The Illustrated Frankenstein Movie Guide
by Stephen Jones. Titan Books. Softcover. 144
pages. £9.99
 Occasionally
when all the hype over a new horror release is said and done, very little remains to
justify the huge marketing price tag, however, even if the film fails to live up to
expectations, as is so often the case with "new" releases that are just a rehash
of an age old plots and possibly set in outer-space to set it apart, there remains a
residue of tie-in publications of some merit.
After the excitement of MARY
SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN died down Stephen Jones' "...Frankenstein Movie
Guide" is one gem that remains. Like his earlier Vampire Guide and Dinosaur Guide, Stephen has produced a
thorough listing of all Frankenstein related titles. Again there are some outstanding
stills and posters accompanied by accurate research of even some of the earlier entries in
the sub-genre.
Included is a nice introduction by Boris Karloff taken from an article on horror he
wrote in 1957, brief, but obligatory profiles of those who have portrayed the monster and
mini-biographies of some of the supporting cast.
Make-up man Jack Pierce and director Terence
Fisher are given ample coverage, but space devoted to James Whale is noticeably much less.
This time around Stephen has used lightening
bolts as a rating guide, however, he does not claim to have seen every title and therefore
most of the silent entries are only given one bolt as they seemingly have been based on
contemporary reviews.
One rating proved unfathomable to this reviewer. How can Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein receive four and a half bolts
when Frankenstein is only awarded four?
That aside, this is well worth the investment
and I eagerly await the next addition to the series. Any guesses as to what it might be?
|
