Rating: 
Summary: Whattya want? Good acting??
Review: Before you even hit "play," you know you're getting schlock, but this is good schlock. It's a variation on the basic Frank theme, but with a few little twists. Joseph Cotten looks completely embarassed most of the time, while Hartigay (Jayne Mansfield's ex) just looks happy to be working. Bay/Neri is actually quite fetching. She's also an abysmal actor, as is the fellow who plays Marshall. As are, in fact, pretty much everyone in the movie. There are some interesting lab scenes, some nudity, a goofy-looking monster, a few double entendres, bad FX, lotsa murders and a seriously abrupt ending. For this price, you just can't go wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Wacky Italian Take on the Frankenstein Legend
Review: Fresh out of medical school and eager to prove her abilities as a "surgeon," Dr. Frankenstein's daughter (Rosalba Neri) sets out to build her own monster-to kill the one created by her late father, which is now running amok terrorizing the locals. As if that weren't goofy enough, she decides to construct her monster using the brain of her father's assistant (whom she's just married) and the body of the hunky village idiot. It's a movie that could only be made in Italy and only in the '70s. Recommended for Euro-horror fanatics only. The picture and sound quality on this DVD could be better, but I've definitely seen worse on bargain-priced DVDs like this. The print that was used is scratchy at times, but the colors are still fairly vibrant and sound is generally quite good. All in all, this DVD is a pretty good buy at this price. Two out of five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Girls just want to have fun
Review: Imagine a role-reversed "Ghost and Mrs. Muir" if the ghost were played by Jayne Mansfield's long-lost sister, and you'll have Juli Reding as "Vi Mason" in the trashy Bert I. Gordon film, "Tormented". Gordon also gave us such trash classics as the giant locust classic "The Beginning of The End", and "The She Creature." "She Creature"'s title character looks like a lobster Jayne Mansfield, complete with stringy blond hair and enormous rock-like breasts. Another Gordon opus,"Picture Mommy Dead", features Don Ameche, haunted by the ghost of Zsa Zsa Gabor (no, I'm not kidding!) Mr. Gordon unleashed "Tormented" in 1960. Richard Carlson, who definitely was on a career nosedive, plays Tom Stewart, "famous jazz pianist." Stewart is spending the summer on an unnamed island, and is engaged to marry society deb "Meg", played by Lugene Sanders. However, two-timer Stewart has to contend with his jealous, blonde and VERY buxom girlfriend Vi, who vows never to let him go, definitely putting a kink in the wedding plans. Conveniently, Stewart allows top-heavy Vi to topple to her death from the top of a deserted lighthouse. The remainder of the film consists of Vi's ghost nagging the hell out of Stewart, who also murders the sleazy skipper of a chartered boat who threatens to blackmail him. And just wait til you see what happens at the wedding! The film is very cheaply produced, replete with cheesy "special effects", which consist of Vi's "footseps" in the sand, ala "She Creature", and her disembodied, ghostly hand and head which tactlessly pop up at the most inconvenient times. My favorite scene features Vi's disembodied head, screaming "Tom Stewart killed me! Tom Stewart killed me!" over and over again! There are also, if you listen closely, snippets of music from William Castle's "House on Haunted Hill" in there, too. The print quality is ok, not great, but hey, for this price, who's complaining? I haven't built up enough courage to sit through "Lady Frankenstein" yet, but I'm sure, after a cocktail or two, it's at least good for a few laughs. Any film that has Joseph Cotten AND Mickey Hargitay in it MUST be a camp. There are also the original trailers for both flicks on this DVD, along with a cartoon, just like the good old days when you'd go to your local neighborhood "dump" and spend an afternoon, munching away on popcorn and nonpareils. This "Drive-In" series is manna for trash film lovers like myself. They bring back very pleasant memories of my childhood, when junk like this actually used to scare me!
Rating:
Summary: italien hammer variation
Review: in germany this movie is out of stock for long years, so I had only a bootleg in very bad quality to watch it. but even in this way I think it is a very entertaining horror movie. the critics in germany hated or ignored it but I think it comes very close to the best hammer horror movies of the 70s. there is very good acting, in particular paul muller as frankensteins poor assistant charles, rosanna alby as the wicked lady and our german actor herbert fuchs who gives an over the top performance as the leacherous bodysnatcher lynch. greetings from germany and merry christmas
Rating: 
Summary: Baron Frankenstein, you've got a lovely daughter
Review: Lady Frankenstein, somewhat to my surprise, comes off as the most creative if not the best retelling of the done-to-death Frankenstein theme I have ever seen. It has its logical inconsistencies, at least one annoying and irrelevant character, and a thoroughly cheesy-looking monster, but I cannot but love this movie. Maybe it's the European ambiance that appeals to me so much; maybe it's the interesting little parallel contradictions (a term that makes little sense, I admit, but seems to encapsulate my thoughts) with Shelley's story and the original 1931 movie version. Probably, though, it is Rosalba Neri (going by the name of Sara Bay) in her role of Frankenstein's daughter. I don't have to tell you that I never really expected to find myself watching a Frankenstein movie with the words "Man, she's hot" constantly forming on my lips. As you might have guessed by the lead actress' name, Lady Frankenstein is an Italian horror film released in 1971 with the title La Figlia Di Frankenstein. Its look and feel is very much in line with the Hammer horror films that were all the rage back then. I'm still a little unsure how Joseph Cotton found his way in the picture, but maybe it had something to do with the American director Mel Welles. In any event, the casting of Cotton in the role of Dr. Frankenstein is a little weird, but he does a fine job in the role. Forget some of what you know about the Frankenstein legend. In this film, Frankenstein, assisted by the non-hunchbacked Dr. Charles Marshall (Paul Muller), gives life to his monster only days after his daughter (Rosalba Neri) has returned home with her own surgical degree and "radical" medical ideas. Naturally, the monster kills Frankenstein right there in the lab and escapes into the night. The monster, incidentally, is quite silly-looking, looking like nothing so much as one of the Metaluna creatures from This Island Earth whose face, unfortunately for him, sort of caught on fire during the lightning strike that gave him life (not to mention super-human strength). Since his criminal brain sadly has a damaged hypothalamus, there is really nothing for him to do but wander the countryside killing people, especially if he catches them fornicating in the woods, before settling down to even the score with the men responsible for his new despicable life. Daughter Tanya will not let her father's lifetime dream end in such a dishonorable way as this, so she claims her father was killed by a robber. Her idea is to create a second monster to be the executioner of the first monster, but then love and sex and just a little bit of beautiful evil fall in the mix, setting the stage for a conclusion that augurs well for no one. Torch-bearing villagers naturally demand their rightful place in the denouemont, and the ending, when it comes, is quite sudden and quite tragic, at least to my Rosalba Neri-enchanted eyes. There is some nudity in this picture, which is surely something you don't see in your average Frankenstein movie, and I for one definitely have no problem with it, especially since it plays delightfully off of the somewhat Victorian Gothic Euro-horror look and feel of the movie. This is basically a four-star movie that more than earns its fifth shiny star from this reviewer as a result of Rosalba Neri's captivating performance.
Rating:
Summary: Baron Frankenstein, you've got a lovely daughter
Review: Lady Frankenstein, somewhat to my surprise, comes off as the most creative if not the best retelling of the done-to-death Frankenstein theme I have ever seen. It has its logical inconsistencies, at least one annoying and irrelevant character, and a thoroughly cheesy-looking monster, but I cannot but love this movie. Maybe it's the European ambiance that appeals to me so much; maybe it's the interesting little parallel contradictions (a term that makes little sense, I admit, but seems to encapsulate my thoughts) with Shelley's story and the original 1931 movie version. Probably, though, it is Rosalba Neri (going by the name of Sara Bay) in her role of Frankenstein's daughter. I don't have to tell you that I never really expected to find myself watching a Frankenstein movie with the words "Man, she's hot" constantly forming on my lips. As you might have guessed by the lead actress' name, Lady Frankenstein is an Italian horror film released in 1971 with the title La Figlia Di Frankenstein. Its look and feel is very much in line with the Hammer horror films that were all the rage back then. I'm still a little unsure how Joseph Cotton found his way in the picture, but maybe it had something to do with the American director Mel Welles. In any event, the casting of Cotton in the role of Dr. Frankenstein is a little weird, but he does a fine job in the role. Forget some of what you know about the Frankenstein legend. In this film, Frankenstein, assisted by the non-hunchbacked Dr. Charles Marshall (Paul Muller), gives life to his monster only days after his daughter (Rosalba Neri) has returned home with her own surgical degree and "radical" medical ideas. Naturally, the monster kills Frankenstein right there in the lab and escapes into the night. The monster, incidentally, is quite silly-looking, looking like nothing so much as one of the Metaluna creatures from This Island Earth whose face, unfortunately for him, sort of caught on fire during the lightning strike that gave him life (not to mention super-human strength). Since his criminal brain sadly has a damaged hypothalamus, there is really nothing for him to do but wander the countryside killing people, especially if he catches them fornicating in the woods, before settling down to even the score with the men responsible for his new despicable life. Daughter Tanya will not let her father's lifetime dream end in such a dishonorable way as this, so she claims her father was killed by a robber. Her idea is to create a second monster to be the executioner of the first monster, but then love and sex and just a little bit of beautiful evil fall in the mix, setting the stage for a conclusion that augurs well for no one. Torch-bearing villagers naturally demand their rightful place in the denouemont, and the ending, when it comes, is quite sudden and quite tragic, at least to my Rosalba Neri-enchanted eyes. There is some nudity in this picture, which is surely something you don't see in your average Frankenstein movie, and I for one definitely have no problem with it, especially since it plays delightfully off of the somewhat Victorian Gothic Euro-horror look and feel of the movie. This is basically a four-star movie that more than earns its fifth shiny star from this reviewer as a result of Rosalba Neri's captivating performance.
Rating:
Summary: MOVIE FANS WITH TASTE BEWARE! (THAT'S NOT A BAD THING)
Review: Let me first state that I love these kind of movies. If you're gonna pop this disc in your player and expect "SCREAM", "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER", or any other somewhat recent horror movie, you're in for a Lady Frankenstein slap to the face. These movies are viewable only by fans who appreciate how bad/good they really are, and these fans know what I am talking about. For [the price] this disc is worth it. The movies are very fun and entertaining, and Lady Frankenstein showing a little skin to get her ways sets the standard for the classic "nudity for no reason rule" that we all love in our cheesy horror movies. It's presented in a drive-in double feature with trailers and an intermission cartoon, it's actually pretty cool. The only thing I can gripe about is that the quality of the film transfer can be very poor at times. Obviously not from a master soure, but hey it's 2 tasteless horror flicks for [a good price]. I am glad with this purchase. Enjoy cheese horror fans!
Rating: 
Summary: Frankenpimp
Review: No. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Stay away from this god-awful mess that's an insult to the original story of Frankenstein. This is pure 70s schlock that looks like it was in Roger Corman's Vault O' Crap. The story involves a woman who creates her own man made of dead bodies to be her sex slave. I mean, I don't really know what else to say. It's a bad movie. If you REALLY like this stuff, be my guest. I like bad movies too, if they have a certain enrtertaining quality to them, but this does not.
The acting is atrocious, the picture quality is terrible, the monster's makeup is laughable, the story is...I mean, come on! This is one of the absolute worst things to enter the horror genre (if it can even be considered horror). Steer clear.
Rating:
Summary: Schlock-fest
Review: Oh man is this dumb. Where to begin. Frankenstein's daughter returns home after completing medical school. She is very interested in his work, but he wants her to have nothing to do with it. Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant create the monster during a thunderstorm. Not thirty seconds after the creature comes to life, it kills the doctor. Now the daughter (Lady Frankenstein) wants to build a creature of her own to destroy the creature that killed her father and a couple in the woods. She wants the assistant's brain and put it in the body of the good looking(?) retarded garden guy. Well she seduces the retard, kills the assistant for his brain and makes her monster. The two fight at the end and everyone dies, including the Lady. Bought it on sale, what can I say?
Rating:
Summary: Only the Monster she made could satisfy her strange desires!
Review: The title character in "Lady Frankenstein" ("La Figlia di Frankenstein") turns out to be the daughter of the mad scientist and not his wife. Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotton) has been trying unsuccessfully for two decades to bring dead tissue to life. Using the corpse of a recently hung man as his test subject (note the interesting place they pick to hang the guy), the Baron finally succeeds. But there is something wrong with the brain and the monster kills the Baron and goes off to wreck more havoc on the countryside. Now that she is in control of the laboratory, having watched her father work since she was a little girl and having graduated medical school herself, the Baron's daughter Tania (Rosalba Neri, a.k.a. Sara Bay), wants revenge. However, Lady Frankenstein wants to do more than fight fire with fire.
Her plan is to take the brain of Dr. Charles Marshall (Paul Müller), her father's old lab assistant and the man who loves her, and put it into the hulking body of Thomas (Paul Whiteman), a manservant who is mentally retarded, so that she can have both brains and brawn. The plan is that this new creation will get revenge by killing the first creation, and then return to Tania's bedroom to find other ways of making her really, really happy. Meanwhile, Captain Harris (Mickey Hargitay) is investigating the Baron's death (Tantia makes up a story about a robber) and spouting interesting lines of dialogue to the suspects. It also turns out that Tania is not the only one seeking revenge. The original monster is going after the grave robbers, so there is a constant body count in this one. Actually it is not the dead people but the naked people who count more in this one.
Despite the cartoonish poster art for "Lady Frankenstein," director Mel Welles (a.k.a. Ernst R. von Theumer) creates an appropriately gothic looking horror film. However, the story is an uneven mix of interesting ideas (e.g., chemical batteries are better that lightning for reanimating dead tissue) and sundry plot holes (e.g., how Marshall's brain finally puts two and two together). Simply in terms of Eurotrash this is an above average example of the genre, in terms of both the story and the acting in addition to the bodies. Then again, as good as Neri looks that is about how bad the monster (the first one) looks. Overall, the ending is the weakest part of "Lady Frankenstein," but that it is actually a plus because normally it is the set up that has you rolling your eyes. That is once you put your eyes back in your head, because when you cast Rosalba Neri as the lead character you are clearly deemphasizing the horror aspects of this particular horror film in favor of other attributes.
The DVD has some pretty good extras considering what the movie is, with a lot more than the theatrical trailer and televison spot for "Lady Frankenstein." Also included by DVD Drive-In are the trailers for other Italian horror movies from "Beyond the Darkness" to "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave!" with "Revenge of the Living Dead," "Curse of the Living Dead," and "Fangs of the Living Dead" thrown in between. There are all sorts of production photographs, movie posters, and candid shots, several of which will make Neri's fans rather, ah, happy. There is also a short interview with the actress, as well as a longer walk down memory lane with the director Mel Welles, who tells a lot of stories about the production of the film (Roger Corman to the rescue). The deleted scenes are in Italian, so be prepared for that and make up your own dialogue. For me the extras are good enough to decide to round up on "Lady Frankenstein." Note: The Easter Egg on this one is the candle.
|
