Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Director: Terence Fisher
Writer: Bert Batt
Based on: Anthony Nelson Keys and Bert Batt’s story
Sequel to: The Curse of Frankenstein, The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Evil of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Created Woman
Cast: Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Simon Ward, Freddie Jones

Plot:
Dr. Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) wants to meet with his colleague Dr. Brandt (George Pravda) and discover a scientific secret the latter has been hiding. But to his dismay he finds out that Brandt has gone insane. He blackmails the young Anna (Veronica Carlson) and Karl (Simon Ward) into helping him kidnap Brandt and transplant his brain into another body (Freddie Jones) to be able to covertly remove his insanity by lobotomy and access the secret.

Many, many years ago, I saw The Curse of Frankenstein, but I never saw the other films. Despite that, I thought I was familiar enough with the general Frankenstein lore to watch this film anyway (I usually hate to watch films outside of series order) in the course of the Filmmuseum horror retrospective. And I was right not to be worried, even though I do think that to see Frankenstein’s progress through the series would have been even more rewarding.

I think that the thing I liked most about Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is Freddie Jones’ performance. He was amazing as the Creature/Brandt. Full of sadness and pain without becoming too cartoonish. Cushing, on the other hand, becomes a little too intense at times. But then again, this take on Frankenstein does call for it.

It was interesting to get this version of the creature – a creature that didn’t have to work for his personhood, that was seen as a victim right from the beginning. By transplanting a brain, including personality and knowledge, the creature does not have to fight to be seen as human. And there are no daddy issues to work through. Instead that version of the creature makes it possible that Frankenstein’s inhumanity is exposed in his ruthless use of both, Brandt and the young couple.

It doesn’t help the film that the plot is very convoluted. Brain transplantation, and lobotomy, and the macguffin, excuse me, secret, and Brandt’s wife, and Karl and Anna’s blackmail, and the police looking for Frankenstein – there was a whole lot going on and at least half of it didn’t actually feel necessary.

But I feel like this film is the highpoint of Frankenstein’s badness. I assume that, in the films that follow, you only get the death throes of his career as evil scientist. But that is only something that I can find out when I actually do watch the entire series in order.

Summarizing: Very good.