Frankenstein: The True Story (1974)

Interesting facts

• Based on: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
• Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

Frankenstein: The True Story is a 1973 British made-for-television gothic horror science fiction film. It is a reinvention of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, about a young anatomy student who seeks the secret of life, creating a vengeful creature in the process. It was directed by Jack Smight, and the screenplay was written by novelist Christopher Isherwood and his longtime partner Don Bachardy.

Production

The character of Dr Polidori (James Mason), who did not appear in the original novel, was based on the character of Doctor Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) from Universal Pictures' Bride of Frankenstein, but named after the real-life John Polidori, an acquaintance of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley who was part of the competition that produced her novel. Polidori's own contribution was the first modern vampire story The Vampyre (1819).

A notable feature of the production is that, instead of being ugly from the start, the Creature (Michael Sarrazin) is portrayed as physically beautiful, but then becoming increasingly hideous as the film progresses. The make-up was by Hammer horror veteran artist Roy Ashton. The film has been described as Sarrazin's most acclaimed efforts of the 1970s.

The film was broadcast on NBC in late 1973 in two 90-minute parts, but often is seen edited into a single film. Its DVD debut date was September 26, 2006. Included at the beginning is a short introduction featuring James Mason wandering through St John's Wood churchyard in London.

The film's development and production has been detailed extensively in Little Shoppe of Horrors #38 – which was released in June 2017 – by film director/historian Sam Irvin, who served as guest editor on this issue. He has also covered the production of the film in his book The Epic Saga Behind Frankenstein: The True Story, released in 2023.

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