Frankenstein is a 1973 American television movie adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus adapted by Sam Hall and Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Robert Foxworth in the title role and Bo Svenson as the Monster.
Contents
Cast
Robert Foxworth as Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Susan Strasberg as Elizabeth Lavenza
Bo Svenson as The Monster
Robert Gentry as Dr. Henry Clerval
Heidi Vaughn as Agatha DeLacey
Philip Bourneuf as Alphonse Frankenstein
Robert Gentry as Henri Clerval
Jon Lormer as Charles DeLacey
William Hansen as Professor Waldman
John Karlen as Otto Roget
Willie Aames as William Frankenstein
Production
The Robert Cobert score was not original to this film. Cobert used musical cues from Dark Shadows and Dan Curtis' adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The film was shown over two nights on ABC's Wide World of Mystery. Part 1 of the film was shown on the same night, and on the same network, as another of Curtis' productions, The Night Strangler. The film was quickly overshadowed by the more lavishly budgeted Frankenstein: The True Story which premiered later that same year.
Reception
At the time of its release, the film garnered praise. Variety called the film "extraordinary entertainment." The Los Angeles Times said it was "quite a handsome show, with huge, foreboding sets and a splendid array of special effects." Radu Florescu's In Search of Frankenstein declared it "probably the most faithful rendering the screen has yet seen."