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Creepy Classics Spotlight Movie Last Weekend - FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1958)
Every week, readers here are selecting a movie to view...then we all try to watch it together utilizing our DVD/video library. This past Saturday night, many of us watched FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1958). This was suggested by Herb Salisbury, Everett, WA. Details about movie nights to come are HERE. Please include your name and location after your comments, so we can see how we're all joining together from diffeent locals around the globe! Let's all Synch-Up Saturday nights at 7:30PM, or catch this week's movie sometime over the weekend!
 Talk about a difference in budget and style from last week's film (HORROR OF DRACULA). Both made in 1958!
But, I tell you what. There's never a dull moment in this rocking, anf just plain nutty, monster movie. Obviously made for the teen market in the US and it delivers what it probably intended.
Besides getting two monsters, one female (left) and one monster with a big male body and a transplanted, hideously disfigured female head! So crazy. But more memorable than the wonderfully over-the-top monster make-ups is the sincere acting from Dr. Frank (really Dr. Frankenstein hiding his identity!). He disagrees with everyone, despises everyone sooner or later and is jst a mean guy! His lines are so outrageous, it'll have you laughing out loud every time.
-Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Wecome to a night of terror! My commentary of my first viewing of this always maligned schlock classic. I come in with low expectations, hoping for a laugh or two with its ineptitude.
 The DVD I am looking at is impressive in its quality and clearness. Perhaps the movie will surprise me too?
Susy will be important if it kills her...????
The old doctor, where have I seen him before? Off to IMDB to find out! Oh, Star Trek, Deadly Years, and Curse of the Faceless Man, which I just saw this year.
The bad guy was a prominent villain in a Get Smart episode, one of my favorite shows.
The name is Frank...reminds me of Young Frankenstein.
I feel sorry for Trudy, so many old guys after her.
You know, the makeup on the ugly Trudy ain't too bad. Creepy!
Another familiar face...Lt. Boyle was in a lot of stuff in his career.
Didn't the Police grab Trudy, how'd she get back in the house?
I wonder if the blonde is the head Dr. Frank is looking for.
What a goofy conversation with the two girls...You want everything...and shes claiming that she is the monster!
Susy is pretty easy! Name, address, and a date. I wonder what her folks think?
Don't come any closer...leave me alone...so much conviction! Needs to go to acting school for sure!
What a gruesome corpse with that broken leg.
Tonight you'll be alive again you vixen!
The females brain is conditioned for the man's world. She'll take orders where the others didn't.
This kind of thinking sparked the women's lib movement.
Have you ever had Sandra Knight at the Bash?
 Frankensteins Daughter! Uggggllllyyyy!!!
Again, the makeup isn't the worst I have seen in this type of pic, but he sure did mess up Susy!
I like the little jig she does with her hands when she walks.
Dig them groovy Frankenstein boots!
Interesting cut from injection to bongos, gave me a jolt!
Sure looks like Susy dancing there...Her twin sister?
Corny 50's combo, perfect for your radio station Ron!
See the girl with white streak in her hair? Homage to Bride of Frankenstein.
8 minutes to go and we are getting a tour of the lab.
Well I survived the tortue chamber of the Monster Bash Synch group, Frankensteins Daughter. It wasn't all bad, that is what happens when you enter a movie with REAL low expectations! You end up liking it. It was fun while it lasted, not boring, but I am glad it is over. See you next week for Invaders from Mars!!!
Ken
San Luis, Mexico
I have always loved this movie and I think because I have always had a crush on Sally Todd.
Don Murphey plays the grandson of Dr. Frankenstein and he is working to create life, and what a life he creates!!
A melted faced monster in a weird rubber suit. John Ashley and lovely Sandra Knight are the hero and heroine being menaced by the monster.
A great 50's schlockfest and a heck of a lot of fun.
Kevin Coon
Twin Falls, Idaho
 Anyone out there remember Pickwick Records? They made quick knock off LPs
in the 1960s. These would be quickly recorded by studio musicians to
capitalize on a dance craze like the twist or (one of my favorite LPs as a
kid) songs inspired by the Batman comic book. They were sort of pseudo
rock and roll, not the real thing, but for 99 cents you couldn't really
complain. Frankenstein's Daughter is like that, a pseudo horror film, or
maybe a pseudo film that is based on the horror genre. Of course, even
the most silly, slap-dash production can have it's moments (after all Lou
Reed and John Cale worked for Pickwick Records and went on to form The
Velvet Underground) In the case of this film, I rather enjoyed the over
the top manic look of Donald Murphy as Oliver Frank (Frankenstein)He
played the evil character with a nice touch of demented glee mixed with
snarky venom. And when he got the acid in the face in the final fight
scene- yowza!
 Quick question - why should every monster in a low budget film like this
walk with their hands in out in front like that? are they afraid they'll
fall? And these guys were supposed to be teenagers? Sally Todd was the
perfect sleazy victim although she looked and acted more like a middle
aged barfly. Oh well, I guess you really do have to put your mind in
neutral with a film like this. The rock and roll numbers were wonderfully
cheezey (notice how everyone could join in on the background vocals? I
guess they all must be members of the choir at the senior center..er, I
mean, high school!) Interesting that the last two films in the
Bash-Synchers Line Up were both made in 1958, guess it shows what a
difference a budget, a good script, director and actors can make! One
last important question - what sort of chemical compound do you suppose
John Ashley was wearing to keep his hair in place? No doubt this was some
sort of cold war military experiment that has yet to be un-classified.
Sally Todd is interviewed in the latest issue of Filmfax, here's what she
has to say about FD "Come on, the film is terrible, the script is
unbelievable, and the directing was almost completely non-existent, in
fact I think the director, Richard Cunha was a myth, we never saw him on
the set" Hard to argue with Ms. Todd's assessment.
-Kevin Slick, Colorado
Hi Ron,
Here are my thoughts on FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.
 A convertible and a hot blonde – a real 1950s vibe.
I love the antagonistic relationship between the two medical researchers. Dr. Frank is a real smart aleck/know-it-all. And Carter gets befuddled so easily (“Everything is going wrong. I can’t work today.”) that it’s comic.
It’s so odd to see a Frankenstein movie set in modern surburbia.
A female monster in a swimsuit. Now there’s a lurid image.
The Trudy monster really needs to wax her eyebrows.
Arranging auto accidents to get fresh body parts. Very efficient.
If I were piecing together a monster from scratch, I’m not sure I would use the brain of a female sexpot.
“A female brain is used to taking orders.” I wish I could convince my wife of that.
The Suzie monster is one ugly looking thing too. I guess Dr. Frank isn’t up on cosmetic surgery.
The music interludes pad out the running time for no good reason. And “Special Date” sure sounds a lot like Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
 Hearing Dr. Frank beaming with pride abut his train wreck of a creation is a very bizarre moment.
FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER has a few novel plot twists but the execution is rather flat. I’ll give it one and a half star (and I’m probably being generous).
“If you get into trouble, it’ll bring the police here. And we don’t want that, do we?”
Steven Thornton, Lasalle, Mich.
Hi Everybody!---Boy, Talk about going from the PENTHOUSE (my last weekend`s selection "Horror Of Dracula") to the OUTHOUSE (this past weekend`s selection "Frankenstein`s Daughter")---What a drastic difference in quality horror entertaiment! That being said- I sure have fond childhood memories of watching this classic low-budget feature on Superhost`s show many times during the 1970`s when I was growing up as a "MONSTA-KID" in good-old PARMA,OHIO! during the mid-1970`s ---
 1) When I first saw this film back in 1973 (I was only 6 years old!) -What scared and impressed me the most was the monster that appeared in the beginning of the movie!! (the lead female character Trudy Morton transformed by that awful chemical Degenerol hidden in her fruit punch into a bushy-eyebrowed buck-toothed wrinkled-faced monster) I was scared out of my wits!- Now-years later, I can see how cheesy the make-up is by the immortal Harry Thomas and Paul Stan (Hope?) - Including- dressing our main creature (played by Harry Wilson) in wading boots, black rubber gloves and a shiny black rubber suit (WHAT A LET-DOWN!). And to top it all off, he (she) it ??- Is wearing lipstick! - Yeah- Boy!- I sure wouldn`t want to take this as my very own creation (Don`t know what Good Old Dr. Frank was thinking here!)
2) Gotta Love Donald Murphy`s potrayal of Dr, Frank(enstein) in this one! - he really goes over the top (similar yet different in style to Michael Gough`s potrayals in "Horrors Of The Black Museum" {1958} "Konga" {1961} and "The Black Zoo" {1963) when considering his wild, psychotic facial expressions of lust, power and madness when he talks about creating his ultimate "obediant" creation.
3) Interesting to note that actress Sandra Knight was married to Jack ("Here`s Johnny"!!!) Nicholson a few years after this film came out! (They were married from 1962-1968) and both starred in the Roger Corman directed film "The Terror" (1963) together! -I wonder if Jack has ever watched "Frankenstein`s Daughter" after he has come home from a Laker`s game?!
4) Actress Sally Todd (Suzie Lawler) was the Playboy Playmate Of The Month for Feburary Of 1957.
 5) Nice to see a young John Ashley in this film. Too Bad he is not given much to do until the climax of the movie! (Dumping the corrosive acid into Dr.Frank`s face and ruining his complexion!) Later on, he would work on the Phillipino horror films for which he is more famous for.
6) It is always nice to see Monster Bash alumni in a film! Here, Robert Dix makes an appearance as the ill-fated Detective Dillon (who gets strangled by our resident butt-ugly creature)
7) Lastly, what would this movie be without that AWFUL music soundtrack. The music by the Pete Cavanaugh Trio absolutely made my head HURT really BAD - Wow! (The Beach Boys They Ain`t Folks!)
8) Also- How about that hilarious fainting scene by Sandra Knight (TRUDY) when she opens the door and the creature shambles in! - You can see her arm move AFTER she faints and she is supposed to be unconscious- Didn`t someone give her directions on being still?? OH BOY!
---With that I give you my rating for this guilty pleasure: 1.5/5 stars. (Sorry People, But This One Is A Stinker!)- Dan Brenneis- Strongsville, Ohio- Monster Bash Staff Member and LifeTime FilmFan Extroadinairre.
This is a classic!
 I understand its BAD, but this movie has elements that can't be
overlooked...you got a werewolf teenagerchick in a bathing suit, a
house in the suburbs with a wine cellar that has been turned into a
multi-strory labratory, the ever-present bookcase that opens to a lab,
Dr. Frank, Carter's sarcastic ego bloated side-kick assistant that
takes over the lab, a headless body, and John Ashley with his ever-
cool turned up collar (I love how supportive he is to his
girlfriend,but actually doesn't believe her even after the police
DO!).
 Sally Todd and Harold Lloyd Jr. (!), a rockin' teenage combo
playing the lameset songs ever, a lead singer that won't take his hand
out of his pocket (can't quite figure that out and not sure I want
to), a pool party at Harold Lloyd Sr's. house, an 90-year old man
stealing chemicals from a lab and being shot at!!! All for the much
needed Dygeneral, a substance that will help eliminate sickeness and
disease from the world, a sex starved crazy doctor that likes to run
over his date with a car and then stick her head on a male body in a
Santa suit with rubber gloves. (I love how she knocks at the door and
scares the crap out of Trudy when she opens it!)
 A true classic that
is chock full of unbelievable plots, characters, and songs!
Stands right there next to The Brain That Wouldn't Die as far as lurid
crazy doctor movies! A favorite of my buddy Herb (who suggested we
all watch this in the first place) and mine.
Next week...Invaders From Mars!!! The ALL-TIME classic of the
ages!!! Can't wait!!!
-Toebe Bush
  I love this movie, watch it atleast 4 times a year, on my 1990 videotape. I am screening, right before "The Invaders." (A 60s TV show that came on at 5 am) I like Dr. Frank's ambition to create a "female" monster! Suzie Lawler (Sally Todd) was beautiful, voluptuous, but in this movie - a bad girl! Dr. Frank turned her into what she was on inside, a bad girl! -Heh! This reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where people's faces look like masks they wore.
-David "Rock" Nelson, Des Plaines, IL!
 You can get the DVD of FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1958) in the Complete DVD Catalog in-line at Creepy Classics.
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