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Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible, even for a movie that's trying to be horrible.
Review: Attempting to follow in the footsteps of other intentionally bad monster movies, this one falls flat on its face. Neither scary nor funny. Even hard-core Frankenstein buffs should leave this one alone.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie? No. Great commentary? Of course!
Review: I can't speak for anyone else, but I bought this DVD solely for the Joe Bob Briggs commentary. I would watch him late at night on MonsterVision and always thought he was hilarious, and could also improve a film by interjecting interesting facts about it. He's a very well educated and talented writer and has a fantastic screen and voice presence. That makes him great on stuff like this.

"The stuff" in question... isn't so good. I love schlocky B-movies as much as the next person, but Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter beats the original Frankenstein's Daughter in the dull department- and that's saying a LOT. I couldn't imagine watching the whole thing without Briggs funny and enlightening commentary. Buy this if you're a fan of the film of Briggs, but if you're expecting a classic horror or western movie- search elsewhere.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie? No. Great commentary? Of course!
Review: I can't speak for anyone else, but I bought this DVD solely for the Joe Bob Briggs commentary. I would watch him late at night on MonsterVision and always thought he was hilarious, but could also improve a film but interjecting interesting facts about it. He's a very well educated writer and has a fantastic screen presence and voice, and that makes him great on stuff like this.

"The stuff" in question, isn't so good. I love schlocky B-movies as much as the next person but Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter beats the original Frankenstein's Daughter in the dull department, and that's saying A LOT. I couldn't imagine watching the whole thing without Briggs funny and yes, enlightening commentary. So buy this is you're a fan, but if you're expecting a classic horror movie- search elsewhere.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ouch! This movie's bad!
Review: I purchased this movie just to see how campy it would be and it was terrible. I can't believe that William Beaudine (Producer) actually thought that this flick would sell? Anyway, I thought it would be fun but, it was one big waste of time...

Two thumbs down. Purchase it only if you must but, I wanted it for my collection.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The other half of the "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" twin bill
Review: I think it is safe to say that more people have heard about "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the 1966 drive-in flick that had John Carradine hamming it up as the vampire count who is involved in a love triangle with the infamous American outlaw suddenly turned good guy, than have actually seen the film. But somehow I managed to remain ignorant of "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," made by the same writer (Carl K. Hittleman) and same director (William Beaudine) that same year (1966). Part of the reason that this film has seeped through the cracks of pop culture history is that it lacks the redeeming campy nature of the other film, which was at least laughably bad. This one will just make you wince.

"Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" flips the situation of "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" with the cowboy coming to the monster this time around. Jesse James (John Lupton) is being pursued by Marhsal MacPhee (Jim Davis; that is right, Jock Ewing himself), so he hides out in Baron Frankenstein's hacienda, which is now being run by his granddaughter Maria (Narda Onyx) and her brother Rudolph (Steven Geray), both of whom have pretty bad fake German accents. She is a chip off the old mad scientist's block, and promptly turns Jesse's less than intelligent sidekick, Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder), into a bald zombie now named Igor. She has been experimenting with brain transplants on the local young boys and that has not been working out so well.

Believe it or not "historically" this film takes place between the disastrous James gang attempt to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota and Jesse's death (Jesse even calls himself "Mr. Howard"). There is also the Wild Bunch, led by Butch Curry, so that a large part of this film is a relatively straightforward western. It is only when Hank needs a doctor that Jesse ends up over at the Frankenstein place; however, I defy you to explain why Juanita (Estelita Rodriquez) would take anybody back there now that she has finally succeeded in getting away from the crazy sibling tag team. This film is literally a collision between these two genres, like Hittleman wrote two scripts for two different genres and then mixed them together.

If for some reason you feel compelled to watch this film, then I would strongly suggest you check out the DVD version, which benefits from being presented by Joe Bob Briggs. That alone has got to double the entertainment value of watching "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter." If you decided to do a drive-in double feature by screening both this one and "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the order in which you view the two films is pretty much irrelevant (i.e., I have no opinion on which order would either provide the most fun or result in the least amount of harm to your cinematic sensibilities).

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The other half of the "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" twin bill
Review: I think it is safe to say that more people have heard about "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the 1966 drive-in flick that had John Carradine hamming it up as the vampire count who is involved in a love triangle with the infamous American outlaw suddenly turned good guy, than have actually seen the film. But somehow I managed to remain ignorant of "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," made by the same writer (Carl K. Hittleman) and same director (William Beaudine) that same year (1966). Part of the reason that this film has seeped through the cracks of pop culture history is that it lacks the redeeming campy nature of the other film, which was at least laughably bad. This one will just make you wince.

"Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" flips the situation of "Billy the Kid versus Dracula" with the cowboy coming to the monster this time around. Jesse James (John Lupton) is being pursued by Marhsal MacPhee (Jim Davis; that is right, Jock Ewing himself), so he hides out in Baron Frankenstein's hacienda, which is now being run by his granddaughter Maria (Narda Onyx) and her brother Rudolph (Steven Geray), both of whom have pretty bad fake German accents. She is a chip off the old mad scientist's block, and promptly turns Jesse's less than intelligent sidekick, Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder), into a bald zombie now named Igor. She has been experimenting with brain transplants on the local young boys and that has not been working out so well.

Believe it or not "historically" this film takes place between the disastrous James gang attempt to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota and Jesse's death (Jesse even calls himself "Mr. Howard"). There is also the Wild Bunch, led by Butch Curry, so that a large part of this film is a relatively straightforward western. It is only when Hank needs a doctor that Jesse ends up over at the Frankenstein place; however, I defy you to explain why Juanita (Estelita Rodriquez) would take anybody back there now that she has finally succeeded in getting away from the crazy sibling tag team. This film is literally a collision between these two genres, like Hittleman wrote two scripts for two different genres and then mixed them together.

If for some reason you feel compelled to watch this film, then I would strongly suggest you check out the DVD version, which benefits from being presented by Joe Bob Briggs. That alone has got to double the entertainment value of watching "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter." If you decided to do a drive-in double feature by screening both this one and "Billy the Kid versus Dracula," the order in which you view the two films is pretty much irrelevant (i.e., I have no opinion on which order would either provide the most fun or result in the least amount of harm to your cinematic sensibilities).

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Gothic Terror in the Old West! Yeah, right! (Yawn).
Review: Jesse James (John Lupton) and his pal, Hank Tracy take part in a failed stagecoach robbery. Hank is wounded by the posse and they seek medical assistance from, of all people, Dr. Frankenstein's granddaughter. When things got too hot for them in Europe, Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx) and her homunculus brother moved to the American Southwest and took up residence in a gloomy abandoned monastery. We are told that American electrical storms used in Frankenstein's experiments are more potent and reliable than the European variety. Sappy science from the "technical" director, no doubt. After Jesse and the wounded Hank knock on her door, the fatal female decides to use the king-sized Hank as her latest experiment in brain surgery and behavior control.

I stand humbled and speechless after viewing this movie. It's difficult to adequately describe this film (using the term very loosely). Combining a Grade B Western with the old low budget standby of the "mad doctor tampering in God's domain" sounds as if it's good fun for those of us who have the "So Bad, It's Good!" mantle proudly emblazoned on much of our personal video collection. For the most part, this film lacks both cheap thrills and unintentional laughs. The movie takes itself much too seriously. The cast and director grimly work their way through the script as if this is high drama instead of a fine opportunity at low comedy. Checkout the rainbow colored army helmets bedecked with electrodes used to transfer brainwaves (or something). The helmets are Dr. Frankenstein's version of cutting edge scientific technology, no doubt. Ditto the cheesy lab equipment that flashes, crackles, and pops on cue. Renaming the brain-tampered Hank "Igor" (or is it "Ygor"?) after the surgery is a nice touch. In these elements we see traces of low budget director William Beaudine's homage (albeit unintended) to that other infamous zero budget director, Ed Wood, Jr. If only Bela Lugosi was still alive in 1966!

See it, if you must. There is a companion volume to this movie called "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula." They sound like good Halloween party tapes, but "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" may be too much of a bad thing. Beware!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Gothic Terror in the Old West! Yeah, right! (Yawn).
Review: Jesse James (John Lupton) and his pal, Hank Tracy take part in a failed stagecoach robbery. Hank is wounded by the posse and they seek medical assistance from, of all people, Dr. Frankenstein's granddaughter. When things got too hot for them in Europe, Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx) and her homunculus brother moved to the American Southwest and took up residence in a gloomy abandoned monastery. We are told that American electrical storms used in Frankenstein's experiments are more potent and reliable than the European variety. Sappy science from the "technical" director, no doubt. After Jesse and the wounded Hank knock on her door, the fatal female decides to use the king-sized Hank as her latest experiment in brain surgery and behavior control.

I stand humbled and speechless after viewing this movie. It's difficult to adequately describe this film (using the term very loosely). Combining a Grade B Western with the old low budget standby of the "mad doctor tampering in God's domain" sounds as if it's good fun for those of us who have the "So Bad, It's Good!" mantle proudly emblazoned on much of our personal video collection. For the most part, this film lacks both cheap thrills and unintentional laughs. The movie takes itself much too seriously. The cast and director grimly work their way through the script as if this is high drama instead of a fine opportunity at low comedy. Checkout the rainbow colored army helmets bedecked with electrodes used to transfer brainwaves (or something). The helmets are Dr. Frankenstein's version of cutting edge scientific technology, no doubt. Ditto the cheesy lab equipment that flashes, crackles, and pops on cue. Renaming the brain-tampered Hank "Igor" (or is it "Ygor"?) after the surgery is a nice touch. In these elements we see traces of low budget director William Beaudine's homage (albeit unintended) to that other infamous zero budget director, Ed Wood, Jr. If only Bela Lugosi was still alive in 1966!

See it, if you must. There is a companion volume to this movie called "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula." They sound like good Halloween party tapes, but "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" may be too much of a bad thing. Beware!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Blazing Saddles" Meets "Young Frankenstein"
Review: Maria Frankenstein and her brother Rudolph have fled from Vienna, and have relocated to an abandoned mission in Arizona. Maria is trying to create the perfect zombie slave by replacing a man's brain with an artificial brain, but her experiments have all been failures. Maybe that's because her brother is opposed to the idea, and keeps injecting her patients with poison. Jesse James and his partner Hank Tracy join another outlaw gang to rob a stagecoach. Hank, a dimwitted, muscular giant, gets shot in the process. Jesse and Hank manage to escape and, along their travels, meet up with a peasant girl named Juanita. With her help, they make it to Doctor Frankenstein's place.

Drooling over the hulk Hank, the good Doctor operates on him to remove the bullet, and later operates on him to remove his brain. She successfully transplants the artificial brain, and renames her creation Igor. The first thing Maria does is to order Igor to kill her brother before Rudolph can inject him with poison. When Juanita and Jesse arrive on the scene, Maria orders Igor to kill Juanita. Unbeknownst to her, the big lug is sweet on Juanita. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein movies, the creation disobeys orders and kills its creator. After Igor kills Maria, he attacks his partner in crime. Juanita shoots Igor dead before he can kill Jesse James. Some may criticize this movie because of the basic incompatibility of the Western and horror movie genres, or because of its absurd plot. Still others will point to the bargain basement sets, the corny dialogue and the wooden acting. As for myself, I gave this movie five stars because it's so bad it's good!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ridiculous and Fun
Review: This film is so outrageously ridiculous that you'd have to be a moron to dismiss it as unworthy. Where else could you see Frankenstein's granddaughter banished (?) to the 'Wild Wild West', only to resume her wacked-out experiments on the wholehearty locals. Fine performances had by all - especially Dr. F's hencheman who looks in desperate need of another brandy throughout.

Great fun.


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