As usual, Karloff gives it his all. Sadly this film lets him down. As the last of the Frankenstein's, he needs money to continue his experiments to continue his notorious ancestors experiments. While this isn't that good, it's still better than nearly anything on the SyFy channel.

Boris Karloff(at the low-point of his brilliant career) plays Victor Von Frankenstein, last-surviving descendant of the original Baron Frankenstein(though NOT connected to the Universal Studios series Karloff had starred in!) who, because of financial necessity, allows a film crew to make a movie of his ancestors in his castle; the money he receives he plans to use to create a new monster, this time by using atomic energy generated by his own reactor. The actors from the film will make very convenient parts to compose the new monster, much to their surprise and horror... Pathetic attempt at a "futuristic" Frankenstein film is an abject failure, both poorly made and written, with Karloff looking embarrassed about the whole thing; thankfully, his career would pick up soon when he was chosen to host "Thriller"...

all except for the monster who has none, yet somehow manages to find its victim even though Dr. Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) dropped the jar of the eyes from his previous victim, which he kept in his refrigerator, right next to the pickles. Indeed, it looks like he has a treasure trove of foreign beers in that refrigerator for celebrating once his experiment is complete.Almost 20 years since he played this Dr. Frankenstein's ancestor's monster, Karloff now gets to collect the body parts for this pathetic creature which has laid in slumber in the family crypt for over a hundred years. Now some Hollywood film crew is on the estate and Karloff, desperate for money, gets the itch of his ancestors when he suddenly begins playing the organ in a terrifying manor. Karloff manages to hypnotize his family retainer into becoming the first victim to provide the monster with necessary body parts (which they must have run out of at the local Piggly Wiggly) by simply waving his scalpel at the dumbbell.You will hoot, you will howl at the idiotic dialog, not only of Karloff who explains everything he is doing into a reel-to-reel tape-recorder (remember those?) so the audience doesn't have to suspend its belief as to what he is doing. And with times having changed since the days of the original Frankenstein (minus Frau Brucher---she comes later), the doctor has the advantage of some modern appliances to help him with his nefarious experiments. Add on some stupid Hollywood types to provide the drive-in audiences with moments of time to do things other than watch the movie. This is the type of film that screams for Elvira or the two robots from Mystery Science Theater.

This film has only ever been shown once in my neck of the woods and on a minor Sicilian TV channel at that so, despite its negative reputation, I've always wanted to see it. After all, it does have Boris Karloff playing the Baron for once…even if, for some strange reason, he is named Victor here while his notorious ancestor is called Richard!!The film's pre-credit sequence, in which a German fraulein is being pursued through the forest by a barely-glimpsed fiend is promising enough but, as it turns out, it's also the best sequence in the whole film…which ought to give you an idea about the worthiness of the whole enterprise. However, even from this first sequence, one is made aware of the sheer ineptness of the direction: it not only cuts away from one character to another with a boring regularity but the sequence is framed in such a way as to cut the creature's head off! This factor cannot be attributed to watching a pan-and-scan version because, surprisingly enough, the film was being shown in the correct widescreen ratio. This is exacerbated as the film goes along by the director's apparent refusal (in some sequences, at least) to move the camera in any way; I don't know if this was an attempt on his part to satirize the TV medium (given that it is, after all, a TV crew which impounds on the Baron's home ground) but I'd be surprised if the thought had occurred to the director in the first place. Coming hot on the heels of Hammer's full-blooded color version, it would have been a daunting task for anyone I presume… Of course, it goes without saying that Karloff gives it his all (particularly during a rehearsal for the upcoming TV show in which he narrates straight to the camera his ancestor's diabolical deeds) and sometimes it's hard to watch him simply walking around the castle as the evident strain this is having on his legs is palpable and there were a couple of times where I could have sworn he lost his footing! Even so, apparently this does not detain him from creating the monster and installing the all-important atomic reactor (which is barely glimpsed in the film anyhow) single-handedly. It's incredible to note that, despite his failing health, some of Karloff's best work - Roger Corman's THE RAVEN (1963), Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH (1963) and Peter Bogdanovich's TARGETS (1968) - was yet ahead of him! Still, even here - with the haphazard appearance of the Baron, whose misshapen face apparently gets "lifted" every once in a while! – the film's limitations make themselves felt. And why is it that every mad scientist out there has to be an accomplished pianist as well? Why not try your hand at an electric guitar, Herr Baron…after all, we're in the age of Chuck Berry here, aren't we? Er…no - make that 1970: "Monster making is for me, like…you know…outta sight, man"!! And how about that deadening monotone music during the laboratory sequences? Also, the less said about the goofy mummy…er…monster, the better! To top it all, there's an execrable attempt at an echo but the dialogue spoken in the cavern (the site of the Doc's lab) is totally all over the place and overlaps ad infinitum!I know Joe Karlosi (if he's still around, that is) won't be too pleased with my review of this one as I know this is one of his guilty pleasures…but I have to say that my negative impressions were certainly amplified by the abysmal state (correct aspect ratio notwithstanding) of the print I watched which was replete with print damage and missing frames which not only managed to shorten the film to around 70 minutes (against the official 83!!) but also made the parts of the narrative and the revelatory climax particularly incoherent! Recently, there's been some talk of an upcoming Warners DVD of this one and, strange as it may sound, I hope it does materialize as I wouldn't put it past me to give this clunker another chance under more ideal circumstances. For the moment, however, I suppose even LADY FRANKENSTEIN (1971) is preferable…!