Tales of Frankenstein (TV pilot/trailers set)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: B     Pilot show: C

 

 

Frankenstein as a film topic had its first two peaks at two studios, Universal Pictures, then Hammer Studios.  Many other Frankenstein films had been made during that period and continue to surface, but the Tales of Frankenstein DVD collection is most interested in those eras.  The title refers to an awkward, failed pilot for a TV series that never took off.  Screen Gems Television, ever a subdivision of Columbia Pictures and now the name of a theatrical releasing division of the company, sought Hammer to do the series with them.  Like Universal in the 1950s and 1960s, Columbia found themselves starting as a “little sister” studio in the 1930s, only to rise as a major with the advent of TV.  The program is not all that good and they can be glad they came up with better shows later.

 

That leaves a fine set of trailers, interviews, and extras covering what are still the franchise peaks of Mary Shelley’s infamous monster and the scientist who built him.  Those main goodies are as follows:

 

Frankenstein (1931)

Bride of Frankenstein

Son of Frankenstein

Color Boris Karloff interview excerpt just over 3 minutes

Ghost of Frankenstein

Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man

House of Frankenstein

House of Dracula

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Brief color Peter Cushing interview excerpt around 2 minutes long

Curse of Frankenstein (Hammer)

How To Make a Monster

I Was a Teenage Frankenstein

Frankenstein’s Daughter

Frankenstein Conquers The World

Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster

Munster Go Home

Frankenstein 1970

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter

Lady Frankenstein

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Frankenstein Created Woman

Brief interview clip with Hammer’s Michael Carreras

Tales of Frankenstein pilot

Excerpt from Tales of Tomorrow series with Lon Chaney as Frankenstein

and Mel Brooks’ trailer for Young Frankenstein, which has become a musical since this DVD was issued.

 

 

Notoriously missing was the trailer for the 3-D, scope, X-Rated Flesh for Frankenstein, which came out the same year as the Mel Brooks film and was a hit that commented on the Hammer films among other things.  Directed by Paul Morrissey, it was also released as Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, but the trailer is not even on the Criterion Collection DVD.  Image Entertainment reissued the film on DVD later.  Too bad more Hammer Frankenstein trailers are not here.

 

Either way, the extras include a reissue trailer for the 1931 Frankenstein, some bloopers from the Abbott & Costello film, a double feature trailer for How to Make a Monster/Teenage Caveman, a DVD-ROM section with Shelley’s book, a 38 minutes long Karloff radio interview that is very good, a 62 minutes long interview with Glenn Strange, and then there is an audio commentary that runs through the main contents listed above.

 

As they did on All Day’s DVD of The Horror of Hammer, Ted Newsom, Gary H. Smith and Stuart Galbraith IV deliver excellent commentary all about the history of Frankenstein and the film & TV productions.  Even if you do not like Frankenstein, their information alone makes it worth buying this DVD outright.  For the rest of us, this is a remarkable package that offers tons of information and entertainment.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo