Peter Haining - The Frankenstein File

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Peter Haining (ed.) - The Frankenstein File (Nel, Oct. 1977)

Peter Haining - The World Of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley - How I Created Frankenstein
Anon - The Old Tower Of Frankenstein
Anon - Bringing The Dead Alive!
Ron Haydock - The Real Castle Frankenstein
Modern Monsters Magazine - The Frankenstein Movies
Forrest J. Ackerman - Universal's Classic Frankenstein
Boris Karloff - The Life Of A Monster
Ron Haydock - Boris Karloff: The King Of Horror Films
Ted Le Berthon - Demons Of The Film Colony
Dennis Gifford - My Funny Frankenstein
Donald Glut - Peter Cushing: Dr. Frankenstein I Presume?
Peter Cushing - Dr. Frankenstein And I
Christopher Lee - Frankenstein, Dracula And Me
W. C. Morrow - The Monster Maker
Robert Bloch - Mannikins Of Horror
Harry Harrison - At Last, The True Story Of Frankenstein

A Select Guide To The Films: Sixty-Five Years Of Frankenstein On The Screen


Blurb

Of all monsters throughout history, Dr Frankenstein's is surely the greatest. Originally conceived by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in 1816, Frankenstein's monster has not only taken on his creator's name, but has been the subject of innumerable plays, films, books and television programmes, intriguing and terrifying the world for generations.

This book is both a tribute to and a record of that fascinating legend. It tells how the Frankenstein films have developed from the first Frankenstein in 1910 to the most recent, Paul Morrisey's Flesh for Frankenstein in 1975, including such unlikely titles Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter and Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster.

It contains articles written by such diverse authorities as Mary Shelley, Boris Karloff, Harry Harrison, Christopher Lee and Robert Bloch, linked by Peter Haining's entertaining anecdotes and supported by a wealth of photographs, line drawings and cartoon strips.

The result is a compelling record that will amuse, enthrall and horrify you!

As with the previous year's The Dracula Scrapbook, The Frankenstein File is an illustrated anthology of articles and short stories. To my mind, it doesn't work half as well as it's predecessor, mainly because this one adopts a conventional layout as opposed to Dracula's ramshackle fanzine approach.

Includes:

Anon - The Old Tower Of Frankenstein. Two lovers (unnamed) rendezvous in the haunted castle at midnight despite the maiden's trepidation. The place has a bad reputation because "the spirit of a woman and her children were once sacrificed to the monster and [are] said to haunt the tower, though the creature lay slain by the Baron Frankenstein these many years".

As to the rest: the ghost duly appears, the curse is lifted and the murdered woman ascends to heaven.

"Mercy! Mercy!" was chanted in the air above. sweet sounds of harps were heard, and all had vanished in a flood of morning splendour. Soon all had disappeared, and in a calm and lovely morning, with the sun shedding brilliancy upon the waters of the noble Rhine, the guiltless lovers descended from the old tower of Frankenstein.

Robert Bloch - Mannikins Of Horror: Dr. Edgar Colin, former brain surgeon, is now a psychotic patient in Dr. Starr's asylum. He spends his every waking moment modelling perfect little clay figures, even fitting them with perfect clay brains. Colin discovers that, by projecting his thoughts into the minds of his models, he can manipulate them to do his bidding. Dr. Starr decides that all this toiling over little clay men is detrimental to Colin's mental health and threatens to confiscate them. Distraught, Colin - who has now decided that he's not Frankenstein but "God" - mobilises one of his mini-me's to find out the doctor's plans for him, but when Starr discovers it crawling up his trouser leg he crushes it, unwittingly crippling and deafening his patient in the process. So the next foot soldier is sent on a kamikaze mission ....

Theodore LeBerthon - Demons Of The Film Colony: Hollywood. LeBerthon is privileged to be present on the occasion of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff's first meeting. Each of the monster men attempt to scare each other to death, but its LeBerthon who gets the shock of his life. Was it all an elaborate joke or are the actors really slimy ancient monsters in human guise?

Harry Harrison - At Last, The True Story Of Frankenstein: Panama City, Florida. After witnessing the extraordinary performance of a 'monster' seemingly entirely oblivious to pain, reporter Dan Bream interviews its master, monocled Carney showman, Victor Frankenstein V. Frankenstein confides that the creature is wearing out and he'll need replacing very shortly ...