MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television film, which originally aired over two nights, is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 horror/science fiction novel about the consequences of a scientist's dangerous experiments.
The story begins at Ingolstadt University as Dr. Victor Frankenstein's colleagues react with outrage to his paper detailing his ideas for creating human life from dead flesh. Professor Waldman advises him to consider the morality of his "theory," but Victor has already put his plan into motion and tells his two assistants, Otto and Hugo, that they must take advantage of a forthcoming thunderstorm and attempt the final step of their experiment by the next morning. They travel to a graveyard to acquire the final organ, a heart, but Hugo is fatally shot by the watchman and begs Victor and Otto to "make his death mean something" by using his own heart for the creation. Victor hurriedly makes excuses when his father Alphonse, his fiancée Elizabeth and his lifelong friend Henri arrive for an ill-timed visit. Though Otto fears that his death is "a warning," Victor proceeds with the plan. The creature, an oversized and grotesquely scarred man, is soon brought to life with the help of electricity.
Amazed at their accomplishment, Otto and Victor decide that they must keep the "giant baby" a secret until they have successfully educated him. Otto is left alone with the creature as Victor returns to his family, assuring Elizabeth that they will be married by Christmas. Otto bonds with the seemingly docile creature as he begins to teach him words, but their "play" soon grows rough and Victor returns to find that the creature has accidentally killed Otto with his unnatural strength. Victor cannot bring himself to destroy his dangerous creation, and he restrains the creature and then stages Otto's "accidental" death. The creature easily frees itself and escapes the lab, while elsewhere Alphonse demands answers for his son's odd behavior. Victor sadly explains that his "best friend" Otto tumbled from a window while stargazing. The creature wanders alone through the woods, experiencing the ravages of nature and unintentionally frightening numerous people. The Frankensteins are soon joined by Victor's much younger brother, William. Elizabeth, fearful that Victor has found another woman, seeks Henri's help in figuring out his secretive behavior. Victor, apparently unable to find his missing creation, soon tells her that his worries are "all over."
The creature finds his way to the home of the DeLacey family, where Charles and his blind daughter Agatha are delighted by the arrival of her brother Felix and his new Spanish bride-to-be, Safie. Months pass as the creature hides beneath the house and listens as Agatha teaches Safie English. Elsewhere Victor is distressed to hear rumors of a "giant" wandering the nearby village. Safie and Felix's wedding day finally arrives, and the creature, now able to speak, finally enters the empty house and nervously prepares to formally introduce himself to the DeLaceys. He catches sight of a mirror for the first time, however, and is horrified by the sight within. At the same time, Henri confronts Victor, and Victor evasively states that he is writing a novel in which a man's "brother" goes missing after committing several acts of violence; he is unsure how to resolve the character's "intolerable situation."
The creature observes Felix and Safie's wedding celebration and, seeing her isolation, decides that Agatha may show him kindness, as she cannot see his bizarre appearance. He later arrives at the door, claiming to be "a friend from far away"; the two begin to bond as she quickly senses his unhappiness and friendlessness. Just as she suggests that he could work and live with the family, however, the rest of the DeLacey family returns home and, assuming he is threatening Agatha, chase the "monster" from the house. Felix is rushed to Victor for treatment, but upon hearing that he was gravely injured by a "giant," Victor rushes off in search of the creature and ends up shooting him, though non-fatally. William and Elizabeth agree that they will work together to convince Victor to speed up the marriage, but William soon wanders out into the night. He encounters the injured creature, who ends up throttling him as he attempts to stop the boy from calling out to his future sister. Victor and Elizabeth later find the boy's body in a fountain, though Victor realizes that he did not die by drowning. Meanwhile, the creature, wracked with guilt, resolves to kill the mysterious man who shot him.
Henri and Victor search for William's killer, and Victor finally comes face-to-face with his creation and furiously accuses him of the boy's murder. The creature protests that it was unintentional and demands to know why the "stranger" shot him; Victor, mending his injured arm, confesses that he is his creator. Shocked and angered to have been abandoned to the world's cruelty, the creature demands that Victor construct a female mate for him, promising that they will disappear together. Victor, seeing no alternative, agrees to do so on the condition that the creature harms no one else, and he soon begins assembling the necessary parts. Alphonse, deep in grief for William, resolves to return to Geneva. Victor is unable to admit the truth to Elizabeth when she pleads for entry into his laboratory, feeling that he has destroyed their relationship over whatever "terrible thing" he is doing within. She later returns his ring and prepares to go to Switzerland without him, but Victor begs her for one final show of trust.
Henri barges into the lab and finds the all-but-complete female creature. Though Victor protests that he has no choice but to obey the first creature's demands, Henri urges him to destroy his demented work. The creature arrives in time to see Victor "kill" his mate with electricity, and he coldly promises to ruin all of Victor's future happiness and to "be with him on his wedding-night." The creature soon attacks and kills Henri, and Victor resolves to flee with Elizabeth. Stopping at an inn on the way to Geneva, the innkeeper guesses that they are eloping and offers to arrange the ceremony for that very evening. The two are quickly wed; when Victor is forced to leave his bride behind to sign the legal documents, he warns her to keep the doors and windows locked. But when he returns, he finds that the creature has indeed arrived and murdered Elizabeth in the marital bed. Outraged, Victor chases the creature through the streets and into a forest, and he soon takes a fatal tumble. Dying, he begs the creature's forgiveness for "failing him" and urges him to hide himself in the Alps. The creature, overwhelmed by grief and guilt, allows the local law enforcement to shoot him dead. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:05:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 133586
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, mystery/suspense; Literature - Adaptations; Science - Experiments
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1973
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Dan Curtis … Producer, Adapted by
- Tim Steele … Associate Producer
- Glenn Jordan … Director
- Sam Hall … Writer
- Mary Shelley … Based on the novel by
- Robert Cobert … Music by
- Robert Foxworth … Cast, Dr. Victor Frankenstein
- Susan Strasberg … Cast, Elizabeth Clerval
- Heidi Vaughn … Cast, Agatha DeLacey
- Bo Svenson … Cast, The Giant
- John Karlen … Cast, Otto Roget
- Philip Bourneuf … Cast, Alphonse Frankenstein
- Robert Gentry … Cast, Henry Clerval
- Jon Lormer … Cast, Charles DeLacey
- William Hansen … Cast, Professor Waldman
- Brian Avery … Cast, Felix DeLacey
- George Morgan … Cast, Hugo
- Malila Saint Duval … Cast, Safie
- Willie Ames … Cast, William Frankenstein
- Edgar Daniels … Cast, Innkeeper
- Edgar Justice … Cast, Mayor