IN 1966, Frankenstein Created Woman. And what a woman! Austrian actress Susan Denberg would become the only distaff “creature” in the Baron’s repertoire, and she marked a major improvement over such patchwork creations as Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) or Kiwi Kingston in The Evil of Frankenstein (1964). Indeed, Denberg remains one of the most bewitching, yet enigmatic, presences in the annals of so-called “Hammer glamour.”
SUSAN DENBERG was born Dietlinde Ortrun Zechner, on August
2nd, 1944, in the village of Bad Polzin, Germany, which is now known as
Połczyn-Zdrój, Poland. She appears to have enjoyed a normal childhood, much of
it being spent with her family in Vienna, but the allure of other cultures
proved too strong, and Dietlinde would relocate to England in 1962. She is
rumored to have worked as an Au Pair girl during this time, before catching the
eye of a talent scout and beginning work as a chorus girl. This line of work
took her briefly to America, where she would meet and fall in love with lounge
singer Anthony Sciotti; they would be married in 1965 and divorced just six months later. Soon after, she set her
eyes on a career in film, making her debut with a guest spot (as the
imaginatively named character “German girl”!) on the ABC TV series 12 O’Clock
High. She then caught the eye of executive at Warner Bros., who set about
rechristening her with a more “Anglo” sounding name. A campaign was launched,
where fans were encouraged to write in with their choice of a new name for the
starlet-to-be; Susan Denberg won the vote across the board, and the rest as
they say is history.
THE NEWLY CHRISTENED DENBERG made her film debut opposite
Stuart Whitman in the Norman Mailer adaptation An American Dream (1966).
Denberg was already delving into the potential for sex and drugs, and she was
rumored to have been romantically involved with Whitman, filmmaker Roman
Polanski, performer Sammy Davis, Jr., and numerous others. The story goes that
she even tried to net legendary movie tough guy Lee Marvin, but he never
returned her calls. 1966 would also see Denberg getting her widest “exposure”
when she bared all for an issue of Playboy; she would be in the running for
Playmate of the Year, but eventually lost out to another contender.
THE PLAYBOY PICTORIAL inevitably piqued the interest of
Britain’s Hammer Studios, who would offer Denberg the plum role of Christina in
their upcoming sex-and-horror special, Frankenstein Created Woman. The studio’s
publicity mill played up the sensational aspects, even hiring Denberg to pose
with star Peter Cushing in a series of publicity stills for a “creation”
sequence that was never part of the narrative itself. Fans salivated over these
images of Cushing “introducing” his bikini-clad creation, and rumors inevitably
have circulated that the sequence was deleted from the film because of
censorship. The reality, however, is much more mundane: Hammer was simply
exploiting their new starlets obvious assets in their own inimitable fashion.
CHRISTINA WOULD OFFER DENBERG the toughest role of her
career. She begins the film as a pitiable, scarred, shy young woman who is
deeply in love with Frankenstein’s young assistant, Hans (played by Robert
Morris, who would later go on to play a supporting role in Roy Ward Baker’s
film of Quatermass and the Pit). However, her father (Alan MacNaughton) is
murdered by three pampered youths (Peter Blythe, Barry Warren and Derek Fowlds)
when he foils their attempt to rob his establishment, and the uncouth youths
put the blame on Hans. Given that Hans is known for a volatile temper, and was
observed arguing with the father because of his disapproval over his courtship
of Christina, he is summarily executed. Christine is devastated and commits
suicide. The Baron, for his part, sees the two deaths as being opportune - he’s
been experimenting with the idea of transplanting souls from one body to
another, so why not transfer Hans’ into Christina’s body, thus making them
“one”? Inevitably, things do not work out as planned - the resurrected
Christina, her scars and other defects corrected by the Baron’s surgery, turns
into a seductive vamp and sets about killing off the three youths, one by one…
CLEARLY, THE ROLE OFFERED DENBERG, a greater range of
emotions than her initial acting jobs. Hammer may have seen her as a body to
exploit on their posters, but director Terence Fisher rightly recognized that
the film’s impact hinged on the credibility of her performance. He worked
patiently with the young woman, helping her to hit all the right emotional
notes. She responded with a performance of nuance and depth - but unfortunately
for her, the studio heads deemed that her accent was too strong, so her entire
performance would be dubbed by another actress. Dubbing wasn’t uncommon at
Hammer, especially during this timeframe - Ursula Andress, John Richardson and,
most amazingly, Andre Morell were all dubbed in She (1965), Richardson and
Olinka Berkova would both be dubbed in The Vengeance of She (1967), Leon Greene
and Nike Arrighi were dubbed in The Devil Rides Out (1967), Ewan Hooper was
dubbed in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Jenny Hanley would be
revoiced in Scars of Dracula (1970), Ingrid Pitt’s exotic voice was erased from
the soundtrack of Countess Dracula (1970), and so on. Vocal artist Jane Hands
did a competent job filling in for Denberg on the soundtrack, but it still
makes it difficult for one to fully appreciate her performance. Even so,
Denberg’s physical performance seems heartfelt and appropriately moving, giving
the film an emotional center that helps to compensate for the defects in its
plotting and production values.Hammer films never attracted much serious critical appraisal
in their day, but Denberg got decent notices for her work on Frankenstein
Created Woman.
ALAS IT WOULD MARK HER FINAL APPEARANCE before a motion picture
camera. Too much high living began to take their toll. Tired of the scandal
rags in the UK, Denberg would eventually relocate to Austria, where she remains
to this day. Denberg’s bouts with drugs and alcohol were well publicized, as
was a breakdown which lead to electroshock therapy and a stint in a sanitarium.
However, when the myth becomes more popular than reality, it tends to
overshadow the latter in the eyes of the public.
AS SUCH, FOR YEARS Denberg was believed to have died - a typical example of the Marilyn Monroe prototype, wherein a beautiful starlet, having been exploited by callous producers and executives, was robbed her of her will to live and reduced her to substance abuse which would finally kill her. The reality is not so melodramatic, but it does at least have a happier ending. Denberg, who has reverted to her real name, remains firmly out of the public eye, however, and she appears to want to keep it that way. Attempts by fans to contact her for interviews have fallen on deaf ears, and so she remains shrouded in mystery… But for fans of Hammer horror, she remains a fascinating icon of sorts, and that, truly, is more telling than all the sensationalist journalism that has dogged her for so many years.
AS SUCH, FOR YEARS Denberg was believed to have died - a typical example of the Marilyn Monroe prototype, wherein a beautiful starlet, having been exploited by callous producers and executives, was robbed her of her will to live and reduced her to substance abuse which would finally kill her. The reality is not so melodramatic, but it does at least have a happier ending. Denberg, who has reverted to her real name, remains firmly out of the public eye, however, and she appears to want to keep it that way. Attempts by fans to contact her for interviews have fallen on deaf ears, and so she remains shrouded in mystery… But for fans of Hammer horror, she remains a fascinating icon of sorts, and that, truly, is more telling than all the sensationalist journalism that has dogged her for so many years.
Author's Note: I would like to acknowledge the website
Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen, and most especially the invaluable research
of Hammer documentarian Ted Newsom, for providing ample material for me to work
from in the writing of this article.
Written by Troy Howarth
Edited and Images by Marcus Brooks
Written by Troy Howarth
Edited and Images by Marcus Brooks
