The Baron's most physically perfect creation was
undoubtedly Christina, played by the enchanting Susan Denberg, in Fisher's
return to the series, Frankenstein Created Woman (1967). Born Deitlinde
Zsechner in Bad Polzin, Germany - which is now Polczyn-Zdroj in Poland -
Denberg was a gorgeous blonde who had been a chorus girl in both London and Las
Vegas.
She was the daughter of Austrian and German
parents, having been raised in Klagenfurt, Austria, before making her decision
to go into show business. Having adopted the name Susan Denberg, she became the
centrepiece of a nationwide contest in America during the production of a film
called See You in Hell, Darling, (AKA An American Dream) in which Warner Bros had offered a $500
prize in a publicity campaign to come up with a new name for the actress.
There
were 5,000 entries in the contest, including the bizarre 'Norma Mailer,' but
they were all rejected and she remained Susan Denberg.
Acting against such veterans as Cushing, Thorley
Walters, Peter Blythe, Barry Warren and Peter Madden, Denberg held her own.
Given her relative lack of acting experience - the only other performance she
is remembered for is as one of Mudd's Women in a Star Trek episode
- she is, in fact, something of a revelation.
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED
WOMAN ORIGINAL THEATRICAL
TRAILER
Although her voice was ultimately dubbed
in the film by another actress, Denberg's natural talent shines through. She is
just as convincing as the 'crippled' Christina as she is portraying the
'created' one, who receives not a brain transplant, but a 'soul transplant'
from her dead boyfriend.
THE UNRAVELING
This was not an easy role for an ingenue, and
indeed would have taxed a more experienced actress, but she brings it off with
passion and grace. Of course, what made playing the dual roles even more
difficult was that Christina, once 'reborn,' was possessed by the soul of a
man! In a genuinely disturbing scene, and one which the censor objected to,
Christina has the severed head of her lover Hans (Robert Morris) skewered on
her bedpost so that she can commune with her - his? - former self.
HEAD IN A BOX!
Later in the film, she carries the head
around in a hatbox, and after her final murder - in which she avenges herself
upon the last of Hans' three killers - she pulls it from the hatbox and speaks
to it in Hans' voice in a scene reminiscent of the classic ventriloquist
sequence in Dead of Night (1945).
CHRISTINA AND HANS
Although publicity photographs for Frankenstein
Created Woman featured Denberg in a kind of 'bikini bandage' outfit with
Peter Cushing nearby, seemingly proud of his 'creation,' no such scene was in
the film. Those who wanted to see 'more' of Denberg had to settle for her Playboy
layout, which had already been published in August, 1966.
Unfortunately, the postscript to Denberg's life
story after Frankenstein Created Woman was not a happy one. Her drug use
caused her to have a nervous breakdown and she made only two more appearances,
both on American television, before returning home to Klagenfort. Broadcast
interviews of the time show an obviously depressed Denberg alongside her
mother. Eventually, fans began to circulate rumours that the actress had taken
her own life, but in fact, she still lives in Austria as of this date.
The reputation of Frankenstein Created Woman continues
to grow, perhaps in part because of Denberg's 'mysterious' disappearance from
public life. The highest praise for the film has come from none other than
Martin Scorsese, the Oscar-winning director who chose Frankenstein Created
Woman to show as part of a National Film Theatre series of his favourite
films. Introducing the movie, Scorsese (who had once considered becoming a
priest before he was a filmmaker) said: 'If I single this one out, it's because
here they actually isolate the soul, a bright blue shining translucent ball.
The implied metaphysics is close to something sublime.'
BEHIND THE SCENES ON
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN
AND PETER CUSHING ON HAMMER FILMS
More About SUSAN DENBERG in our Special Feature
'The Girl From Pomerania'
Here At The Website Quick Link: HERE
Did You Miss PART THREE of That Feminine Touch : Women In Gothic
The Evil Of Frankenstein: Featuring Katy Wild And Carol Gardner?
You Can QUICK LINK To It Right HERE
Feature Written by: Bruce G Hallenbeck
Stills: Stephen Jones and Marcus Brooks
Feature Design: Jamie Somerville and Marcus Brooks
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