The discussion is still available on YouTube and was an utterly enjoyable goodhearted chat between the two about their personal fascination with Hammer Films as well as about the fandom those movies generated. There was lively audience participation in the form of chat messages that the two picked up and elaborated on.
In the context of this movie they mentioned that it’s often criticised for not featuring enough of Peter Cushing but that it never bothered them personally.
Must admit that I also never took note of that before though this rewatch made me notice that he did indeed spend possibly less time on screen than in other outings, however, this production is notable for introducing us to a range of other truly memorable supporting characters (including Susan Denberg’s gender bending meat-cleaver swinging Christina) that it actually would have been a shame to lose time with them in exchange for more time with Cushing’s character so it’s probably fair to say that even though from a purely time on the screen perspective there was indeed less Cushing in this film than in others of the series but what we did get was more than sufficient for this particular story.
Part of the discussion also focused on their desire to explore Queer Hammer more and of course this movie is quintessentially queer whether it is the overt gender transfer between Christina and Hans (Robert Morris) or the more implied charmingly doddering bromance between Frankenstein and Thorley Walters’ Dr. Hertz.
So much to appreciate in this, one of Hammer’s most unusual productions. If only they’d have gone even further and also included that wraparound bandages bikini style outfit that was used in the film's poster and promotional material for Susan Denberg….
Really glad that this discussion made me return to Frankenstein Created Woman again and hope that there will be more similar live streams to follow.
Below samples of some German and US lobby cards for this film as well as the recording of the live stream. (Best to watch it directly on YouTube though to properly read the parallel chats between the audience members.)
German Lobby Cards:
Thanks, Holger. Glad you enjoyed Frankenstein Created Woman on rewatching. It's one of those films I love more with every rewatch, and I think it was Thorley's character that I most enjoyed the last time I saw it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in Holger, and I'm glad the chat prompted a revisit.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot to be got out of FCW re its positioning of gender and queer. It's remarkably forward thinking in that respect too - there's no criticism or lampooning of the characters within the film because of their ambiguity sex wise - though being a virgin still merits derision for some of the unsavoury types in the film.
If we keep these Hammer-specific chats going in some form, I'm sure we'll get back to FCW.
I haven't seen this in years, and after watching some other later Hammers that have become available on VOD recently, (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Twins of Evil, etc.), I was hoping to watch it, but it doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere. I remember the intriguing premise, and I've also read some things recently about some people being left cold by it. Guess I'll have to break down and buy the Blu-ray! :)
ReplyDeleteI find Hammer films are notoriously difficult to find on streaming in general at least in my neck of the woods.
ReplyDeleteBritbox has about 12 Hammer titles, plus the Hammer House of Horror TV series, but I'm guessing that's only in the UK.
ReplyDeleteYep, my neck of the woods is remoter than yours. I'd probably need to play around with some VPN settings to get access to Britbox but just can't be bothered. I believe TUBI has a handful as well. For them I do actually mess around with VPN settings and pretend to be in the US. It's a free service but sponsored by advertisement every 20 minutes or so, so it feels like you are watching it on TV but they have a lot of otherwise obscure stuff so don't mind that too much.
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