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Suggested viewing order for Hammer's Frankenstein films...

posted 16 years ago by elsa4077
6 replies | jump to latest

I used to find it frustrating that the Hammer Peter Cushing Frankenstein films didn't all flow in a sequence so I made my own sequence that kind of makes sense if you don't think about it too much. It allows for a viewing of all the films with some coherency - in fact only one film is out of the filmed sequence. This is the sequence:

-Curse of Frankenstein

-Revenge of Frankenstein

-Evil of Frankenstein (this one I view as a dream by Baron Frankenstein which can account for differences in the creature and other elements that do not relate to the backstory as seen in 'Curse').

-Frankenstein Must be Destroyed - assuming that 'Evil of Frankenstein' was a dream then this film is the first to have the Baron damaged by fire. I put the Baron's extreme cruelty in this film down to his personality being altered as a result of the new body he received at the end of 'Revenge'. However, the fire at the end of the film made him look at life differently and he mellowed out a bit for 'Created Woman'.

-Frankenstein Created Woman - makes sense coming after 'Must be Destroyed' because the fire at the end of that movie can explain why the Baron cannot use his hands.

-Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell - continues with the Baron unable to use his hands.

Okay - just a suggestion, but if you have a marathon of watching all these movies again then try them in this order and it feels very satisfying.

Long live the Baron!

[–] rgaretho 16 years ago

See my post in the Frankenstein's hands thread. I follow the same chronology. It makes more sense that way.

"I don't need to fight to prove I'm right. I don't need to be forgiven."

[–] rjgbeaver 14 years ago

Great post. Just discovered this films and I was looking for the perfect way to view them. I've seen Frankenstein must be destroyed and just finished Curse of Frankenstein. Was Monster from Hell any good?

I kill threads

[–] John-367 13 years ago

On a more mundane note: The Evil of Frankenstein seems so out of keeping with what went before because Hammer were allowed by Universal to use elements from the 1930s films - such as the make up - which Hammer had had to avoid before in order not be sued for copyright infringement. Personally, I think that Evil is weaker for that and Hammer would have done better to stick with their own path.

[–] genesisclimber7 9 years ago

The funny thing about Evil of Frankenstein is the title is so ill-fitting...Frankenstein himself is at among his LEAST evil in that one. He's scarcely bad, Zoltan is the bad one and the monster is of course being controlled, and not evil. Cushing's Frankenstein is completely evil in "Must be Destroyed" and "Curse of" in particular, but in "Evil of"? Not at all!

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Aren't you relieved to know you're not a golem?

[–] zorn24601 8 years ago

"Evil" didn't fit the rest of the series because of the altered origin story. "Created Woman" didn't fit because the previously pragmatic, agnostic Frankenstein is suddenly interested in working with souls, a concept he didn't previously even believe in.

What they both share is a Dr. Frankenstein who is much more sympathetic. In the other films, Victor is cold-blooded, uncaring, and occasionally outright sadistic. In other words, the quintessential Mad Scientist. In "Evil" and "Created Woman", he actually seems to care about some of the people in his sphere of influence.

I've always seen "Evil" and "Created Woman" to be their own, separate series unrelated to the other Cushing Frankenstein films. To me, there's the main Frankenstein series (Curse, Revenge, Must Be Destroyed, and Monster from Hell) with a parallel duology (Evil & Created Woman).

[–] sylvienj 8 years ago

I agree with zorn's theory. "Created Woman" was the direct follow-up to "Evil," and they make more sense when isolated together without the context of the rest of the series. The problem with Frankenstein's hands in "Created Woman" is unexplained, but it can be seen as a reference to his supposed demise at the end of "Evil." And as previously stated, his personality within these two films is largely out of step with the rest of the series.

By the time Hammer made "Must Be Destroyed," they had probably decided to abandon that chronology and revert back to their original chronology, following on from "Revenge." The overall Hammer Frankenstein story arc is more logical if viewed as a primary series of Curse, Revenge, Must Be Destroyed, and Monster from Hell, with the other two as an alternate path.