Saturday, 15 April 2017

165 Frankenstein's Daughter ( 1958 )


This  is  another  attempt  to  bring  the  legend  into  the  present  day, in  this  case, 1950s  America.
The  juxtaposition  of  Gothic  horror  with  teen  flick  is  quite  bizarre  at  times  with  two  lengthty  musical  interludes  interrupting  the  action  as  its  builds  to  a  climax. It's  utterly  ludicrous  but  fairly  enjoyable  not  least  due  to  its  stunning  leading  lady.

Donald  Murphy  plays  the  unhinged  Oliver  Frank, grandson  of  Frankenstein  who  has  inveigled  his  way  into  the  household  of  a  relatively  benign  scientist  Professor  Morton ( Felix  Locher ) who  has  employed  the  Frankensteins'  sinister  servant  Elsu  ( Wolfe  Barzell ) as  the gardener.  Oliver  and  Elsu work  in  the  lab  when  Morton  is  asleep  and  test  out  a  potion  on  Morton's  neice  Trudi  when  she's  not  looking .

Sandra  Knight  ( as  Trudi  Morton ) 

Sex : Trudi  is  sexually  harrassed  by  Oliver. She  looks  great  in  swimwear  and  her  nightgown

Death : Survives





Unusually  for  teen  pics  of this  era , Sandra  actually  was  a  teenager, being  only  18  when  she  made the film. In  1962  she  married  Jack  Nicholson  who  she  met  at  acting  class. The  couple  divorced  in  1968. Sandra  moved  to  Hawaii  with  her  second  ( and  current  ) husband  and  retired  from  acting  although  she  made  a  brief  comeback  in  the  early  nineties. She took  up painting  instead. She  is  heavily  involved  in  the  Honolulu  arts  community. She  is  now 77.

Sally  Todd  ( as  Suzie  Lawler )

Sex :  Has  to  fight  off  Oliver  when  he  comes  on  too  strong

Death : Run  down  by  Oliver  on  the  road


Sally, by  contrast  was  24  and  a  former  Playboy  model. She  was  active  in  film  and  TV  up  to  the  early  1960s. Andy  Warhol  used  her  name  for  his  has-been  actress  in  Heat   although  the  character  was  much  older  than  the  real  Sally. After  retiring  she  became  an  antiques  dealer. She  is  now  82.

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