''Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster'' (sometimes stylized as ''Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster'') is a 1965

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

film. It was directed by Robert Gaffney and starred

Marilyn Hanold Marilyn Hanold (born June 9, 1938) is an American model and actress. Biography Hanold was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for its June 1959 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Bruno Bernard. Hanold was the second of six child ...

James Karen James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky; November 28, 1923 – October 23, 2018) was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in ''Poltergeist'', ''The China Syndrome'', ''Wall Street'', ''The Return ...

and

Lou Cutell Lou Cutell (October 6, 1930 – November 21, 2021) was an American actor, who was perhaps best known for his appearance as Amazing Larry in the 1985 film '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure''. Life and career Cutell was born in New York City to Sicil ...

. It was filmed in Florida and Puerto Rico in 1964.

Plot

The film tells the story of a facially-damaged android robot who fights alien invaders. Despite the title, neither

Dr. Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studying c ...

nor

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compar ...

appear in the film. However, it is stated near the beginning of the movie that the android is partially built from human pieces and he is also often called by the first name of Frank. All of the women on the planet Mars have died in an atomic war, except for Martian Princess Marcuzan (

). Marcuzan and her right-hand man, Dr. Nadir (Lou Cutell), decide they will travel to Earth and steal all of the women on the planet in order to continue the Martian race. The Martians shoot down a

space capsule A space capsule is an often-crewed spacecraft that uses a blunt-body reentry capsule to reenter the Earth's atmosphere without wings. Capsules are distinguished from other satellites primarily by the ability to survive reentry and return a payl ...

carrying the android

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Colonel Frank Saunders ( Robert Reilly), causing it to crash land in Puerto Rico. Frank's electronic brain and the left half of his face are damaged after encountering a trigger-happy Martian and his ray gun. Frank, now the "Frankenstein" of the title, described by his creator as an "astro-robot without a control system", proceeds to terrorize the island. A subplot involves the Martians abducting beautiful bikini-clad women for the purpose of breeding. The "Space Monster" of the title refers to a radiation-scarred mutant named Mull brought along as part of the Martian invasion force. The "Frankenstein" android and Mull battle each other at the end of the film and both are destroyed.

Release information

The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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''. Released by the Futurama Entertainment Corp., it was released on DVD by Dark Sky Films in 2006. In the United States, it was initially released on a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera h ...

with ''

Curse of the Voodoo ''Curse of Simba'', also known as ''Voodoo Blood Death'', is a black-and-white 1965 British-American supernatural horror film set in Africa, but filmed in England in 18 days. Its producer was Kenneth Rive and it was directed by Lindsay Shonteff. ...

''. The film was ranked #7 in the 2004 DVD documentary ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''.

Cast

as Princess Marcuzan *

as Dr. Adam Steele (as Jim Karen) *

as Dr. Nadir *

Nancy Marshall Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

as Karen Grant * David Kerman as Gen. Bowers * Robert Reilly as Col. Frank Saunders/Frankenstein *

Robert Alan Browne Robert Alan Browne (June 2, 1932 – June 12, 2018) was an American film and television actor. Browne was born in New York City, New York. He played the minor role of the café owner Ralph Statler in '' Psycho II'' and ''Psycho III''. He also pl ...

as Martian crewmember (uncredited) *

Robert Fields Robert Samuel Fields (born 10 July 1934) is an American actor who has appeared in film and television. A life member of The Actors Studio, Fields is known for his role as Daniel in the 1987 drama film '' Anna''. Early life and education Fields w ...

as reporter (uncredited) *

Bruce Glover Bruce Herbert Glover (born May 2, 1932) is an American character actor best known for his portrayal of the assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever''. He is the father of actor Crispin Glover. Life and career Glover was ...

as Martian crewmember/Mull the Space Monster (uncredited) *

Susan Stephens Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

as blonde surf-bather (poster girl) (uncredited)

References

External links

* * * {{Frankenstein, state=collapsed 1965 films 1960s science fiction films American science fiction horror films Allied Artists films Films about extraterrestrial life Films set in Puerto Rico Films shot in Florida Films shot in Puerto Rico Mars in film Frankenstein films American black-and-white films Films about princesses 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Release information

Cast

See also

References

External links