Frankenstein Must be Destroyed, part of the Hammer Studios Series came to the film screen on the 22nd of May, 1969 in the United Kingdom. It was directed by British filmmaker,Terrence Fisher.
Movie poster for Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969) https://alfredeaker.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/terence-fishers-frankenstein-must-be-destroyed-1969/
Synopsis[]
This film follows Baron Frankenstein and Karl as they commit multiple counts of robbery to acquire Frankenstein's required lab equipment and aim to break Dr. Brandt out of a psych ward. Frankenstein and Karl evaluate Dr. Brandt, and Frankenstein determines that Dr. Brandt will die shortly unless he removes his brain and puts it in the body of another surgeon.
Major Themes[]
Hysterical Women[]
A relevant theme within the film Frankenstein Must be Destroyed is hysterical women. There appears within the film several occurrences of female characters acting irrationally. Anna's neighbor barges into her courtyard, unannounced. After Anna pulls Dr. Brandt's body into the bushes, her neighbor returns and Anna starts crying and screaming at her. Her neighbor doesn't take kindly to this and so she announces that she will never again offer help to Anna. Mrs. Brandt barges into Anna's home under suspicion that Frankenstein stays there. Anna tries to shut her out, but the woman just forces herself in. Mrs. Brandt screams when Frankenstein shows her the body containing the brain of her husband. She tries to escape, but she lets Frankenstein convince her that she has nothing to worry about. The next day, Mrs. Brandt breaks into Anna's home and reaches the point of hysteria once the body of her dead husband is revealed upstairs. Anna stabs Dr. Brandt, or Frankenstein's creation, once he awakens. Mrs. Brandt tries to pull a gun on her husband when he returns home, but only after she actually sees him. The hysterical women trope arguably appears throughout the entirety of the film, though the hysteria of the female characters is understandable given the circumstances surrounding them.
MacGuffin[]
In the film, a MacGuffin appears to be used. A MacGuffin drives the plot of a story and serves no other purpose. In this case, Dr. Brandt holds a secret that Baron Frankenstein wants to know. Frankenstein rides into town looking for Dr. Brandt in hopes of collaborating and using this secret. The viewer never knows what this secret pertains to, though it's almost safe to assume it's secret scientific knowledge. To get to the secret, Frankenstein blackmails Karl and Anna, using both of them to get closer to the secret; the vagrant stays in Anna's home and uses Karl to complete dirty work and complete the brain transplant on Dr. Brandt. Dr. Brandt keeps the secret from Frankenstein and takes part in burning them both alive to keep Frankenstein from getting to the secret. Because the secret drives the whole point and plot of the film, yet the viewer never really knows what its purpose pertains to, it's safe to say that this appears to be an example of a MacGuffin.
Reception []
According to Rotten Tomatoes, this film maintains a 60 percent critic rating and 71 percent audience score. The film is considered a fresh tomato with three out of five votes. Tim Brayton, critic from Antagony and Ecstasy noted, "For those of us who love Hammer horror, this is an unmarred example of all the reasons why." Joshua Vasquez of Slant Magazine contributed, "One of the finest of the seven entries in Hammer's Frankenstein cycle. Critic Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress mentioned that this film was, "Perhaps the most deadly dull in a series that had run out of steam." No notable awards or nominations pertained to this title.
Significance of Adaptation[]
Considering other adaptations of Frankenstein in the Hammer film productions series, Frankenstein Must be Destroyed falls into place as the fifth film in the story adaptation line. Peter Cushing starred as Baron Frankenstein in the majority of the Hammer film production's series of Frankenstein horror movies. Terrence Fisher has maintained the roll of the director for most of the films in the series as well. In this installment in the Hammer production series, Baron Frankenstein ventures forth to produce the very first brain transplant. It maintains elements similar to the rest of the Hammer film production series.
References[]
"Frankenstein Must be Destroyed." Imbd. Imbd.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065738/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt>
"Frankenstein Must be Destroyed." Rotten Tomatoes. Rottentomatoes.com. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frankenstein_must_be_destroyed/>
"Hysterical Woman." Tv Tropes. Tvtropes.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.<http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HystericalWoman>
"MacGuffin." Tv Tropes. Tvtropes.org. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.<http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MacGuffin>