The plan for today was to write about TV adaptations of Frankenstein. While doing research it became clear that there were quite a few TV adaptations and I’d seen very few of them. So let’s look at two adaptations I have seen, both from 1973.
“Frankenstein” 1973 AKA “Dan Curtis Frankenstein” AKA “The Wide World of Mystery Frankenstein Parts 1 & 2” was (and is) the most faithful adaptation of the classic novel IMHO. It was a Dan Curtis production broadcast as part of ABC’s late night programming. Originally shown in two 90 minute episodes it looked fairly cheap even in 1973. It was shot on videotape as were most of the entries in The Wide World of Mystery. The cast was excellent and most of the sets were, if not lavish, more than serviceable. The listed running time for the entire production is 180 minutes (two 90 minute episodes) but this was late night TV which meant there were a LOT of commercial breaks. The best estimate that can be made is that most of the WWOM episodes contained between 67 and 70 minutes of content which would indicate the entire production ran around 134 – 140 minutes. The only existing version today is a single “movie” running 125 minutes. It’s still worth seeking out, even in a possibly truncated form.
“Frankenstein: The True Story” 1973 is a puzzling title. To anyone who has actually read the classic novel, it’s clear that this is certainly not true to the novel. That’s not to say it’s not a star studded, lavish production in every way. It looked good enough to be on the big screen and a truncated two hour version did make its way to movie theaters in the UK and Europe. If one can look at this as a story unto itself, there’s quite a lot to like here. The direction, casting, and art direction are exceptional, especially for a TV production. It was shot on film and this gave it a much better look than the earlier 1973 production. It was also broadcast in prime time and was event viewing in 1973. This one is easy to find and worth your time to track down and watch.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at two more recent films: “Diabolic” 2025 and “Dead Bloom” 2026.
See you then.
