Manchester University Press
4 Frankenstein and Dracula
Abstract
Frankenstein (or the monster that often goes under his name) and Dracula are without doubt the two ‘stars’ of the horror genre as well as being the most influential and widely known products of literary gothic. This raises the question of how Hammer’s Frankenstein and Dracula cycles relate to the earlier novels and films which originated and developed these figures. To put it another way, how can one conceive of Frankenstein’s and Dracula’s historical passage from their nineteenth-century literary origins to their entrance into British cinema in the 1950s? This chapter considers the ways in which Hammer established its own versions of the Baron and the Count, how it differentiated them from earlier versions, and how these figures were developed throughout the cycles in which they featured. As far as the latter is concerned, one often finds – particularly in the Frankenstein cycle – that there is rather more innovation and rethinking than one might have supposed.
Abstract
Frankenstein (or the monster that often goes under his name) and Dracula are without doubt the two ‘stars’ of the horror genre as well as being the most influential and widely known products of literary gothic. This raises the question of how Hammer’s Frankenstein and Dracula cycles relate to the earlier novels and films which originated and developed these figures. To put it another way, how can one conceive of Frankenstein’s and Dracula’s historical passage from their nineteenth-century literary origins to their entrance into British cinema in the 1950s? This chapter considers the ways in which Hammer established its own versions of the Baron and the Count, how it differentiated them from earlier versions, and how these figures were developed throughout the cycles in which they featured. As far as the latter is concerned, one often finds – particularly in the Frankenstein cycle – that there is rather more innovation and rethinking than one might have supposed.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- A return to Hammer and Beyond 1
-
Part I: Hammer and beyond: the British horror film
- Introduction to the first edition 29
- 1 For sadists only? The problem of British horror 32
- 2 1945–55 55
- 3 1956–64 89
- 4 Frankenstein and Dracula 137
- 5 1964–69 171
- 6 Horror and the family 202
- Conclusion 232
-
Part II: Selected writings on British horror film
- The Amicus House of Horror 237
- American vampires in Britain 255
- Putting the Brit into Eurohorror 274
- Afterword 291
- Select bibliography 296
- Index 304
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Acknowledgements xi
- A return to Hammer and Beyond 1
-
Part I: Hammer and beyond: the British horror film
- Introduction to the first edition 29
- 1 For sadists only? The problem of British horror 32
- 2 1945–55 55
- 3 1956–64 89
- 4 Frankenstein and Dracula 137
- 5 1964–69 171
- 6 Horror and the family 202
- Conclusion 232
-
Part II: Selected writings on British horror film
- The Amicus House of Horror 237
- American vampires in Britain 255
- Putting the Brit into Eurohorror 274
- Afterword 291
- Select bibliography 296
- Index 304
