“But I must warn you that my ideas are quite… radical.”

Drake’s rating: I’m starting to think that mental illness might run in the Frankenstein family

Drake’s review: If you always wanted a Frankenstein movie with more nudity, less story, and a truly terrible looking monster, then have I got the flick for you! An Italian production co-funded by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, Lady Frankenstein finds Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotten, Citizen Kane) still up to his old tricks of attempting to bring the dead back to life. Even though this has worked out poorly in every version of the story ever, the Baron is evidently an adherent of the Bullwinkle Moose philosophy: “This time for sure!”

Egging Frankenstein on in his endeavors this time around is his daughter Tania (Rosalba Neri, appearing here under the stage name Sara Bey), who is a surgeon herself and is just as anxious as her father to delve into the mysteries of life and death. Naturally, the Baron resurrects a creature made from the spare parts supplied by his trio of grave robbers, but said creature is not exactly grateful to once again walk among the living and swiftly dispatches Frankenstein with a bear hug worthy of Bruno Sammartino.

Now some would likely think that a quick and casual murder by a science experiment gone wrong might dissuade Tania from following in her father’s footsteps, but… no. She’s quite willing to continue on with employing the grave robbers but they’re feeling the heat from the local constabulary, led by one Captain Harris (Mickey Hargitay, Bloody Pit of Horror), and decide to find a new line of work. I imagine their job searches would have started on Monday, but unfortunately they’re all killed before then by the creature, who really has not taken well to being resurrected.

And it’s hard to blame him. The guy has an overly-large head, a perpetual frown, and face full of as much foam latex as the production could afford. He’s not exactly 1970’s Warren Beatty.

But you know who does resemble 1970’s Warren Beatty, or at least his distant Italian cousin? Why, it’s none other than Thomas the caretaker, the handsome yet simple-minded lad who has caught the eye of Tania! Yes, Thomas would be Tania’s dream guy, if only his brain matched his body. And that’s where her father’s old assistant Dr. Marshall comes in. Smart as a whip and seriously in lust with Tania, the old lech jumps at the chance to have his brain shoved into Thomas’s cranium if it means sexy funtime with the lovely doctor.

Granted, all of this might have led to a happy, if skeevy, ending for Marshall and Tania,* if it weren’t for the bodies piling up due to the still-rampaging creature’s habit of wanton murder, and the suspicions of Captain Harris, and the angry villagers lighting up their torches and deciding that Frankensteins just ain’t welcome around these here parts no more…

Lady Frankenstein is a decidedly ‘70s take on the classic tale, replete with low-cut bodices and long sideburns and questionable dubbing. It’s fine for what it is, but what it is is a low-budget attempt at aping the Hammer formula, but without Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, or the behind-the-camera talent that made those films the successes they were. It’s certainly not the worst Frankenstein-related film in existence, but it also never really leans heavily enough into the material to turn it into the feminist take on the tale that it kinda-sorta wants to be.

If you’ve run through all the Gothic horror flicks on your shelf and you’re looking for something in the same vein, you could do worse than Lady Frankenstein. But at the same time you might just want to start over with Hammer again and watch The Curse of Frankenstein instead.

*But not for Thomas, poor guy.

Intermission!

• Director Mel Welles was a Roger Corman regular in front of the camera, with his most notable role being that of the flower shop owner in the original Little Shop of Horrors in 1960.
• Rosalba Neri was a well-known name in sword & sandal flicks, thrillers, and horror films throughout the 1960s and into the ‘70s. She worked for New World again a few years later in the Pam Grier cult classic The Arena.
• A few versions of this film exist thanks to cuts made by Corman for the American release. In true Corman fashion, he kept the exploitative elements intact and excised excessive dialogue. Having seen the longer version, I think Roger may have had the right idea.