He lived an interesting life before working in film and it’s a delight to hear more about such an important component of the Hammer formula. There’s a great ‘who’s who’ of interviewees, too, whom either fill in the background of Sangster’s life or share what made him so influential and their thoughts on some of his key works. Interviewees include a number of writers in various fields – David Pirie, Wayne Kinsey, Dick Klemensen, Stephen Laws, Stephen Gallagher and Mark Gatiss. The high quality of special features shows no sign of abating!
Painting with Fine Brushes is 11 minutes long and starts with Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Dick Klemensen talking about the difficulties in the pre-internet era of tracking down filmmakers to interview them. His story of trying to track down and interview cinematographer Jack Asher is brilliant. We then hear a previously unheard audio interview Klemensen conducted with Asher which runs for around six minutes of the piece. Asher shares some insights into working on The Curse of Frankenstein and it’s a real pleasure to hear this gem of an interview.
Stephen Volk talks for 24 minutes about Mary Shelley’s original novel Frankenstein as well as the cinema adaptations of the tale and the legacy of Hammer’s film in A Gothic History of Frankenstein. It’s another fabulous piece. Volk is easy to listen to and clearly very knowledgeable and packs a lot of background to the novel and film adaptations into the runtime.
Rounding out these discs is an image gallery which self plays for 14 minutes, with James Bernard’s fantastic score playing in the background. It features dozens of posters, lobby cards, production and publicity stills and other ephemera.
Disc five and six are both Blu-rays (the latter a limited edition exclusive) and contain a wealth of archival extras.
Starting with disc five, we have a 24-minute interview from 1997 with Jimmy Sangster, who is interviewed at a film convention by Stephen Laws. Sangster discusses how he got into the film industry, and talks about his early life and, of course, his work on Hammer films. Whilst the audio, at times, and video quality is understandably not great, the interview is a priceless piece of history and another welcome addition to the disc, with Sangster on fine and entertaining form, drawing quite a few intentional laughs from the audience.
Frankenstein Reborn is a 35-minute ‘making of’ from 2012 which features archival interviews with Sangster and Michael Carreras, as well as interviews with Hammer experts Denis Meikle and Jonathan Rigby, James Bernard’s biographer David Huckvale and actor Melvyn Hayes. They share a detailed and easy to watch overview of the making of the film with some nice anecdotes.
Life with Sir may be the loveliest extra on the set. It’s a very warm and evocative look at Peter Cushing by Joyce Broughton, his secretary and friend. Running for 13 minutes, Broughton is a joy to listen to and creates a rich, kind and caring portrait of the great Cushing, that doesn’t shy away from the mental state the actor found himself in due to the early passing of his wife or how sad Broughton was on the day Cushing himself passed away.
The next four extras date from the 2020 Warner Bros US Blu-ray release of the film, which also featured the previously mentioned commentary with Dr Steve Haberman and film-maker and film historian Constantine Nasr.
The Resurrection Men sees Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Dick Klemensen waxing lyrically about the film and how important it is in the history of British and gothic horror. The piece runs for 22 minutes.
Next in Hideous Progeny Christopher Frayling gives a wonderful 23-minute overview of English gothic literature and gothic cinema which is a delight to listen to. Frayling is incredibly knowledgeable and easy to listen to, and it’s excellent that this has been included in the package, in the same way that the other carry-overs from the Warner Bros Blu-ray have been.
Cinematographer Jack Asher gets more deserved love in Torrents of Light which sees cinematographer David J. Miller looking at Asher’s work on the Hammer gothics and eloquently outlining the cinematographer’s importance to the success off the Hammer films. This one runs for 15 minutes.
Finally in the carry-overs from that earlier Warner Bros disc we have an excellent look at composer James Bernard and his works. Diabolus in Musica runs for 17 minutes and sees composer Christopher Drake talking about the great Bernard.
Third assistant director Hugh Harlow features in an 11-minute archival interview, which sees him reminiscing about working with Cushing, with some neat anecdotes, as well as sharing his thoughts on Lee, and some of the scenes in the film.
Disc five concludes with a wonderful 10-minute black and white Super 8 version of The Curse of Frankenstein.
Onto the sixth and final disc, which is the reason the package is rated 15; the film itself and the other five discs are rated 12.
This final disc is also a limited collector’s edition exclusive.
It opens with Ted Newsom’s absolutely brilliant Flesh and Blood documentary, narrated by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, which first aired on TV in 1994, but has since been expanded to just shy of two-and-a-half hours long. It’s a wonderful run through the history of Hammer Films, by way of some of its biggest and best known films and features a wealth of interviews from cast and crew and famous Hammer fans. It’s an essential watch for fans of Hammer and another incredible archival inclusion on a package that keeps on giving.
Mr Cushing and Mr Lee is a behind the scenes look at the narration sessions for the Flesh and Blood. It runs for 48 minutes and showcases the strong friendship Lee and Cushing had. There’s some beautiful archival footage which shows they were clearly having a great time recording the narration.
Flesh and Blood continues to give on this disc, with 20 minutes of audio outtakes from the narration session. A nice inclusion.
The on-disc extras conclude with three related to the black-and white 28-minute pilot film for a proposed anthology TV series. The pilot, Tales of Frankenstein, stars Anton Diffring and is really good inclusion, though the finished product itself is not great and it’s easy to see why the TV series didn’t materialise.
The pilot is accompanied by a 2001 commentary with Ted Newsom, Gary Smith and Stuart Galbraith, who give a good overview of the production, those in front of and behind the camera and how it was a strange mix of Universal and Hammer horrors but a decent idea to create an anthology at the time that sadly didn’t work.
The final on-disc extra is The Tale of Tales of Frankenstein. Running for 28 minutes it’s a brilliant way to close the package with Ted Newsom giving us a fabulous look at the pilot and why it didn’t work. It looks at earlier anthology shows Hammer and its director Terence Fisher had done too and how the goalposts seemed to keep changing for the anthology show, which goes someway to explaining why it was perhaps destined to fail. Newsom also highlights some of the cast, and plenty more.
That’s it for the discs, but there’s more. The physical package is outstanding, and if you’ve picked up Hammer’s earlier deluxe limited editions (Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter, The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2) you’ll know what to expect. The packaging is beautiful and the inclusion of a double sided poster and art cards is welcome.
But it’s the books that make this package stand out most. We get the a brilliant black and white comic strip adaptation of the film which was published in the 1970s in the legendary House of Hammer magazine.
There’s also a book which runs for almost 170 pages and features new and archival writing. I wonder what the Hammer books included in these editions would sell for if they were blown up to a bigger size and sold separately; they’re excellent! Highlights include a wonderful overview of the film and its production by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, a look at Christopher Lee’s early work by Barry Forshaw, a piece by Sarah Morgan on production designer Bernard Robinson, and Sarah Appleton’s look at film censorship.
In closing, Hammer Films have excelled themselves to bring us an absolutely outstanding, definitive edition of The Curse of Frankenstein. The all-important audio-visual presentation is top tier and the supplementary package features hours and hours of insightful and entertaining new and old extras. Hammer have revealed that 1958 sequel The Revenge of Frankenstein and their first foray into the world of the vampire with Dracula (AKA The Horror of Dracula in the US) (1958) will be two of their future releases. Based on their treatment of Hammer films so far, they will be well worth the wait. The Curse of Frankenstein may well be my favourite single film release of 2025.
Disc/Package:
nice review – thanks!