Frankenstein (Hammer film series)
Frankenstein is the title of several horror-adventure films loosely based on the 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley, centered on Baron Victor Frankenstein, who experiments in creating a creature beyond human. Hammer Horror film series (1957–1974). The original series of films consisted of seven installments, which starred iconic horror actors such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Baron Victor Frankenstein and his creature respectively. The series of films is part of the larger Hammer Horror series. Producer Max Rosenberg originally approached Michael Carreras at Hammer Films with a deal to  produce "Frankenstein and the Monster" (Rosenberg claims that he came up with the title) from a script by Milton Subotsky. Later, both men were cut out of their profit participation making only a $5000 fee for bringing the production to Hammer. Rosenberg and Subotsky later established Amicus Films, Hammer's main rival in the production of horror films during the 1960s. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, who adapted Mary Shelley's novel for Hammer, never mentioned seeing Subotsky's script or being aware of Rosenberg's involvement. Sangster had worked as a production manager and said that he was keenly aware  of production costs and kept the budget in mind when writing the script. Sangster said that his awareness of cost influenced him to not write scenes involving the villagers storming the castle that was typically seen in the Universal horror films "because we couldn't afford it". Sangster in an interview with film historian Jonathan Rigby indicated that he hadn't seen any of the "Frankenstein" films that Universal made. He just adapted the book "the way I saw it". Peter Cushing, who was then best known for his many high-profile roles in British television, had his first lead  part in a film with "The Curse of Frankenstein". Meanwhile, Christopher Lee's casting resulted largely from his height (6'5"), though Hammer had earlier considered the even taller (6'7") Bernard Bresslaw for the role. Universal fought hard to prevent Hammer from duplicating aspects of their 1931 film, and so it was down to make-up artist Phil Leakey to design a new look for the creature bearing no resemblance to the Boris Karloff original created by Jack Pierce. Production of "The Curse of Frankenstein" began, with an investment of £65,000, on 19 November 1956 at Bray Studios with a  scene showing Baron Frankenstein cutting down a highwayman from a wayside gibbet. The film opened at the London Pavilion on 2 May 1957 with an X certificate from the censors. Hammer's first colour horror film, its worldwide success led to several sequels, the studio's new versions of "Dracula" (1958) and "The Mummy" (1959), and established "Hammer Horror" as a new distinctive brand of Gothic cinema. Section::::"Tales of Frankenstein" television pilot. In 1959, Hammer shot a half-hour pilot episode for a television series to be called "Tales of Frankenstein", in association with Columbia Pictures, directed by Curt Siodmak . Anton Diffring played the Baron, and Don Megowan his creation. The series was scrapped, largely because of the two companies' disagreement over what the basic thrust of the series would be: Hammer wanted to do a series about Baron Frankenstein involved in various misadventures, while Columbia wanted a series of loosely-connected science fiction loosely based around the idea of science gone wrong. Though unreleased at the time of its production, the episode is available on DVD from several public domain sources. Though the series was never produced, Anthony Hinds commissioned several scripts that provided Hammer with material for their  later "Frankenstein" films, specifically "Frankenstein Created Woman" and "The Evil of Frankenstein".