FRANKENSTEIN 1970 on Blu-Ray 1958

   

      Old, infirm and short of money the last surviving member of the Frankenstein family (Boris Karloff) rents out the family castle to a group of filmmakers who are making a movie about the family and its monster(s). Working on a secret experiment in a hidden dungeon (a premise which should be immediately guessed just by the film's title alone) and with a now handy source of spare parts the doctor looks to continue his family's legacy... 
     Released by Allied Artists this attempt to meld 1930's golden era of Universal Gothic horror with 1950's atomic-age horror doesn't do either entirely successfully but is not without merits (the 1st being Karloff). It also has B&W CinemaScope photography (always a plus!) on some impressive sets left over from Errol Flynn's TOO MUCH, TOO SOON and both films also share the cinematographer Carl Guthrie (who was hired presumably because he already knew how to light it).
    Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination (the monster looks like a mummy with a wastepaper basket for a head), it's also not as bottomed rung as its reputation would have it. It's interesting to see Karloff playing an actual Frankenstein namesake instead of the creation and he as usual rises above the material even at one point giving a touching soliloquy which is reminiscent of Lugosi's in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER. The film opens with a terrific sequence in which a young woman is chased through the countryside and ends up floundering if a river while being chased by a huge hulking figure only seen by his shadow. The shot then then pulls back, and we discover that we've been watching a movie being made all of which leads to a bit of a disappointment as the actual film doesn't quite live up to this.

    Originally planned as FRANKENSTEIN 1960 the title pushed forward 12 years into the future but there's no indication given as to why, as the film is planted squarely in the late 50's. Karloff who had been suffering from increased pain and back problems ever since the original FRANKENSTEIN in 1930 here plays the elderly Frankenstein whose been tortured by the Nazis during WWII (although they're never mention by name) and also carries a long scar and damaged eye-lid (the stills of which popped up constantly in Famous Monsters magazine). There're also vague references to "no longer being a man" that's one of several adult themes the film hints at in its script, but never brings to the surface.

      Lurking in the cast is character actor Don "Red" Berry from countless TV westerns and look for a quick cameo by the Maltese Falcon lurking in the background as set design.
    Warner Archives Blu of FRANKENSTEIN 1970 is beautiful and a massive upgrade over the previous DVD included in the Karloff/Lugosi package. Sporting a brand new 2019 1080p HD master that almost shimmers with eye-popping detail and a nice DTS 2.0 audio. The commentary, a nice balance of both fun & facts, by Historians Charlotte Austin, Bob Burns, and Tom Weaver is carried over from the DVD.