Return of the Ghost of the Son of the 31 Days of Cheese - Day 18 - Frankestein Created Woman

In the world of Mad Scientists nobody is madder than Baron Victor Frankenstein – he is the template upon all the others have been struck – including the unfortunate Dr. Henry Jekyll.

This was the 4^th in a series of Hammer films featuring the adventures of the Mad Doctor with Peter Cushing in splendid form as Baron Frankenstein.  

The film opens with someone getting his head chopped off with a Guillotine– always a good start to the day I guess. We flash forward a bit and we find that Hans – the son of the man who was executed – is an assistant to Baron Frankenstein who has been dead for an hour when we first meet him. Hans and the Baron’s other assistant Dr. Hertz  (who drinks a bit) pull him out of a freezer and revive him.  He notes that his soul did not leave his body – so if he can find a body that hasn’t been dead for longer than an hour he could pull its soul out. How? Science!

Anyway the film then sets about getting Victor a body. Hans it seems is sweet on the tavern owner’s daughter Christine who alas has a scar marring one side of her face and limp caused by a bum leg. Hans of course sees past this and into her inner beauty.

The tavern owner hates Hans with a passion or two – saying he’s just like his father and snarling about the Barron. 

Three young rich toffs come into the tavern – start acting like entitled asses and then making Christine’s life miserable – Hans starts a fight with all three and of course he ends up arrested.

Later the Tavern owner is beaten to death by the toffs.  Meantime Hans and Christine spend the night together unaware of what just happened.  Hans is of course arrested for the murder and since he won’t tell where he was that night – one of the side effects of the sexual revolution is that this sort of thing doesn’t  happen in movies much anymore – he is tired, convicted and guillotined.

As this happens Christine who has been out of town visiting a doctor about comes back to town just in time to see Han’s head drop into the basket.

Earlier Hertz had made arrangement with the undertaker where he would deliver them the body within an hour of death. That being done, Victor and Hertz promptly remove Han’s soul from his body and store it in some gizmo.

Meantime Christine who is distraught about Hans commits suicide by jumping into the river. The body of the girl is brought to Dr. Hertz and Victor never one to let a change to do mad science go by especially when the bloody body was brought to them decides to put Han’s soul into Christiana and while she’s up on the rack fix up the face and leg a bit.

Christiana has no memory upon waking.  Hertz who educates the girl and in general takes care of her. However the soul of Hans drives Christina to take revenge and one by one the toffs get killed.  In a bit of gruesome scene it transpires that Christina has dug up Han’s body and is lugging the head about with her in her hatbox.  They also have conversations.

In the end the Baron puts two and two together and tires to save the last victim (he doesn’t) and Christiana  who despite the Baron’s Pleas destroys herself again by jumping into the river (again).

More Gothic that Horror really and the film has a sense of tragic inevitability that is not the usual Hammer thrill ride.

Enjoy with German wine.