The Gay Mafia's Monster Movie: FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY (1973)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- A television event in 1973 that redefined gothic horror and influenced the Frankenstein mythos for the last fifty years, this movie may not be "true" in any real sense, but it definitely deserves recognition for all it accomplished.
If you're looking for a "review" in the traditional sense, then let me just say I like this movie. This video, however, is a "review" in the literal sense (using the Miriam-Webster definition "a retrospective view or survey"), in that I'm going over the history of the film and its place in cinema history.
In other words, please stop commenting on how my videos aren't what you consider "reviews."
#FrankensteinTheTrueStory #Frankenstein #JaneSeymour
00:00 Intro: Hammer Time
01:26 Citing the Primary Source
02:14 Production Background
06:48 Casting
12:16 Shameless Self-Promotion
12:56 Filming
17:01 Release & Legacy
19:18 Opinion
21:03 Analysis & the Queer Subtext
23:53 Outro
www.emagill.com/
/ emagill
/ writeremagill
/ e_magill
SAM IRVIN'S BOOK
The Epic Saga Behind Frankenstein: The True Story
a.co/d/1r2eRzW
MY BOOK, PARADOX
www.amazon.com/dp/150321978X
THE STREAMING HEAP
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/5UMysxa...
FROM HERE TO PATERNITY
TH-cam: / @fromheretopaternitypo...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/77qxdR1...
MY DISCORD SERVER
/ discord
----------
Some royalty-free assets taken from coverr.co, mixkit.co, and pexels.com
Dangerous by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/ - บันเทิง
I remember watching it as a kid in 1973. The early 70's was a great time for television horror movies.
This , Trilogy of Terror and The UFO Incident (not really horror, but creeped me the heck out) were some defining TV watching moments for me...
@@TexasNight Yep, and don't forget "The Night Stalker", "The Norliss Tapes" and "Don't be Afraid of the Dark".
@@TexasNight Also 'The Love War,' 'Gargoyles,' and 'The Power.' We probably watched way too much TV.
@@JoseyWales44s - Me too! This movie really scared me as a kid, then Kolchak continued to scare me every week (about a year later I think).
Excellent review of a TV classic. The scene which was infamous when I growing up was the Seymour head removal (at the time the UK had three channels) and FTTS was on through Xmas. We watched it as a family event and needless to say horrified gasps and nervous giggles ensued. Truly great for all its faults and anything with Mason and Richardson together worth watching
My favorite made for TV movie is “The Night Stalker” with Darren McGavin.
I watched this on TV when it was broadcast in 1973.
I also have it on DVD...👍
me too
I'd never even heard of this. I was born in 1968, so it fell through the cracks for me in terms of timing. I did watch the BBC 'Count Dracula' with Louis Jourdan last year and really enjoyed it.
My mother keeps telling me great things about it (the Louis Jourdan Dracula). I still haven't gotten around to my own viewing, though. Maybe this year!
The Jourdan version is very enjoyable. I saw it once on public television and had a good time. He had a great voice to begin with, so you add the Count to that and you have a winner of a film.
Our local PBS station used to run the Louis Jordan Dracula during halloween pledge drives and the $ would pour in every time.
My favorite made for TV horror is "The Night Stalker" I like "Frankenstein: The True Story" a lot. I saw them both when they first aired. "Frankenstein..." may have been the first where the monster makers didn't start out making monstrosities. Prima was a much more developed and interesting character than in other versions. An interesting aspect of the story is having a man, not the monster, being romantically interested in her even though he knew what she was. One can draw different conclusions from that. At the time male characters were often knowingly interested in characters they knew weren't really women.
I was ten years old when this was first aired on television, and I absorbed every moment of it. As a straight kid, I didn’t even consider the gay undertones, though I certainly did notice that certain ‘intimacy’ between Dr. Frankenstein and his creation; I just figured it was a ‘British’ thing and paid no mind to it. As a lifelong Monster Kid, I appreciated the subtle intricacies of the story, fleshing it out farther than Universal and Hammer Studios ever did. Like Shelley’s novel, it’s more of a human drama than an all-out horror film. The closest version of Frankenstein to the novel that I’ve seen, believe it or not, is the Hallmark production starring Luke Goss as the creation.
"The Gay Mafia", terms like that are so silly to me. I keep imagining one of those 1970s _Godfather_ films but with the main characters being very witty, not quite as violent (but still getting the job done), and more fashionable. :D
I have a vivid memory of watching this TV movie, but cannot recall if I saw it on a repeat broadcast or the first one. I was young, and there's one scene that remains tattooed on my brain ever since. It has to do with someone's head.
Now I will watch it again. And, hey, if Agnes Moorehead is in something, well, as a gay man then I'm almost honor bound to watch. She's always good in movies and teevee.
There is a movie where Patrick Stewart plays the leader of the “militant” gay group The Pink Panthers, and it is wonderful. Wish I could remember the name of it.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Was it "Jeffrey" from 1995 with Steven Weber of the sitcom Wings? Haven't seen that in a very long time. But I know my partner and I watched it back in the day on a VHS rental tape. (Yep, dating myself right there, it's like I just outed myself from the _Over 50_ Closet!)
@@eduardo_corrochio Yes! That’s it! I’ve been trying to remember that movie for years. Now I can find it again.
"The Gay Mafia" (or the Lavendar Mafia!) are such hilarious notions, i wonder why it was never made into a film (inevitably comedy)- but i figure it's far too late as many young queer folk (and their contemporaries) have probably never heard of it. Like Eduardo-Corrochio above, I too imagined the Godfather films (with the kiss of death being somewhat more ridiculous), and the infamous "horsehead -in the bed scene" being, hmm maybe Edith Head?
@@jackfriend4u Edith Head, now that would be a fun scene! :D Actually the horse head scene has been parodied a lot, as you probably know, from The Simpsons (delightful scene where Homer has hidden a new pony in Lisa's bed as a gift for her!) to Modern Family (brilliant sequence where Phil, while at a baptism, gets revenge on some bad kids with help from son Luke) ... and I assume the iconic scene is also poked fun at in comedy movies like Mafia! (1998) and The Godson (1998).
I am an old dude and remember seeing this when it was first broadcast.
I'm a huge sucker for Frankenstein films, and this was one of the better ones. The scene where the bandages are slowly removed from the monster's face to reveal, well, Michael Sarrazin is one of the very few times a face reveal actually made me jump. I'm so conditioned to expect masked characters to have horribly mutilated faces the switch really worked. The only real gay subtext I see personally was Clavel's apparent jealousy of Frankenstein's fiancee.
That said, I agree the biggest weakness is Frankenstein himself. He just doesn't drive the action, and I'm a little puzzled the original title was "Doctor Frankenstein" given how he's not really the protagonist. Of course, I don't think anyone really made Frankenstein the villain he was in the book. Peter Cushing got close, but the book's Frankenstein was a bit less ... overtly evil, I want to say?
This movie really messed me up. The murders were brutal and sat in my head for years. After a re-watch, I saw how it could affect a child. A nice choice for a review. As a gay man, I picked up on the subtext even when I was 9. It's nice to know that I was correct.
In the pre-cable era, it was definitely surprising how much they got past the censors. Pulling Jane Seymour's head off during an aristocratic dance event was forever printed in my brain; as was the deliciously looney and scene-stealing James Mason, when he got reduced to a skeleton by bolts of lightening, with shreds of fried guts hanging from it. I was too naive when I first saw it as a hetero to recognize the gay subtext, but years later when I knew what the script was doing, I thought it added a fun, quirky dimension to an early 19th century parable.
Fantastic review, as always, Eric!! My fave mase for TV movie is the 1997 mini series "House of Frankenstein"
Bisset? Wow, never got that till today. Thanks. Good video overall too. 👍
A great deep-cut review choice! There were 2 notable Frankensteins that year. The other was a Dan Curtis production with Bo Swenson. Dan did 4 very intriguing horror TV films in that era, post Dark Shadows and before Trilogy of Terror. All worth seeking out.
Mary Shelly has a grave marker in London. However, her body and that of her parents and son & Daughter-in-law, are actually buried in a graveyard in the south coast town of Bournemouth, where I was born and grew up in.
Never had time for this movie. I took the hype about it being the "true story" seriously. So when I saw how far removed from the source material it was it felt to me like a complete bait and switch. That it likely meant there wouldn't be a serious attempt at filming the actual novel for decades to come hacked me off as well.
Thanks for making this. I never knew exactly what Roy Ashton’s contribution to the film was.
I saw a part of "Frankenstein - The True Story" on TV as a kid. I can not believe that they showed that. To this day, I find that what the monster does at the dance ball is the most horrible thing that I remember in a made for TV movie. The fact that it involves the tragic bride, the beautiful Jane Seymour, fighting super-fiercely for her life before her head literally gets ripped off, makes it worse.
Thanks for this one! I still need it see it in full again, as it scared the crap out of me too much as a kiddo, at least the violence and the monster’s deterioration.
Thanks for all the background information! Beautifully done video. I saw it when it first aired and it was stunning, particularly Jane Seymour ( who turned 73 on February 15, 2024)!
And she’s STILL beautiful!
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Indeed!
Always been a fan of Jane Seymour
OMG, I had all but forgotten this one! As a kid I thought it was all kinds of fun! Thank you!
I’ve recently watched this, and I tend to agree with your review. Many great things about it but flawed. This is one of your best ever reviews.
As a 12 yo Frankie only fan, boy was I excited to see this show up out of blue as 'biggest TV event' on Aussie TV when it happened. It was not a 'TV movie', it was the first big-budget mini-series, followed by Richman/Poorman, Holocaust, and Roots. I missed the gay context then, and when I watched it a coupla years ago, because if you have ever read stuff from Mary Shelley's time, all the m/m and f/f seems pretty gay to our eyes. I also realised very quickly' 'The True Story' meant extrapolation, not faithful to the novel. I wrote my own in several novels and a play decades later, still inspired by the fundamental metaphor of the modern age, the Modern Prometheus, knowing that such illustrious artists and investors took it seriously enough for this show to happen.
Let me start by saying: Great Video. And thank you for the link; eventually I will either pick up the Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine issue or Sam Irvin's book, though both are fairly pricey. (Even in the Kindle version; might as well get the paper copy.)
I watched the original miniseries in 1973; I was either 7 or 8 (don't remember when on the calendar it aired), and probably too young to be watching this. Not because of the gay subtext ... that would go completely over my head, and I wouldn't see the miniseries again until Shout/Scream Factory made it available on what is now a treasured Blu-ray edition, but because I was very easily frightened at that age. Nevertheless, this stayed with me, probably due to the horror violence, especially the James-Mason-To-Skeleton lightning strike. It is amusing to wonder about naming it "The True Story", something taken to heart by that 7/8-year-old, considering that, as you have pointed out, it is no truer to the source material than any of the other adaptations. (Including the Branagh, a movie that I love.)
Were I to fuss about anything about this or any other visual adaptation, it would be the insistence on labeling Victor Frankenstein as "Doctor", despite that fact that in neither the original 1813 three-volume form nor the 1830-something revision is he actually attending school in Ingolstadt for medical purposes; his studies in "Natural Philosophy" are more chemical in nature than medical. Then again, nowhere does Mary Shelley go into any sort of detail as to how Victor Frankenstein discovers The Secret of Life or how The Creation was animated. Which is great, because the visualizations would come in to fill the void, in just about any and every way that looked good. (And, yes, I am very familiar with the book; I read the Leonard Wolf Annotated volume annually, along with DRACULA and DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE, during Halloween season, which, in our house, starts in August.)
Somehow I’ve never heard of it. As a kid, we only had an NBC station, so that might explain it, but I’m shocked I wasn’t at least aware of it.
Thanks for the education
I do remember watching the 1973 two night version on American television, although from the Canadian side of the border. It was definitely a talker among my friends into horror. Coincidently my favourite made for TV event was "Salem's Lot" featuring (once again) James Mason.
I would love to see your take on Dark Shadows, both the original TV series and the film House of Dark Shadows.
love hearing about old (er) productions that have somehow slipped right by me. I'm now compelled to seek it out and add it to my collection, which is primarily fantasy, horror, science fiction and anything that might constitute "art house" or Cult film. Just "discovered" Tod Slaughter!! Just subscribed to your channel and look forward to hearing your other reviews.
“Fantasy, horror, sci-fi…art-house”? You found the right channel methinks. Thanks for subscribing!
@@TheUnapologeticGeek would you consider the 1992 BBC production "Ghost Watch" worthy of an overview? I got to it at least 30 years too late, but that it pre-dates the likes of "The McPherson Tapes" or "The Blair Witch Project" it does make for an interesting faux document from an unlikely source. It didn't quite have the freak out effect of The Mercury Theater's "The War of the Worlds" broadcast, some 50 plus years prior, but apparently did get some viewers confused and frightened given its host was Michael Parkinson (renowned/respected etc interviewer,) playing himself adding to the idea that this was a real Halloween Special with a genuine, live- to- air feel of investigative reportage on a "true" ghost story. You can see how it might have influenced found footage scenarios from there on as well as the likes of Paranormal Activity/ Grave Encounters and the like.
@@jackfriend4u That would actually be a really interesting thing to tackle. I’ll see if I can track down a copy. For how infamous it is, I’ve never actually seen it!
I remember watching this on TV in 1973. I was 18 years old and thought Jane Seymour's character was a great combination of sexy and evil. I haven't seen it in years, so I cannot remember why the monster was mad at her and (upon finding her at that party) decided to kill her. But the scene of her going from dancing with the eligible men to fighting the monster (and then losing in a scene that's burned into my memory) may have been the first scene of graphic violence I ever saw on TV. I thought the cast and production was great. Now, you have me wanting to see the full length version of this again. Thanks for the great, detailed overview of the production (including learning how Jacqueline Bisset pronounces her name). Also... my favorite made for TV movie ever is 1983's "The Day After".
The Day After is on my short list. I hope to get to it soon!
I saw this as a teenager when it was rerun on the BBC one December in the 1990s. I'd recently read the novel, so I knew its title was a bit misleading, but I found it an interesting take on the story and an enjoyable watch. Favourite TV movie? I'll say "The Tractate Middoth", the 2013 entry in the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series.
Frankenstein: The True Story aired over two nights here in Australia on one of our then-four networks, but I can't remember which of the three commercial stations carried it. Anyway, I expect that the full US version was shown and I remember really liking it. I (still) haven't read Frankenstein so probably took it as being close to the "true" story, so I was impressed by the scenes set in the Arctic. The thought that an immortal monster still walks there is quite interesting.
A couple of disjointed comments from me. I'm a little surprised you didn't mention Warhol's Flesh For Frankenstein (1973) (I may just be flashing back to an Udo Kier image). I'm not sure if I've seen this one being that was only 7 years old when this came out (but I think I've seen the head removal scene and being chased out of the family room), although that didn't stop me from seeing Dracula Has Risen from the Grave around that time at a double feature. I was so into watching that but it scared the hell out of my older brother and he had to drag me out of the theater. But it also sounds like it had distribution issues as you laid out around the 18 minute mark. I'll definitely take a look for it. If a tv mini series counts. Salem's Lot (1979) probably tops my list.
Is that new credit sequence music. It sounds really good.
BTW. Last night on Dave Sundstrom's members stream I talked about a film he recently recommended that deserves some analysis but I was thinking it would be a great members only type of things and only if you've seen it.
At the risk of exposing your cabal to the hoi polloi, what movie did you have in mind?
@@indyspotes3310 Colossal. Don't look up any details of it unless you've already seen it.
@@seaninness334
I have not seen it, but I think I know what it is
Assuming I'm thinking of the correct trailer, did it star the lead from the film Havoc?
(That reference was chosen especially for you, Sean. ;) )
@@indyspotes3310 Yes... and in Love & Other Drugs which is a much better movie all around, BTW. 😉
I love the original Frankenstein and until today I have never even heard of this movie.
It’s on the list.
Could you do The Martian Chronicles? If Ray Bradbury found !it 'just boring' I would love the backstory on that one.
The scariest part about this Frankenstein adaptation is how the physical deterioration suffered by Michael Sarrazin's creature mirrors the AIDS epidemic that came a decade later.
You are simply just too damn smart for your own good :-) I couldn’t have written this with 800 monkeys and a room full of typewriters and 30,000 years
I would only watch or recommend the miniseries format, as that is what it was designed for. I have the dvd in my own collection. It DOES have some problems. While I don't agree with the host that the pacing was slow, I did get distracted by occasionally clumsy passages. Like early on, we see Victor Frankentstein's brother - who we learn didn't know how to swim - drowns in the middle of a lake by standing up in row boat and just stupidly flops over into the water. He becomes the body to serve the famous experiment. I also think the scene where Jane Seymour's first character is just standing in the middle of a dirt road and a guy driving a stagecoach just runs her down; when she easily would have heard it coming long before it could reach her. A really silly moment. But I ultimately brush these glitches off in favor of the overall text and resonance of this period piece.
1956's "The Werewolf" would be a cool video.
My favourite tv movie of all time is Tobe Hoopers' 1979 'Salem Lot'.
Would this station wagon be driven by the family Henderson?
I saw this when it was first broadcast in America, with my dad, who was a huge horror fan. Anyway, 12 year-old me did not get any homosexual text, or subtext, out of it. But I certainly was interested in Jane Seymour nearly popping out of her Empire Style gowns. But, alas, having her head pulled off was shocking. Come to think about it still have a bit of a thing for choker necklaces on long slender necks!
My guess is that the next review will be Harry and The Henderson's.
I watched this with my family on it's original broadcast. My favorite made-for-TV movie is probably Helter Skelter.
I never saw the first half of this on TV when it aired, only the second.
There's no way I was missing The Six Million Dollar Man on Friday nights.
Ah... the impeccable taste of a budding five year old nerd...
I believe it was re-aired at a later date, because I did manage to see it all some time later.
I found it far less enjoyable than the Hammer films, but not entirely without merit.
Of course, any "gay" subtext was lost on me completely back then.
Shoot. I wasn't even old enough to realize how hot Jane Seymour was yet.
But I did like arms moving around on their own. So there's that...
I saw this in 73 I was 13 just old enough to appreciate Jane Seymour lol
I’d add The Night Stalker which infused the 70’s paranoia of conspiracy thrillers into the horror genre.
Jane Seymour is gorgeous in this ! Man, I love that woman.....
Please review The Dark Secret of Harvest Home - 1978 tv mini-series and The Bermuda Depths 1978 tv movie -The Devil's Daughter 1973 tv movie -Thanks!
I’d say the closest we have to a faithful adaptation of Shelley’s novel is the 2004 Hallmark miniseries. Yes, that’s right, Hallmark. It’s actually pretty good.
You're not the first person to tell me that. I guess I'll have to check it out.
This one stuck with me. Horrific stuff for a young kid.
nice
I totally agree! A classic!
1931 classic Frankenstein is my favorite 🎉
Having skimmed the comments, I have little to add. I saw the original broadcast, and I loved it despite finding certain scenes extremely upsetting. Looking at its release date, I'm surprised to see that I was fourteen at the time. I recall my level of horror being that of a younger kid. Maybe I was a wuss, or maybe this was just unusually disturbing for TV. Or both.
I would have been about 9 when I saw this (on UK TV in 1975). It had a huge effect on me at the time and I remember being really taken by the idea of a beautiful creature who degenerates over time. I ended up with a bit of an aversion to Jane Seymour as she went on to star in an endlessly-repeated TV advert for a perfume called "Le Jardin," which contained a bunch of vapid dialogue that could easily be interpreted as the character Prima turning on the charm to try and hide her cruelty and selfishness. The adverts were repeated so often I began to long for a variant where Michael Sarazin appeared and tore her head off! Sorry Jane Seymour! I finally managed to pick the series up on DVD about 10 years ago and it still held up on re-watching.
I understand that anecdote. Adverts can ruin how I see some actors, especially when repeated over many years.
Still, Jane Seymour is awesome.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Yeah, I have to say that having re-watched a bunch of Jane Seymour's work over the last few years, my prejudice against her was unfounded. That particular advert was just so vapid, and on so often, it was like some kind of aversion therapy...
can you do an episode on the Boogen's?
I've added it to my list!
Have you seen Frankenstein Unbound (1990)?
Not yet! But it’s been on my list for years.
what version of the story is *more* faithful than this one?
Nothing I've seen. They always leave out the chase across the waters. Among other things.
Frankenstein The True Story. Which still isn't. No one has EVER adapted Mary Shelley's novel accurately. And, it's likely, no one ever will. But then since the Monster itself is in the public domain (ignoring the Universal and Hammer incarnations), no one has to.
❤ ജോർജ നമ്പർ ക്രിയേറ്റ്
The story is about two men creating life without a woman.
🌷 'Promosm'
Frankenstein the tune story is an excellent movie I have a copy , myself..., 👍🏻👍🏻 I dont Believe the gay mafia crap.....view the sci-fi classic
" 5 million years to earth " please
Rocky Horror did it better.
This movie was bad
Jane Seymour is gorgeous in this ! Man, I love that woman.....