The "ultimate edition" of Classic Monsters of the Movie's I Was a Teenage Frankenstein has landed, and the 36-pg release performs as an ideal companion piece to the publisher's I Was a Teenage Werewolf edition (see January 2024 post), thanks to the detailed-oriented Nige Burton & Jamie Jones and their creative production team.
As fans are aware, Teenage Frankenstein launched Gary Conway's career, much in the way that Teenage Werewolf launched Michael Landon's. Burton & Jones acknowledge Conway's prevalent presence in this respect, capped by his portrayal of Captain Steve Burton in Irwin Allen's sci-fi classic, Land of the Giants.
Though Conway's impressive resume is emphasized, the authors also give credit to others who brought Teenage Frankenstein to life, including director Herbert L. Strock, writers Herman Cohen and Abel Kanden and composer Paul Dunlap.
Additionally, they supply a rundown on the movie's superb, supporting cast, headlined by Whit Bissell, aka Professor Frankenstein, who portrayed the hypnotic Dr. Alfred Brandon in Teenage Werewolf, as well as having costarred in Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Time Machine (1960 & 1978), The Time Tunnel and Soylent Green. Plus, the authors add pleasing bios on Phyllis (The Adventures of Superman/Panther Girl of the Congo) Coates, Robert (The Slime People/Invasion of the Animal People/The 50 Foot Bride of Candy Rock) Burton, George (The Werewolf/Adventures of Captain Marvel) Lynn and John (The Siege of Red River/The Asphalt Jungle) Cliff, among others.
Teenage Frankenstein was designed to be gruesome, and the authors acknowledge its jarring tapestry, in particular the creature's unsettling assembly. (Of course, the monster's mangled appearance speaks for itself: the utter stuff of nightmares.)
I sure do hope that Burton & Jones tackle How to Make a Monster, Blood of Dracula (aka Blood Is My Heritage), and Invasion of the Saucer Men for future editions, but for now, their terrific tributes to Teenage Frankenstein and Teenage Werewolf should more than stoke one's adolescent quirks and primal desires:
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