Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Encyclopedia
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a low-budget western
/horror
hybrid film filmed in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James
encounters the fictional granddaughter (the movie's title notwithstanding) of the famous Dr. Frankenstein
. The film was originally released as part of a double feature with Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
.
Two gunslingers come to town, Hank Tracy, a dimwitted lug, and Jesse James, the infamous outlaw. Meeting up with the head of a local gang, they join up with the intention of stealing $100,000 from the next stagecoach. However, a gang member named Lonny decides to go to the sheriff and lets them know about the plot in exchange for becoming his deputy. So as the robbery begins, the sheriff and his men shoot the two remaining members of his gang and seriously wound Hank.
Jesse and Hank escape and stop at the Lopez's campout to tend to Hank's wound and sleep until the morning. During the middle of the night, Estelita wakes up Jesse and Hank and leads them back to town to the Frankensteins' house to fix up Hank. Maria agrees to help, but her plan is to use Hank as another one of her experiments. After sending Jesse to the town pharmacist with a note, she begins operating on Hank, giving him a new brain and bringing him back to life. Rudolph tries to poison Hank, now called Igor, and Maria orders Igor to strangle Rudolph.
Jesse gives the pharmacist the note, which actually reveals his identity and tells the pharmacist to call the sheriff. Jesse manages to escape, killing deputy Lonny in the process. When he returns to the Frankensteins' house, Igor incapacitates him and ties him up.
Realizing Jesse is in trouble, Estelita sends the sheriff to the house, where he finds Jesse and prepares to take him for the reward. But Maria sends Igor to crush the sheriff. During the scuffle, Estelita frees Jesse and tries to escape. Maria orders Igor to go kill Estelita, but Igor strangles Maria instead and goes after Jesse. Estelita gets Jesse's gun and kills Igor.
The next morning, as Jesse buries Hank, Estelita pleads with him to stay and live with her, but Jesse, knowing that he's a fugitive, rides off with the sheriff, who wasn't killed by Igor.
in which Ed the Sock
, Liana K
and Ron Sparks
make fun of it. It is a double feature
paired with the pilot episode of The Master
.The film is also featured on "Elvira's Movie Macabre"
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
/horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
hybrid film filmed in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
encounters the fictional granddaughter (the movie's title notwithstanding) of the famous Dr. Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
. The film was originally released as part of a double feature with Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula is a 1966 American low-budget horror/western film directed by William Beaudine. It was released theatrically as part of a double bill, along with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter...
.
Cast
- John LuptonJohn LuptonJohn Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
.... Jesse James - Narda OnyxNarda OnyxNarda Onyx is an Estonian-born naturalized American film and television actress.Narda Onyx, at the age of eleven, escaped with her family through Soviet lines, and deceived her would-be German captors near the end of World War II...
.... Dr. Maria Frankenstein - Estelita Rodriguez .... Juanita Lopez (as Estelita)
- Cal Bolder .... Hank Tracy/Igor
- Jim Davis .... Marshal MacPhee
- Steven GeraySteven GeraySteven Geray, born Istvan Gyergyay on November 10, 1904 and died aged 69 on December 26, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. He was a film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs...
.... Dr. Rudolph Frankenstein - Rayford Barnes .... Lonny Curry
- William Fawcett .... Jensen, the pharmacist
- Nestor Paiva .... Saloon Owner
- Roger Creed .... Butch Curry
- Rosa Turich .... Nina Lopez
- Felipe Turich .... Manuel Lopez
- Fred Stromsoe
- Dan White .... Pete Ketchum
- Page Slattery
- Mark Norton
Plot
Dr Frankenstein’s grandchildren Maria and Rudolph have moved to the American West, in order to use the prairie lightning storms in their experiments on unwilling victims. After a number of failures, Rudolph is finding it increasingly difficult to hide the trail of bodies. Down the road, Mañuel Lopez, his wife Nina, and their daughter Estelita decide to leave town because of the frequent disappearances.Two gunslingers come to town, Hank Tracy, a dimwitted lug, and Jesse James, the infamous outlaw. Meeting up with the head of a local gang, they join up with the intention of stealing $100,000 from the next stagecoach. However, a gang member named Lonny decides to go to the sheriff and lets them know about the plot in exchange for becoming his deputy. So as the robbery begins, the sheriff and his men shoot the two remaining members of his gang and seriously wound Hank.
Jesse and Hank escape and stop at the Lopez's campout to tend to Hank's wound and sleep until the morning. During the middle of the night, Estelita wakes up Jesse and Hank and leads them back to town to the Frankensteins' house to fix up Hank. Maria agrees to help, but her plan is to use Hank as another one of her experiments. After sending Jesse to the town pharmacist with a note, she begins operating on Hank, giving him a new brain and bringing him back to life. Rudolph tries to poison Hank, now called Igor, and Maria orders Igor to strangle Rudolph.
Jesse gives the pharmacist the note, which actually reveals his identity and tells the pharmacist to call the sheriff. Jesse manages to escape, killing deputy Lonny in the process. When he returns to the Frankensteins' house, Igor incapacitates him and ties him up.
Realizing Jesse is in trouble, Estelita sends the sheriff to the house, where he finds Jesse and prepares to take him for the reward. But Maria sends Igor to crush the sheriff. During the scuffle, Estelita frees Jesse and tries to escape. Maria orders Igor to go kill Estelita, but Igor strangles Maria instead and goes after Jesse. Estelita gets Jesse's gun and kills Igor.
The next morning, as Jesse buries Hank, Estelita pleads with him to stay and live with her, but Jesse, knowing that he's a fugitive, rides off with the sheriff, who wasn't killed by Igor.
In other media
The movie is featured (in edited form) in an episode of This Movie Sucks!This Movie Sucks!
This Movie Sucks! is a Canadian comedy television series hosted by Ed the Sock, premièring on May 28, 2010, two years after Ed's Night Party went off the air. The show is similar to another former Ed the Sock series, Ed's Nite In...
in which Ed the Sock
Ed the Sock
Ed the Sock is a puppet, created and voiced by Steven Kerzner, that became a Canadian television personality in the 1990s, best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed's Night Party, later renamed Ed & Red's Night Party...
, Liana K
Liana K
Liana Kerzner , better known by her stage name, Liana K, is a Canadian television entertainer who co-hosted the talk show Ed & Red's Night Party and is a well-known cosplayer.-Biography:...
and Ron Sparks
Ron Sparks
Ron Sparks is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. He was born in Chatham-Kent, Ontario but lives in Toronto, Ontario, where he is best known as a stand-up comedian and regular and favourite juror on MuchMusic's highest-rated show, Video on Trial. He also starred as The Judge in the MuchMusic...
make fun of it. It is a double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers 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.The double feature, also known as...
paired with the pilot episode of The Master
The Master (TV series)
The Master is a short-lived ninja-themed action-adventure TV series created by Michael Sloan which aired on NBC. The show focused on the adventures of John Peter McAllister, an aging ninja master , and his young pupil, Max Keller...
.The film is also featured on "Elvira's Movie Macabre"