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{{Infobox film
| name            = The Revenge of Frankenstein
| image           = Revengetitle.jpg
| caption         = Theatrical release poster
| director        = [[Terence Fisher]]
| producer        = [[Anthony Hinds]]
| screenplay      = [[Jimmy Sangster]] {{Infobox | decat = yes | child = yes | label1= Additional dialogue by | data1 = Hurford James<ref>Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.</ref> }}
| based_on       = {{based on|[[Victor Frankenstein]]|[[Mary Shelley]]}}
| starring        = [[Peter Cushing]]<br>[[Francis Matthews (actor)|Francis Matthews]]<br>[[Eunice Gayson]]<br>[[Michael Gwynn]]
| music           = [[Leonard Salzedo]]
| cinematography  = [[Jack Asher]]
| editing         = Alfred Cox
| color_process   = [[Technicolor]]
| studio          = [[Hammer Film Productions]]
| distributor     = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released        = {{Film date|df=y|1958|6|1|US|1958|11|17|London}}<ref>Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.</ref>
| runtime         = 91 minutes
| gross           = 455,241 admissions (France)<ref>[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxofficestory.com%2Fbox-office-alain-delon-c22669761%2F39&sandbox=1 Box office information for Terence Fisher films in France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910222844/http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxofficestory.com%2Fbox-office-alain-delon-c22669761%2F39&sandbox=1 |date=10 September 2015 }} at Box office Story</ref>
| country         = United Kingdom
| language        = English
}}
'''''The Revenge of Frankenstein''''' is a 1958 British [[horror film]] directed by [[Terence Fisher]] and starring [[Peter Cushing]], [[Francis Matthews (actor)|Francis Matthews]], [[Michael Gwynn]], Oscar Quitak, [[Eunice Gayson]] and Michael Ripper.<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=The Revenge of Frankenstein |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150048390 |access-date=4 February 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204191847/https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150048390 |url-status=live }}</ref> Made by [[Hammer Film Productions]], the film was a sequel to ''[[The Curse of Frankenstein]]'', the studio's 1957 adaptation of [[Mary Shelley]]'s 1818 novel ''[[Frankenstein|Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus]],'' and the second instalment in their [[Frankenstein (Hammer film series)|''Frankenstein'' series]].

The film was released in the US in June on a double-bill with ''[[Night of the Demon|Curse of the Demon]]''. [[Phil Leakey]] did makeup, [[Bernard Robinson (production designer)|Bernard Robinson]] was the production designer and [[Robert Lynn (director)|Robert Lynn]] and [[Tom Walls]] were assistant directors. The film was originally planned to be called ''Blood of Frankenstein''. While this film was being made, Hammer was simultaneously producing a pilot for their planned American TV series ''Tales Of Frankenstein'' in Hollywood, which starred [[Anton Diffring]].<ref>Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 143. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.</ref>

==Plot==
In [[1860]], [[Baron]] [[Victor Frankenstein]] is sentenced to death by [[guillotine]] for creating a [[The Curse of Frankenstein|murderous creature from cadavers]]. He escapes [[execution]] by having a [[priest]] beheaded and buried in his place with the aid of a [[hunchback]] named Karl. Three years later, Victor, now going by the alias Doctor Stein, has become a successful [[physician]] in Carlsbrück, catering to the wealthy while also attending to the poor in a paupers' [[hospital]]. Hans Kleve, a junior member of the medical council, recognizes Victor and, being an admirer, requests an apprenticeship with him. Together with Karl, Victor and Hans continue with the Baron's experiment: transplanting a living [[brain]] into a new body, one that is not a crude, cobbled-together creature. The deformed Karl is more than willing to volunteer his brain thereby gaining a healthy body, particularly after meeting Margaret Conrad, the lovely new assistant at the hospital.

The transplant succeeds, but when the excited Hans tells Karl that he will be a medical sensation, Karl panics and convinces Margaret to free him. Hans notes that the [[chimpanzee]] into which Victor had transplanted the brain of an [[orangutan]] ate its mate. He worries about Karl, but his concerns are brushed off by Victor. Karl flees from the hospital and hides in Victor's laboratory, where he burns his preserved hunchback body. He is attacked by a drunken [[janitor]], who takes him for a [[burglar]], but manages to kill the man. Victor and Hans discover Karl is missing and begin searching for him.

The next morning, Margaret finds Karl in her aunt's stable. While she goes to fetch Hans, Karl experiences difficulties with his arm and leg. When Hans and Margaret arrive, he is gone. At night, Karl ambushes and strangles Gerda, a local girl. The next night, he rushes into an evening reception. Having redeveloped his deformities, he begs Victor for help, using his real name of Frankenstein, before he collapses and dies. Victor, disregarding Hans' pleas that he should leave the country, appears before the medical council, where he denies being the infamous Frankenstein. The unsatisfied councilors open Victor's supposed grave, only to discover the priest's body, and conclude that the real Frankenstein is still alive.

At the hospital, the patients violently attack Victor in rage and Hans rushes his dying mentor to the lab. The police arrive to arrest Victor, but when Hans shows them Victor's dead body, they leave. Hans then transplants Victor's brain into a new body that Victor had prepared earlier, which he made to resemble him. Sometime later in [[London]], Hans assists Victor, now calling himself Doctor Franck, in welcoming some patients.

==Cast==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Peter Cushing]] as [[Victor Frankenstein|Doctor Victor Stein]]/Frankenstein 
* [[Francis Matthews (actor)|Francis Matthews]] as Doctor Hans Kleve
* [[Eunice Gayson]] as Margaret Conrad
* [[Oscar Quitak]] as [[Igor (character)|Karl]], in his hunchback form
** [[Michael Gwynn]] as Karl, in his [[Frankenstein's monster|created body]]
* [[John Welsh (actor)|John Welsh]] as Bergman
* [[Lionel Jeffries]] as Fritz
* [[Richard Wordsworth]] as Up Patient
* [[Charles Lloyd-Pack]] as President of the Medical Council
* [[George Woodbridge (actor)|George Woodbridge]] as Janitor
* [[Michael Ripper]] as Kurt
* [[Ian Whittaker]] as Boy
* Avril Leslie as Gerda
* Alex Gallier as Priest
}}

==Production==
[[File:Baseline Drive-in Ad - 18 June 1958, Highland, CA.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1958 for ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' and co-feature, ''[[Night of the Demon|Curse of the Demon]]''.]] 
According to [[Jimmy Sangster]], [[James Carreras]] presold the film in America, taking a poster with him. When Carreras returned he approached Sangster with the project asking him to write the sequel to ''[[The Curse of Frankenstein]]''. Sangster responded, "I killed (Baron) [[Victor Frankenstein|Frankenstein]] in the first film." Sangster stated that Carreras told him he had six weeks to write the project before shooting started and that "you'll think of something".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/jimmy-sangster|title=The British Entertainment History Project : Jimmy Sangster|website=Historyproject.org.uk|access-date=9 June 2018|archive-date=31 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231212052/https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/jimmy-sangster|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was shot at [[Bray Studios (UK)|Bray Studios]] and production commenced on 6 January 1958, three days after filming wrapped on ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' (1958), which likewise starred [[Peter Cushing]] and was directed by [[Terence Fisher]].<ref>{{citation|last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G.|title=The Hammer Frankenstein: British Cult Cinema|publisher=Midnight Marquee Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1936168330 |page=101}}</ref>

Conductor and composer [[Leonard Salzedo]] was hired to write the score,{{sfn|Hallenbeck|2013|p=105}} and most of the regular [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer]] crew returned in other roles, including [[Jack Asher]] as [[cinematography|cinematographer]], [[Bernard Robinson (production designer)|Bernard Robinson]] on [[production design|design]] and [[Phil Leakey]] on make-up.{{sfn|Hallenbeck|2013|p=229}}

== Release ==
The film was released in the United States in June 1958<ref>Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. {{ISBN|0-89950-170-2}}. Page 776</ref> with ''[[Night of the Demon|Curse of the Demon]]''  (1957) on the lower half of the [[double bill]].{{sfn|Hallenbeck|2013|p=106}}

== Novelizations ==
Three [[novelization]]s of the film were published. The first, by Jimmy Sangster (as Hurford Janes) was published by [[Panther Books]] in 1958; the second was by [[John Burke (author)|John Burke]] as part of his 1966 [[Pan Books|Pan]] book ''The Hammer Horror Film Omnibus;'' the third, by [[Shaun Hutson]], was published in March 2013 ({{ISBN|9780099556237}}).

== Critical reception ==
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' "a high grade horror film" with "rich" production values and a script that was "well-plotted, peopled with interesting characters, aided by good performances."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-06/page/n145/mode/1up/  |title=The Revenge of Frankenstein – Variety|date=18 June 1958 |page=6 |work=Variety }}</ref>

''[[Motion Picture Daily]]'' noted, "a horror picture turned out with creative skill and imagination. The most notable contribution the Hammers have made to the genre is their stunning use of color for frightening effects". Hammer Films "have demolished once and for all the theory that horror films should always be in black-and-white".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai83unse_0#page/n376/mode/1up/ |title=The Revenge of Frankenstein – Motion Picture Daily|date=18 June 1958 |page=5 |publisher=New York [Motion picture daily, inc.] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' declared it "a first-rate picture of its kind."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports40harr/page/n113/mode/1up/|title=The Revenge of Frankenstein – Harrison's Reports|date=21 June 1958 |page=98 |publisher=New York, Harrison's Reports }}</ref>

''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "A contrived plot and a notable lack of pace and imagination are responsible for the failure of this lavish and painstaking production to be convincing even on the level of a horror film. Peter Cushing's stylish and diffident performance serves only to underline the farcical effects of a crude and pedestrian handling of the little legitimate horror left."<ref>{{cite journal |date=September 1958 |title=The Revenge of Frankenstein |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=25 |issue=296 |page=117 }}</ref>

{{As of|October 2022}}, ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' held an 87% approval rating on the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 15 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_frankenstein/ |title=The Revenge of Frankenstein |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021190534/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_frankenstein |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Frankenstein in popular culture|''Frankenstein'' in popular culture]]
* [[List of films featuring Frankenstein's monster]]
* [[Frankenstein (Hammer film series)]]
* [[Hammer filmography]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb title|0050894}}
* {{TCMDb title|27826}}

{{Frankenstein}}
{{Hammer Horror}}
{{Terence Fisher}}
{{Jimmy Sangster}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revenge of Frankenstein, The}}
[[Category:1958 films]]
[[Category:1950s historical horror films]]
[[Category:1958 horror films]]
[[Category:British historical horror films]]
[[Category:British science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:American monster movies]]
[[Category:British sequel films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Hammer Film Productions horror films]]
[[Category:Frankenstein (Hammer film series)]]
[[Category:1950s monster movies]]
[[Category:Films directed by Terence Fisher]]
[[Category:Films set in 1860]]
[[Category:Films set in 1863]]
[[Category:Films set in Europe]]
[[Category:Films shot at Bray Studios]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster]]
[[Category:Romantic period films]]
[[Category:1958 English-language films]]
[[Category:1958 American films]]
[[Category:1958 British films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:English-language historical horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Revenge of Frankenstein|access_date=2026-03-07}}