Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster is a 1964 American science-fiction horror film directed by Robert Gaffney and starring Marilyn Hanold, James Karen (The Return of the Living Dead), Lou Cutell and Robert Reilly.
It was filmed in Florida and Puerto Rico and released in 1965.
The film was released in the UK as Duel of the Space Monsters. It is also known as Frankenstein Meets the Space Men, Mars Attacks Puerto Rico, Mars Invades Puerto Rico, and Operation San Juan.
In the United States, the movie was initially released by Futurama Entertainment Corp on a double-bill with British low-budgeter Curse of the Voodoo.
The film tells the story of a robot that combats alien invaders. Despite the title, neither Doctor Frankenstein nor Frankenstein’s Monster makes an appearance.
Plot:
All of the women on the planet Mars have died in an atomic war, except for Martian Princess Marcuzan (Marilyn Hanold). Marcuzan and her right-hand man, Doctor Nadir (Lou Cutell), decide they will travel to Earth and steal all of the women on the planet to continue the Martian race. The Martians shoot down a space capsule manned by the android Colonel Frank Saunders (Robert Reilly), causing it to crash in Puerto Rico.
Frankenstein’s electronic brain and the left half of his face are damaged after encountering a trigger-happy Martian and his ray gun. Frank, now “Frankenstein”, described by his creator as an “astro-robot without a control system” proceeds to terrorise the island.
Our review:
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster is portentous and suffused with abyssmal post-synched dialogue (two of the scriptwriters were poets). There are repeated references to a ‘plan’, marking this camp trash masterpiece out to be in the realm of Ed Wood filmmaking, albeit with a bigger budget, despite the heavy use of stock footage.
Only recommended if you’re into cinematic sludge. Ade Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
