The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

One of Hammer’s supreme achievements, The Curse of Frankenstein reworks Mary Shelley’s immortal tale with the unmistakable Hammer touch. The glorious use of colour, light and shadow often borders on expressionism, while James Bernard’s magnificent score lends the film an almost operatic intensity.

Most significantly, the film marked the first screen pairing of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, one of the greatest partnerships in horror cinema history. The result is a genuine horror classic.

The late 1950s saw a fledgling British studio explode onto the international scene with The Curse of Frankenstein, an overnight sensation that transformed Hammer Films forever. Critics reacted with outrage, branding it “disgusting”, “vile”, “sickening” and “obscene”. Their indignation merely fuelled public curiosity and audiences flocked to cinemas in unprecedented numbers.

The film became a phenomenal box-office success in Britain before repeating the feat in America a few months later. Hammer had reinvented Gothic horror, presenting familiar monsters in dazzling Technicolor, using vivid reds to emphasise every splash of blood—and there was certainly no shortage of it.

The decade that followed proved enormously profitable as producer Michael Carreras and director Terence Fisher fashioned an extraordinary succession of stylish, atmospheric horror films, most of them both critical battlegrounds and commercial triumphs.

Universal Studios had reportedly warned Hammer that legal action would follow if their Frankenstein Monster too closely resembled Boris Karloff’s famous make-up. They needn’t have worried. Hammer’s creature was entirely its own creation and proved just as memorable in its own right.

As critics continued to denounce the film in ever more sensational terms, they inadvertently provided Hammer with the finest advertising campaign imaginable. The louder they warned audiences to stay away, the longer the queues outside the cinemas became.

Stories circulated of women fainting during the celebrated unveiling of the Creature, prompting some cinemas to station nurses in attendance for nervous patrons. Whether entirely true or not, the tales became part of Hammer folklore. Horror had entered a bold new era and audiences couldn’t get enough of it.

At the heart of the film stands Terence Fisher, arguably Hammer’s greatest director. Few filmmakers possessed such an instinctive feel for Gothic horror. Fisher paints a deceptively beautiful world filled with richly coloured sets, swirling mist and creeping evil. His films rarely relied on shocks alone; instead they created an atmosphere of mounting dread that seemed to seep into every frame.

Peter Cushing delivers one of the defining performances of his career as Baron Frankenstein, portraying the scientist not as a cackling madman but as an intelligent, cultured obsessive whose ambition steadily eclipses his humanity. It remains one of horror cinema’s greatest characterisations.

Christopher Lee, despite having almost no dialogue, makes an unforgettable impression as the Creature. His awkward gait, tortured body language and haunted expressions convey both terrifying menace and immense tragedy. Few actors have managed to communicate so much while saying so little.

James Bernard’s superbly orchestrated score constantly shifts and swells, heightening the tension with remarkable effectiveness. Combined with Jack Asher’s sumptuous Technicolor photography, the lavish Gothic sets and Fisher’s masterly direction, it established the unmistakable Hammer style that would dominate British horror throughout the next decade.

The Curse of Frankenstein remains one of Hammer’s crowning achievements—a landmark in British horror cinema and an essential viewing experience for anyone with even the slightest interest in the genre. Brilliant.