JESSE
JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1966)Director: William Beaudine
Elite Entertainment
JESSE
JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1966)In the annals of bad movie critique
and banter, the title JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER often gets a
mention. Surely, the titular mix of horror and western themes was derived to
push enticing advertising and poster art before flocks of eager drive-in audiences
rather than to represent a film of any artistic or ingenious merit. JESSE JAMES
MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER encourages me to once again bring up that age-old
cliche, "so bad it's good" or is it just "so bad?"
JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER is the last film of William Beaudine, who also directed its double-bill companion piece, BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA. Although "One-Shot" Beaudine directed over 250(!) films since the silent era, these are two he's often remembered for, as you'll rarely see a bio of the man without them listed. Beaudine also gave us a number of East Side Kids/Bowery Boys comedies, some Lugosi B-level chillers, Bruce Lee on American TV, and 175 westerns.
Anyway,
JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER has a rather kindly Jesse James (John
Lupton) and his muscular but simple friend Hank Tracy (Cal Bolder) teaming up
with a gang of outlaws to rob a stagecoach. It all turns out to be a trap, and
Hank gets shot. Jesse takes the injured Hank to a small town where everybody
appears to have deserted except for Mexican spitfire Juanita (Estelita Rodriguez)
and her parents. Juanita reluct
antly
escorts Jesse and Hank to the house of Dr. Maria Frankenstein (Narda Onyx),
who is actually the granddaughter of the famous namesake. Dr. Maria and her
brother (Steven Geray) are performing brain transplants, and they eventually
transform Hank into a shirtless hulking bald mess with stitches around his head--and
he's now called Igor!
JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S
DAUGHTER is a very slow and talky, but for some unexplainable reason, is able
to keep the bad movie fan like myself engrossed from one scene to the next.
Beaudine shows that he was more proficient with standard old west melodramas
rather than horror, since the Frankenstein angle is not given as much screen
time. Narda Onyx completely overacts, as does Estelita Rodriguez but their performances
are actually kind of fun in a ridiculous way. Short, mustached Steven Geray
(who around the same time filmed inserts for the American TV showing of EVIL
OF FRANKENSTEIN) gives us some unintentional laughs with his f
acial
expressions and his frequent roaming over to a bottle with skull and crossbones--which
he uses to protest and infiltrate his sister's experiments. There are lots of
unconvincing matte shots, ranch locations and sets from other movies, and although
the Frankenstein lab is decent, its machinery and props don't fare nearly as
well. A modified plastic army helmet is used as an electrical head device! Look
for Jim Davis (DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, "Dallas") as the sheriff,
and CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON star Nestor Paiva in a small role. This movie
also has the funniest tombstone marking that you'll ever witness!
Previously available on VHS through
Embassy Home Entertainment, MGM used the identical transfer for their "Midnight
Movies" series, but never advanced the title to DVD. Elite has finally
remedied that with this DVD edition, and it's a suitable one at that. Presented
for the first time in its theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 (with Anamorphic enhancement),
the framing suits the film well and helps it less resemble a shoddy 60s TV show,
which it often does. Colors are bold for the most part, with some occasional
muting. The print source is in very good shape, with only a few blemishes. Detail
is strong, with several "day for night" shots instigating darkness
on the screen. The mono audio is clear and works fine with the cheapy film at
hand.
This is the first in a new series of "Joe Bob Briggs Presents," where the onetime cable TV host and drive-in film spokseman will do a running commentary on classic B movies. Briggs' commentary is a welcomed asset to the DVD, as he gives us humor and points out the absurdity of the film in such a way that you can tell he honestly loves these types of movies. Lots of the information that he relays can be easily found via the internet, but Briggs also makes amusing comments about particular scenes, gives his own views on the director's talents, and describes it as a "resume killer" as it was the final film for most of the cast. Briggs is a lot of fun and is the right man for the job. Also included is the theatrical trailer. (George R. Reis)