The last association that Boris Karloff had with the Frankenstein character came in this low budget Allied Artists film that I remember seeing in the theater in 1958. It was not the best of endings.This time Boris Karloff is playing the last descendant of the Frankenstein clan who's an old man and who in his youth was tortured by the Nazis in an effort to divulge Frankenstein family secrets. It left him quite understandably twisted.Karloff is putting up with a movie company who is shooting on his castle grounds, no doubt shooting a film like Frankenstein 1970, a low budget thriller. The money they're paying him however is paying for an atomic reactor, something his ancestor didn't have, maybe that's the missing ingredient.Of course the bodies start falling, four of them to be precise as Karloff searches for what he needs to revive the Frankenstein monster which he has found and preserved.Boris Karloff and his contemporary Bela Lugosi did both great horror films and a lot of junk. Frankenstein 1970 sad to say falls in the latter category.

Dismal, low-budget horror film shot (for no good reason) in Cinemascope. It starts off great with a young, screaming woman being chased around on a dark, foggy night by a barely glimpsed monster. The sequence is beautifully atmospheric and hearkens back to the glory days of Universal horror movies. Sadly, this is the best sequence in the entire movie. Then it turns out it's only a movie being filmed near Baron Fankenstein's (Boris Karloff) estate. Yup there's ANOTHER Frankenstein who is a victim of Nazi tortures. For no discernible reason he's making a monster too...and decides to use the film crew and cast for parts.Karloff hams it up and has a whale of a time with his performance. That alone gives it two stars. The rest of the film is drab and dreary with a pointless plot full of loopholes (just why is Frankenstein making another monster?) and one of the stupidest "monsters" ever seen. It's just some clown in a big ill-fitting suit made of bandages--everything is covered including his head! All the victims seem so terror stricken at this that they never run away and politely stand there and let the monster kill them (never shown). Truthfully they should all be helpless with laughter at this! There's next to no blood or gore either. This was 1958--blood WAS being shown in horror movies at this time but this one shies away from it. Also what's with the title? The 1970 implies a futuristic angle. Aside from reanimating the monster from an atomic reactor there's NOTHING futuristic or new here! It's also flatly directed not using the large Cinemascope image at all. Also with the exception of Karloff and Charlotte Austin the acting is truly terrible. Worst of all Karloff was pretty obviously in poor health when he did this and it's somewhat uncomfortable to see him slowly walking around slowly bent over and looking terrible. A very depressing poor horror film. Karloff deserved better. I give it a 2.

In this incarnation of the Frankenstein films, it is set in the present time and the great-great-great-great grandson (I probably missed or added a 'great') is hosting a Hollywood crew in his castle. They are filming their own Frankenstein film. Why would the Doctor allow them into his home and disturb his peace? Because the money they give him will enable him to continue his research--to make his own Frankenstein monster. Apparently, this Baron needs the funds for his own atomic reactor!! In this film, Boris Karloff plays the Doctor instead of the monster. One oddity about this man is that he was apparently badly tortured by the Nazis and his face is a mess and he has a bad hunched over limp. However, if you watch the film carefully, you'll probably notice that his paralyzed left side of his face changes throughout the film. Sometimes it looks worse than others and it's pretty dead looking, while other times it looks almost normal. Great continuity, huh? Like other Frankensteins, this one is rather amoral and will do ANTHING to further his studies--even kill.This incarnation of Frankenstein is an idiot. After all, instead of going out into the hinterland and killing for body parts, he starts killing members of the crew as well as his friend and butler. And, with his family history, you can't help but assume this Frankenstein is a complete and total moron. As for the monster, you don't even get to see its face until the very end. It's a nice final scene, but also seemed to be too late in coming. Because, by the end of the film, my attention was waning because the story really wasn't that different or interesting to warrant the film to be made in the first place.By the way, why did the doctor need a nuclear reactor--the other Frankensteins did great without one. Also, why kill repeatedly?! Why did he need to keep killing people for various parts? Couldn't he have just harvested the eyes and other parts from the first victim?! Overall, worth watching if you are a die-hard Karloff fan, otherwise this is, at best, a time-passer.

Frankenstein 1970 (1958) ** (out of 4) Baron Frankenstein (Boris Karloff), disfigured after being tortured by Nazi's, is running out of money so he lets a TV station shoot a documentary inside his castle about the legendary monster. What the TV crew doesn't know is that the Baron has used the money off the project to bring back another monster. This film tries to be "hip" and "fun" but it's really neither and remains quite dull all the way to the end. Karloff manages to give a fun, if campy, performance, which is the only real reason to watch this. I managed to get my hands on an incredibly rare 2.35:1 print of this and I must say this has some of the laziest scope cinematography ever.