Lady Frankenstein (1971)
Joseph Cotton plays Baron Frankenstein, whose latest cobbled together creation goes on a murderous rampage beginning with its creator. The Baron's gorgeous daughter, Tania (Rosalba Neri) begins work on a creature of her own.
Lady Frankenstein is a largely unknown gem of a film in Frankenstein circles. Loosely based on the oft filmed Mary Shelley story, the film in its first half doesn't really add anything to the legend. However once the Baron is dead and Tania gets to work it becomes a different beast altogether. The Cotten created creature wanders round the countryside killing all in its path, it really is a gruesome sight with its face partly burned away and an eye protruding, even if it is decidedly clumsy looking in it's movements and nowhere near as impressive as Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee. Meanwhile Tania, manipulates those around her as she murderously creates her own creature - a kind of brainy sex doll - created with Paul Muller's brilliant brain installed into Marino Masé's toned body.
The film has lovely Gothic trappings, the castle, the laboratory filled with glass instruments immediately brings Peter Cushing's Hammer films to mind, although i don't ever recall Cushing having sex with his creation. Rosalba Neri plays the role of Tania with a gusto and as usual disrobes at a whim. The final scene where Tania is murdered by her creation whilst they make love as the local village mob burn the castle down needs to be seen to be believed. Joseph Cotton, best known from The Third Man, plays the Baron without sending it up and its a shame when he departs the action after only half an hour. His place as leading man is taken by Mickey Hargitay, who is on hand to investigate the murders, unfortunately director Mel Welles doesn't really know what to do with him, so Hargitay just seems to stand around for much of his screen time.
Lady Frankenstein occasionally brings something new to the table, it isn't just a run of the mill Frankenstein movie and has more in common with Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) for example in that it quickly dispenses with formula and brings it's own ideas to the table.
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