Frankenstein (1973)

Directed by Glenn Jordan
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Dark Sky Films)

Perhaps the most faithful version of the Mary Shelley novel ever put on film. "The giant" is played sympathetically by Bo Svenson, who truly makes him an innocent child in the body of a monster. Once his intellect catches up to that body, he becomes consumed by rage and revenge. He forces Frankenstein to create a mate for him, but when he fails the tragedy comes full circle. This was a two-part episode on the ABC "Wide World Mystery" television series, and runs around 2 hours in length. Plenty of room to explore all the subplots of the novel. It was shot on videotape rather than film, and that does give it a rather cheap, soap opera look. The low budget also results in a cramped, set-bound production, with rubbery walls and fake props. I was able to overlook those shortcomings given the strength of the story.