1957 I Was a Teenage Frankenstein

• Directed by Herbert L. Storck
• Written by Herman Cohen, Abem Kandel
• Stars Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates, Robert Burton
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl2mUAE80qk

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

Professor Frankenstein, a descendant of that Frankenstein, has a full facility at his disposal with all the high-tech equipment available in 1957, as well as an alligator pit in his lab for disposing of bodies and parts. His ego is big, and so are his plans for advancing science regardless of the cost. This one is decent but low effort, maybe a little rushed at points, with such a short run time. It’s entertaining enough, but more campy than classic.

Spoilery Synopsis

Professor Frankenstein talks about transplanting eyes and other organs. One of the scientists in the audience says some of his claims are simply impossible. “Dead tissue cannot be activated,” says Dr. Randolph. Frankenstein says one day soon, his theories will be proven. 

Later, Frankenstein and Dr. Karlton, his physicist friend, talk about proving their ideas. Frankenstein wants to assemble a body from different cadavers. “On my own. In my own laboratory.” Frankenstein talks about that great ancestor whose name he bears. He thinks the key to success is to use young bodies, which are much more resilient— wait! A car crashes outside right in the middle of his explanation. Two cars, and they were full of teenagers, who were all killed. Such a shame and mess, who will notice one missing? 

Soon, the two scientists have snuck off with one of the bodies and put it in Frankenstein’s own private morgue. He puts the body in a drawer and turns down the temperature. Karlton wants out, but Frankenstein has blackmail material, so he’ll help with the project as required. 

The two men go upstairs to a party. Frankenstein says he’s going to return home to England soon, and Margaret, his girlfriend and nurse, looks unhappy. He cheers her up by asking her to move in with him as his fiancee. 

Karlton “activates” the body as Frankenstein amputates his hands and leg and Margaret works the phone upstairs as the new “watchdog.” Frankenstein disposes of the leftover parts by feeding them to an alligator in a closet. 

Frankenstein and Karlton sneak into a funeral home and take the parts they need after another tragedy. They sew the leg and hands onto the corpse at home. 

Frankenstein and Margaret go for a drive and park at a popular make-out spot for the local teenagers. She wants to do what the teenagers do. 

The animated corpse is healing well, and Frankenstein wants the creature to speak. He does speak, and then he cries. Margaret suspects something is up. She’s also obsessed with their impending marriage and displeased with how little of the professor’s attention she gets. He slaps her in the face when she gets more uppity than he likes. She doesn’t go along with that very well, and she starts snooping into his work. She makes a key to the basement, opens the morgue drawer, and the corpse sits up. She runs off without locking the door behind her. 

Frankenstein and the monster talk, and it’s clear that Frankenstein is on a power trip with his obedient creation. The monster does his weightlifting and other workouts. The monster is tired of living in the lab; he wants out into the world. Frankenstein cuts off the bandages to show him why he can’t, and we see that the monster is really a monster from the neck up. Yeah, he’s a mess. 

The monster wanders out of the unlocked lab anyway and goes upstairs to the regular house and then down the street, where he peeps in the window at a young woman. She sees him and screams, so he breaks in and silences her. A bunch of people see him as he leaves. 

The police question the witnesses, and they’re going to check the houses in the neighborhood. Frankenstein reads about the attack in the news, and he knows what happened. The monster promises to behave from now on. When the detectives stop by, Frankenstein lies to them. 

Margaret invites a jeweler over to shop for rings, and Frankenstein throws him out rudely. This results in another fight. She tells him that she knows what he’s been up to, and they make up. 

Not long after, Frankenstein tells his monster that he thinks they’re safe now. Except for Margaret, who could derail the monster getting a new face. She’s going to ruin everything! The monster agrees to “stop her.” He lures Margaret into the lab, where the monster kills her. Margaret soon feeds the alligator. 

Frankenstein and the monster go out to choose a new face. They go to the makeout spot and the monster picks out a guy whose face he likes. They take Bob’s head home and put his face on the monster. 

Dr. Karlton comes over to talk, and he wonders what happened to Margaret. “She just up and disappeared.” He mentions giving the monster a new face, and Karlton wonders where that face came from. 

The problem is that someone here is likely to recognize Bob, who was a popular local boy. Frankenstein wants to take Bob to England, packed in crates with a false bottom. He wants to disassemble Bob and ship the parts to England… separately, for reassembly later. 

Bob climbs on the table, ostensibly to get his stitches removed, and they strap him down. Before they can sedate him, Bob senses that something is wrong and attacks the two scientists. Karlton runs away, but Bob feeds Frankenstein to the alligator. 

Karlton returns with the police, and Bob backs into the machinery that electrocutes him. We close on a shot of a well-fed alligator. 

Brian’s Commentary

The first half hour or so is very similar to most other Frankenstein films, albeit more modern, taking place in the 50s. After that, it goes its own way. 

Dr. Frankenstein is supposed to be British, but he’s got a perfectly normal American accent. 

The monster here is just a big guy in a rubber mask, so this was pretty low effort in that regard. Unlike “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” which came out the same year, this one doesn’t really rely on the “Teenager” angle very much, and better yet, there’s no musical numbers in the middle of the film. 

It’s low-budget and low-effort. By this point, Frankenstein had been relegated to Abbott and Costello movies, this kind of thing, and other “silly” films. The following year, Hammer made their version, which rejuvenated the whole franchise by taking it seriously once again. 

It’s fine, but it’s not really a classic.

Kevin’s Commentary

I would say this Frankenstein is the biggest jerk of all the Frankensteins I’ve seen, with a thirst for knowledge and medical progress that drives him above everything else. His lack of humanity, empathy, and concern for others is appalling. But it makes for a satisfying finish when his creation turns on him. I was more entertained than not, and they do take it seriously with no comedy, but it’s one worthy of mockery.