Frankenstein 1970 (1958) Synopsis

The film's title and credits roll over a mist-covered lake with a tree in the foreground. We open with a woman, Carolyn Hayes (Jana Lund) running towards the camera. She is being chased by a man, Hans Himmler (Mike Lane). She stops, looks back, screams, and then continues running. We only see the man from the waist down as he plods along with a limp. The woman is cornered, now at the same location where the titles and credits were shot. The monster approaches as the woman walks backwards into the lake. The monster grabs the girl, then holds her underwater. The director, Douglas Row (Don Red Barry) calls, "Cut!" The actor playing the monster does not speak English, so Shuter (Norbert Schiller) must translate. Morgan Haley (John Dennis), the cameraman, confirms that the scene was okay. Doug checks the length of the scene with his ex-wife Judy Stevens (Charlotte Austin). Doug and Judy are divorced and things are still a little frosty between them in their relationship. He tells her, "Jealousy, jealousy, lover. Don't blame me because you're no longer an ingenue. Well, I keep you on the payroll, you'll have to admit I'm loyal." She tartly replies, "Oh yes, you're loyal to wives number 1 through 4 inclusive." Carolyn is helped from the water. She tells Mike Shaw (Tom Duggan) that this film scene is to celebrate the 230th anniversary of the story of Frankenstein.Inside the castle, Baron Victor von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) berates his old friend Wilhelm Gottfried (Rudolph Anders), "How could you inflict these people upon me, Gottfried?" Gottfried reminds the Baron that he agreed to let the film crew use his castle for the money he needed to purchase a nuclear reactor for his experiments. He adds, "I've been wanting to talk to you about this, Victor. You have been spending money and money. You have been buying equipment as though you were a government." Gottfried has been handling the Baron's finances and has sold off most of his art treasures. The discussion turns to the past. The Baron was tortured during World War II and is bitter and scarred as a result. He sports a long scar that runs from his left eye to the corner of his mouth. It is apparent that his nose was severely broken. He was forced to perform medical experiments for the Nazis. The Baron is the last family member of the house of Frankenstein. The film cast and crew return to the castle. Doug briefs the Baron on his upcoming performance and is both pushy and obnoxious. The Baron is having reservations about involvement in this exploitation of his family history, but he wants that nuclear reactor very badly and reluctantly cooperates with Doug. He has contempt for all of them except one. He is strangely attracted to Carolyn Hayes and tells her so. "That could be my pleasure with you as my leading lady, Miss Hayes." He takes her hand and kisses it. She recoils slightly, repelled by the Baron's clumsy advances. Turning back to the director, the Baron tells him, "Mr. Row, I'm becoming reconciled to your presence here. Your coming here may be the solution to all my problems." The Baron laughs maniacally, then limps away. He seats himself at an organ and plays a melancholy tune.It is rehearsal day in the basement of the castle. The Baron reads an inscription on the tomb of an ancestor. "I, Frankenstein, began my work in the year 1740 and with all good intentions and humane thoughts to the high purpose of probing the secrets of life itself - with but one end - the betterment of mankind." He explains his ancestor's work as he limps around the basement and what went wrong with it. The scene is disrupted when Carolyn screams as the Baron appears ready to stab the corpse on the slab. Hans tells Shuter that he is finished and will no longer work at the castle. Doug's cash payment convinces Hans to remain. The Baron was off-script, as Judy reminds her ex-husband, but Doug loved it anyway.The cast and crew are relaxing in the Great Room of the castle. Mike is on the phone. Carolyn, Gottfried, and Judy are relaxing and having coffee. The Baron is again playing the organ. Judy presents Shuter with a gift, a plaid scarf. She wraps it around his neck, then gives him a friendly kiss on the cheek. The Baron is not amused about this. He confronts his servant and says, "Shuter. You are richly endowed to have one as lovely as Miss Hayes bestow gifts upon you." Doug enters the room with script changes, then exits with Carolyn under the pretext of going over her new scene. Gottfried confronts the Baron with his concerns. It seems that the Baron has been working with the director of the morgue. "Are you interested in corpses?" he asks the Baron. The Baron makes his friend uneasy with his menacing demeanor. After everyone has gone, he then lights a candle, douses the lights in the Great Room, then descends the stairs to the basement crypt. He twists the head on a statue. A stone crypt lid slides open. The Baron climbs inside and descends the stairs to his secret laboratory below. A large modern laboratory is revealed. The walls are covered with electronic equipment and the centerpiece is a nuclear reactor. The Baron listens in on his guests with hidden microphones in their rooms. Studying an old picture of himself, he admires a clay bust - which is still a work in progress. He opens the nuclear reactor's door and a gurney of a bandaged figure emerges. The head is just a skull. The Baron dons an apron and washes his hands. Shuter is upstairs securing the castle. The Baron returns to his monster, which is another work in progress. He removes the bandages on the arm and he records his observations on a reel-to-reel tape machine. Shuter walks downstairs to the crypt area, securing it for the night. He activates the crypt lid door by accident. He investigates the open sarcophagus, walks down the hidden stairs, and encounters the Baron. The Baron is sorry to see his old friend and trusted servant has discovered his secret. "Shuter. Ah, my poor Shuter. Why did it have to be you?" He beckons his servant to approach the body and promises him that he will live again. He hypnotizes Shuter. The Baron harvests Shuter's heart for his monster.The next morning, Carolyn is fixing breakfast. She notices that Shuter is missing. Judy calls for Shuter, but he is gone. The Baron explains that Shuter is away visiting relatives and may be away for some time. The Baron returns to his lab. He notes that Shuter's brain is now in the skull of his monster. He prepares to install the eyes. He retrieves a pair of them in a glass jar from the lab's refrigerator. The closing door bumps his arm and he accidentally drops the container. The eyes are destroyed as a result.Sometime later, Gottfried is reviewing some papers in the library as the Baron again plays his organ. Carolyn enters and joins the Baron at the organ. He turns to ogle his guest, saying "You seem rather disturbed, my dear." She tells the Baron that organ music reminds her of death. The Baron notices Carolyn has Shuter's scarf. She tells him she found it down in the basement. The Baron takes the scarf from Carolyn, places it around his own neck and then resumes playing his creepy organ music. Gottfried enters and asks where Shuter has gone. He notes that Shuter has no relatives and a quick search of his room revealed that all his clothes are still there. The Baron threatens to tell Gottfried the tale of the inquisitive Commandant of the Nazi prison camp. The Baron delights in recounting the tale, telling Gottfried that, one day, his tormentor was found without a tongue. He is gleeful as he says "Imagine the irony of it, Gottfried. Oh, I know, I was called in to examine the poor wretch. A beautiful piece of surgery, if I do say so myself. Beautiful." Gottfried seems to get the message and leaves the room.In the lab, the Baron moves his monster back into the nuclear reactor and closes the door. He starts the reactor and steam wafts from it. The demand for power causes the lights in the castle to dim. An alarm bell signals the completion of the process. The body is brought out of the reactor. The Baron's intercom allows him to hear Doug's unsuccessful attempt to gain access to Carolyn's locked room. The Baron then examines his monster. Judy types in her room while Mike sleeps fitfully in his. The Baron's monster is now standing, still strapped to the gurney. He attempts to contact the mind of Shuter, now encased in his creation. Finally, the EEG shows a reaction. He orders Shuter to raise each arm; the monster follows the instructions. The last order of business is to secure a pair of eyes. Mike visits Judy in her room. He has a bottle and a glass. Mike kisses Judy, then pours and drinks a glass of liquor. He tries to make another pass at Judy, but gets thrown out of her room. She locks him out and tells him to go to bed. Another knock at the door causes Judy to go back to scold Mike. When she opens the door, the monster is there. She screams and faints. It carries her to the lab, but the Baron chastises his monster: he wanted Doug's eyes. Her eyes are unsuitable and the Baron puts them in a disposal device and destroys them.Doug and Mike argue over Judy's sudden disappearance. Doug is skeptical, considering she left without her alimony check. The Baron claims to know nothing about it. Doug suggests using the Baron's lab as a setting for the TV show. The Baron asks, "Gottfried, is the laboratory included in the contract with Mr. Row?" Gottfried says "No", which prompts the Baron to reply, "Then you cannot use it." When pressed further, the Baron is adamant - the answer is "NO!"Morgan and Carolyn go to the basement crypt to set up shots. Carolyn practices her moves, unaware the monster is behind her in the shadows. Carolyn leaves and Morgan remains to line up a few more shots. He looks through his lens and pans around the room. The monster comes into view and approaches the cinematographer. Back in the lab, the Baron examines the eyes, but declares them unsuitable due to a blood type mismatch. Another pair of eyes are disposed of in the disposal device. Inspector Raab (Irwin Berke) takes a missing persons report from Doug. The Baron tells the policeman that Judy was married to Doug, so she must have been emotionally disturbed and Morgan went to Frankfurt to get a special lens. Carolyn tells Raab she last saw Morgan in the basement. The Baron volunteers to escort Raab to see for himself. While all of them are down in the basement looking for Morgan, the Baron sees the sarcophagus lid swing open. He closes it, unseen by anyone. Finding nothing, Raab apologizes to the Baron for the intrusion.Gottfried comments to the Baron on all the disappearances. The not-so-subtle reminders to those who question him gone unheeded, the Baron finally agrees to satisfy Gottfried's curiosity. They descend into the crypt. The Baron opens the sarcophagus entrance to his lab. The monster stares at his next victim through openings in the bandages where the eyes should be. The Baron kills his old friend and inserts his eyes into the monster. He disposes of Gottfried's clothes in the disposal device. Doug and Mike examine the crypt for clues and Doug finds Morgan's view finder. He tells Mike that he intends to report this to Inspector Raab. The Baron uses a coin from his collection to hypnotize Mike. He questions Mike about Doug and directs him to get Carolyn downstairs at a designated time. Doug meets with Raab and convinces him that Judy, Shuter and Morgan never left the castle. At the designated time, Mike fetches Carolyn from her room. Carolyn is confronted by the still-bandaged monster. As Raab and Doug drive back to the castle, the monster carries Carolyn down to the Baron's lab. She wakes up and screams. Carolyn pleads with the monster to bring her back upstairs. The monster is conflicted between his affection for Carolyn and the Baron's commands. The Baron turns on his machine to full power. The monster enters the lab without Carolyn and destroys it. He walks towards the Baron and is overcome by the nuclear reactor's steam.The charred remains of the Baron's monster are prone on the floor. A man in a radiation suit takes readings. He allows Raab to enter the lab. Two police officers, Doug and Mike also walk in. Raab peels back the bandages on the face of the monster. A younger, unscarred face of the Baron is shown. Doug plays back the tape and hears "I made you in my image so the name of Frankenstein could survive. I gave you eyes, ears, a heart, a brain and..." The voice fades out. The film ends with a close-up of the monster's head with the face of the Baron.

The film's title and credits roll over a mist-covered lake with a tree in the foreground. We open with a woman, Carolyn Hayes (Jana Lund) running towards the camera. She is being chased by a man, Hans Himmler (Mike Lane). She stops, looks back, screams, and then continues running. We only see the man from the waist down as he plods along with a limp. The woman is cornered, now at the same location where the titles and credits were shot. The monster approaches as the woman walks backwards into the lake. The monster grabs the girl, then holds her underwater. The director, Douglas Row (Don Red Barry) calls, "Cut!" The actor playing the monster does not speak English, so Shuter (Norbert Schiller) must translate. Morgan Haley (John Dennis), the cameraman, confirms that the scene was okay. Doug checks the length of the scene with his ex-wife Judy Stevens (Charlotte Austin). Doug and Judy are divorced and things are still a little frosty between them in their relationship. He tells her, "Jealousy, jealousy, lover. Don't blame me because you're no longer an ingenue. Well, I keep you on the payroll, you'll have to admit I'm loyal." She tartly replies, "Oh yes, you're loyal to wives number 1 through 4 inclusive." Carolyn is helped from the water. She tells Mike Shaw (Tom Duggan) that this film scene is to celebrate the 230th anniversary of the story of Frankenstein.Inside the castle, Baron Victor von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) berates his old friend Wilhelm Gottfried (Rudolph Anders), "How could you inflict these people upon me, Gottfried?" Gottfried reminds the Baron that he agreed to let the film crew use his castle for the money he needed to purchase a nuclear reactor for his experiments. He adds, "I've been wanting to talk to you about this, Victor. You have been spending money and money. You have been buying equipment as though you were a government." Gottfried has been handling the Baron's finances and has sold off most of his art treasures. The discussion turns to the past. The Baron was tortured during World War II and is bitter and scarred as a result. He sports a long scar that runs from his left eye to the corner of his mouth. It is apparent that his nose was severely broken. He was forced to perform medical experiments for the Nazis. The Baron is the last family member of the house of Frankenstein. The film cast and crew return to the castle. Doug briefs the Baron on his upcoming performance and is both pushy and obnoxious. The Baron is having reservations about involvement in this exploitation of his family history, but he wants that nuclear reactor very badly and reluctantly cooperates with Doug. He has contempt for all of them except one. He is strangely attracted to Carolyn Hayes and tells her so. "That could be my pleasure with you as my leading lady, Miss Hayes." He takes her hand and kisses it. She recoils slightly, repelled by the Baron's clumsy advances. Turning back to the director, the Baron tells him, "Mr. Row, I'm becoming reconciled to your presence here. Your coming here may be the solution to all my problems." The Baron laughs maniacally, then limps away. He seats himself at an organ and plays a melancholy tune.It is rehearsal day in the basement of the castle. The Baron reads an inscription on the tomb of an ancestor. "I, Frankenstein, began my work in the year 1740 and with all good intentions and humane thoughts to the high purpose of probing the secrets of life itself - with but one end - the betterment of mankind." He explains his ancestor's work as he limps around the basement and what went wrong with it. The scene is disrupted when Carolyn screams as the Baron appears ready to stab the corpse on the slab. Hans tells Shuter that he is finished and will no longer work at the castle. Doug's cash payment convinces Hans to remain. The Baron was off-script, as Judy reminds her ex-husband, but Doug loved it anyway.The cast and crew are relaxing in the Great Room of the castle. Mike is on the phone. Carolyn, Gottfried, and Judy are relaxing and having coffee. The Baron is again playing the organ. Judy presents Shuter with a gift, a plaid scarf. She wraps it around his neck, then gives him a friendly kiss on the cheek. The Baron is not amused about this. He confronts his servant and says, "Shuter. You are richly endowed to have one as lovely as Miss Hayes bestow gifts upon you." Doug enters the room with script changes, then exits with Carolyn under the pretext of going over her new scene. Gottfried confronts the Baron with his concerns. It seems that the Baron has been working with the director of the morgue. "Are you interested in corpses?" he asks the Baron. The Baron makes his friend uneasy with his menacing demeanor. After everyone has gone, he then lights a candle, douses the lights in the Great Room, then descends the stairs to the basement crypt. He twists the head on a statue. A stone crypt lid slides open. The Baron climbs inside and descends the stairs to his secret laboratory below. A large modern laboratory is revealed. The walls are covered with electronic equipment and the centerpiece is a nuclear reactor. The Baron listens in on his guests with hidden microphones in their rooms. Studying an old picture of himself, he admires a clay bust - which is still a work in progress. He opens the nuclear reactor's door and a gurney of a bandaged figure emerges. The head is just a skull. The Baron dons an apron and washes his hands. Shuter is upstairs securing the castle. The Baron returns to his monster, which is another work in progress. He removes the bandages on the arm and he records his observations on a reel-to-reel tape machine. Shuter walks downstairs to the crypt area, securing it for the night. He activates the crypt lid door by accident. He investigates the open sarcophagus, walks down the hidden stairs, and encounters the Baron. The Baron is sorry to see his old friend and trusted servant has discovered his secret. "Shuter. Ah, my poor Shuter. Why did it have to be you?" He beckons his servant to approach the body and promises him that he will live again. He hypnotizes Shuter. The Baron harvests Shuter's heart for his monster.The next morning, Carolyn is fixing breakfast. She notices that Shuter is missing. Judy calls for Shuter, but he is gone. The Baron explains that Shuter is away visiting relatives and may be away for some time. The Baron returns to his lab. He notes that Shuter's brain is now in the skull of his monster. He prepares to install the eyes. He retrieves a pair of them in a glass jar from the lab's refrigerator. The closing door bumps his arm and he accidentally drops the container. The eyes are destroyed as a result.Sometime later, Gottfried is reviewing some papers in the library as the Baron again plays his organ. Carolyn enters and joins the Baron at the organ. He turns to ogle his guest, saying "You seem rather disturbed, my dear." She tells the Baron that organ music reminds her of death. The Baron notices Carolyn has Shuter's scarf. She tells him she found it down in the basement. The Baron takes the scarf from Carolyn, places it around his own neck and then resumes playing his creepy organ music. Gottfried enters and asks where Shuter has gone. He notes that Shuter has no relatives and a quick search of his room revealed that all his clothes are still there. The Baron threatens to tell Gottfried the tale of the inquisitive Commandant of the Nazi prison camp. The Baron delights in recounting the tale, telling Gottfried that, one day, his tormentor was found without a tongue. He is gleeful as he says "Imagine the irony of it, Gottfried. Oh, I know, I was called in to examine the poor wretch. A beautiful piece of surgery, if I do say so myself. Beautiful." Gottfried seems to get the message and leaves the room.In the lab, the Baron moves his monster back into the nuclear reactor and closes the door. He starts the reactor and steam wafts from it. The demand for power causes the lights in the castle to dim. An alarm bell signals the completion of the process. The body is brought out of the reactor. The Baron's intercom allows him to hear Doug's unsuccessful attempt to gain access to Carolyn's locked room. The Baron then examines his monster. Judy types in her room while Mike sleeps fitfully in his. The Baron's monster is now standing, still strapped to the gurney. He attempts to contact the mind of Shuter, now encased in his creation. Finally, the EEG shows a reaction. He orders Shuter to raise each arm; the monster follows the instructions. The last order of business is to secure a pair of eyes. Mike visits Judy in her room. He has a bottle and a glass. Mike kisses Judy, then pours and drinks a glass of liquor. He tries to make another pass at Judy, but gets thrown out of her room. She locks him out and tells him to go to bed. Another knock at the door causes Judy to go back to scold Mike. When she opens the door, the monster is there. She screams and faints. It carries her to the lab, but the Baron chastises his monster: he wanted Doug's eyes. Her eyes are unsuitable and the Baron puts them in a disposal device and destroys them.Doug and Mike argue over Judy's sudden disappearance. Doug is skeptical, considering she left without her alimony check. The Baron claims to know nothing about it. Doug suggests using the Baron's lab as a setting for the TV show. The Baron asks, "Gottfried, is the laboratory included in the contract with Mr. Row?" Gottfried says "No", which prompts the Baron to reply, "Then you cannot use it." When pressed further, the Baron is adamant - the answer is "NO!"Morgan and Carolyn go to the basement crypt to set up shots. Carolyn practices her moves, unaware the monster is behind her in the shadows. Carolyn leaves and Morgan remains to line up a few more shots. He looks through his lens and pans around the room. The monster comes into view and approaches the cinematographer. Back in the lab, the Baron examines the eyes, but declares them unsuitable due to a blood type mismatch. Another pair of eyes are disposed of in the disposal device. Inspector Raab (Irwin Berke) takes a missing persons report from Doug. The Baron tells the policeman that Judy was married to Doug, so she must have been emotionally disturbed and Morgan went to Frankfurt to get a special lens. Carolyn tells Raab she last saw Morgan in the basement. The Baron volunteers to escort Raab to see for himself. While all of them are down in the basement looking for Morgan, the Baron sees the sarcophagus lid swing open. He closes it, unseen by anyone. Finding nothing, Raab apologizes to the Baron for the intrusion.Gottfried comments to the Baron on all the disappearances. The not-so-subtle reminders to those who question him gone unheeded, the Baron finally agrees to satisfy Gottfried's curiosity. They descend into the crypt. The Baron opens the sarcophagus entrance to his lab. The monster stares at his next victim through openings in the bandages where the eyes should be. The Baron kills his old friend and inserts his eyes into the monster. He disposes of Gottfried's clothes in the disposal device. Doug and Mike examine the crypt for clues and Doug finds Morgan's view finder. He tells Mike that he intends to report this to Inspector Raab. The Baron uses a coin from his collection to hypnotize Mike. He questions Mike about Doug and directs him to get Carolyn downstairs at a designated time. Doug meets with Raab and convinces him that Judy, Shuter and Morgan never left the castle. At the designated time, Mike fetches Carolyn from her room. Carolyn is confronted by the still-bandaged monster. As Raab and Doug drive back to the castle, the monster carries Carolyn down to the Baron's lab. She wakes up and screams. Carolyn pleads with the monster to bring her back upstairs. The monster is conflicted between his affection for Carolyn and the Baron's commands. The Baron turns on his machine to full power. The monster enters the lab without Carolyn and destroys it. He walks towards the Baron and is overcome by the nuclear reactor's steam.The charred remains of the Baron's monster are prone on the floor. A man in a radiation suit takes readings. He allows Raab to enter the lab. Two police officers, Doug and Mike also walk in. Raab peels back the bandages on the face of the monster. A younger, unscarred face of the Baron is shown. Doug plays back the tape and hears "I made you in my image so the name of Frankenstein could survive. I gave you eyes, ears, a heart, a brain and..." The voice fades out. The film ends with a close-up of the monster's head with the face of the Baron.

Published Time: 2020-06-28 05:08:38