A Q&A with Baron Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein looks to be in his mid-40s, which isn’t bad going for a man who turned 150 before my parents had even met. I’m pretty sure it’s not entirely down to a Mediterranean diet, and make a mental note to quiz him about his unique durability. But for a moment, I simply take in this extraordinary situation. I’m in the same room as one of history’s most famous scientists. Or infamous criminals. Maybe our Q&A will help me decide which.
I recognise him immediately, of course. For some reason, and this is stupid, I know, I’d expected him to be wearing something more Victorian. More Molly Arbuthnot. True, his suit and tie are a little old-fashioned, but in a way that could be termed ‘voguish’. Like he’s ahead of the curve in the retro-chic stakes. He stands a little under six foot, and as he peers around the café, scanning the place for my face, I see his eyes and that’s how I know he’s the Baron. He spots my recognition and we swap tiny confirmatory nods. A waitress reaches him and he points in my direction. I notice that as she guides him to my table he talks to her with a kind of off-hand affability. There’s an easiness to him that also strikes me as unexpected, and when I stand to shake his hand he says cheerily, ‘Don’t be so formal!’ and then smiles at the waitress, who smiles back, like they’re old friends sharing a joke.
He takes a seat and I introduce myself. ‘I’m Cain. Cain Von Solling, from Hammer News. Thanks for agreeing to meet me this afternoon.’ We get the banal bits out of the way. Yes, my surname is German in origin. Yes, the weather is terrible today. But yes, doesn’t London glisten quite prettily in the rain? I tell him he’s looking well, and he tells me I’m a dreadful liar. Then he shrugs and says, ‘I can’t take any credit for my longevity. It’s not the result of any of my experiments. Rather, I was an early test case for a Mr D Gray of Grosvenor Square. But that’s quite another story. Shall we order?’
We request a pot of tea and once it arrives, with his blessing, I begin my questions. I open with the obvious one. ‘You are Baron Victor Frankenstein?’ He nods deeply, like he’s expecting me to loop a medal over his head. ‘The Victor Frankenstein whose story was told in an account written by Mary Shelley?’
He seems less certain about this. ‘In part, I suppose. Yes.’
‘Good. Then we’ll begin.’
Hammer News: There have been many accounts of your life and career. Which comes closest to the truth? Shelley’s book? Or perhaps the 1957 film, The Curse of Frankenstein? Or -
Victor Frankenstein: [Interrupting] Mary’s work was a flawed biography. Well-meant but misguided in the final analysis. Dare one say it? Drab? I don’t know. The passages that detail my experiments are bafflingly brief. A few lines at most. Perhaps that’s because ultimately, the experiments were unsuccessful. The picture you mention... At least that has spirit! It captures the excitement of my quest! They were exciting days, you know. I’m not ashamed to admit that.
HN: So are you saying the narratives of the Hammer movies – and specifically The Curse of Frankenstein – were closer to the reality than Shelley’s work?
VF: Oh, without a doubt. Up until the scene where Hans reveals he has seen through my subterfuge. That he understands who I am. After that, fiction gallops roughshod over fact.
HN: Hans? You’re talking about Doctor Hans Kleve? Played by Francis Matthews in the sequel, The Revenge of Frankenstein.
VF: It’s no more a sequel than today is a sequel to yesterday. It’s one, unified story, surely? I shared confidences with Jimmy [Jimmy Sangster] and the account he initially penned, in the form of scripts for Curse and Revenge, was largely, although not entirely, faithful to what unfolded all those years ago.
HN: That’s quite an admission.
VF: I would have said ‘quite a boast.’
HN: You’re aware you’re the villain of The Curse of Frankenstein, right?
VF: Oh? How so?
HN: You tried to play God!
VF: I tried to create life! My former teacher and friend, Paul Krempe, tried to take it. You tell me – which stance is the more morally reprehensible?
HN: So do you reject -
VF: [Interrupting] All this, ‘Frankenstein wanted to play God’ drivel is bewildering. Venerating life! Seeking life! Was that my crime? Look around! Scientists and world leaders in these enlightened times… They are no longer content to play God! They want to be God! With all the dominion and beauty and bloodshed that accompanies such a role. With my modest dreams, I was nothing more than a stumbling amateur. No, I shan’t apologise for my deeds. No more than a surgeon correcting a failing heart valve would feel compelled to apologise for saving a life.
HN: OK… Let’s park that for a moment, then. Forgive my directness…
VF: Always.
HN: Professor Bernstein.
VF: [Pause] Professor Bernstein was a genius, and a good friend. He was an old man, yes. But his death remains a tragedy.
HN: With respect, that isn’t an answer.
VF: With respect, you lacked the courage to ask the question.
HN: Did you murder the Professor?
VF: Really, Cain! I had envisaged our rendezvous would be a lively exchange of scientific badinage! A discourse on my life’s work! An examination of the fine pictures your studio created! Not this… Not this weary tittle-tattle!
HN: An innocent person died!
VF: Approximately 120 innocent people die every minute. Every minute! If we wept for each one we would soon find ourselves ankle-deep in tears. You disappoint me, Paul, I honestly believe –
HN: [Interrupting] Cain. My name’s Cain.
VF: Forgive me. But really, perhaps we can move on to more enlightening matters? My experiments?
HN: [Pause] What should we call the individual you created? The Creature? The Monster?
VF: ‘Frankenstein’ will do perfectly well.
HN: Because you view him as your son?
VF: Because the alternatives make little sense. The Creature? We are all creatures. I discount the appellation ‘Monster’ for similar reasons.
HN: Is he still with us?
VF: He is always with us.
HN: I wasn’t talking metaphorically.
VF: [Pause] It’s alive! [Laughs] Is that what you wanted me to say?
HN: I can’t believe I’m talking to the actual Baron Frankenstein!
VF: You mentioned Francis Matthews earlier. I thought he was terribly good, but he did mispronounce that. During the moment he reveals… he knows who I am.
HN: Mispronounces what?
VF: Baron Frankenstein.
HN: What did you think of Peter Cushing?
VF: An artist.
HN: Colin Clive?
VF: An actor.
HN: Christopher Lee?
VF: A genius.
HN: Why?
VF: Because he understood Frankenstein’s rage and fear. That’s to say, he expressed his frailty and his ferocity as being co-dependent. That’s quite right, you know. And all that hope and confusion on his face towards the end of the picture. It was painful for me to watch – so many memories I’ve tried to camouflage. As we all do, one imagines.
HN: Do you have sympathy for your creation?
VF: Do you?
HN: He did murder Justine.
VF: Are we chalking that up as a point in his favour or against him? Oh, spare me that look of sanctimony! It feels like I’m back in church! She was a blackmailing shrew whose mendacity might have cost me dearly. Put yourself in my position. How would you view her elimination?
HN: Elimination? For someone who claims to prize the flame of life so highly, you seem very glib about it being snuffed out.
VF: Flame of life? Oh, very good. By the way, it was a rat. Not a dog.
HN: Excuse me?
VF: Early on in the picture, The Curse of Frankenstein, Paul and I are seen to bring an animal back to life. And although we did attempt that experiment, the creature in question was a rat. Jimmy told me the truth was vetoed because audiences wouldn’t care about a rodent being revived. Not cute enough. Hence the onscreen resurrection of… a playful puppy. That was acceptable. That worked. I can’t help but think it’s an illuminating distortion of what really happened.
HN: What else did the movie get wrong?
VF: Elizabeth wasn’t that naïve. I think she knew from the very beginning.
HN: Knew what?
VF: And it was a lot colder back then. Oh, and the clothes! The frocks in the picture… Well, they are quite gorgeous, aren’t they? Moreso than the real thing. Additionally, I was never entirely happy with the title. Tell me, what even was the curse of Frankenstein?
HN: I was thinking more about the narrative. The device of bookending it with your time waiting for the guillotine, for instance. Did that really happen?
VF: The scenes where ironically, I lose my head, whilst waiting to lose my head? Yes. They are authentic. I don’t emerge with any credit from those moments but… We all go a little mad sometimes.
HN: But talking about the film - some people have suggested that Paul’s words at the end should be taken at face value, and the monster never existed.
VF: I am talking about real life. The monster always exists.
HN: What are you not telling me?
VF: I’ve already revealed far too much! I’ve told you everything, if you know where to look. I’ve been a fool! [Pause] I had better leave. I’m sorry, Cain. This was a mistake. A colossal mistake.
HN: Baron Frankenstein! Why are you so apathetic about the deaths of Bernstein and Justine? What did Elizabeth know? Why won’t you tell me what happened to your creation? And why… why did you create him in the first place? I just can’t see -
VF: [Interrupting] As you work in the film industry, it seems appropriate to quote the words of Jean Renoir.
HN: Please do.
VF: [Quietly] The real hell of life is everyone has his reasons.
The above Q&A was filed by Cain Von Solling in the summer of 2015. It was emailed to Cain’s editor at Hammer News, Gavin Collinson, who was unhappy with the piece’s brevity and immediately replied, asking if Cain could conduct a follow-up Q&A. For context, the following dialogues are transcripts of the two WhatsApp voice messages that Cain left for Gavin, in response to this request.
Cain: Are you Baron Frankenstein? Dammit! The phrase Victor seemed bothered by is totally innocuous! I keep rewatching it. You know, I can feel it in my bones. It’s the key to this whole thing. Are you Baron Frankenstein? The answer comes back – Yes! And Hans tells him, I knew it! According to Victor, that’s the last moment of truth in the films. Give me five minutes, mate.
This was followed 12 minutes later by -
Cain: I think there’s a big story here, Gav. I rewatched The Revenge of Frankenstein to see what Victor was on about. About the pronunciation thing. I watched the bit where Hans says, ‘Are you Baron Frankenstein!’ a dozen times. More, if I’m honest. Anyway, he pronounces the name just like everyone else in the movie. Then it hit me! I was focussing on the wrong word. What if originally, Hans had actually said, ‘Are you barren, Frankenstein?’ In other words, he’d realised Frankenstein was not a father. Not even to the Creature… Gavin – what if Victor’s experiments were always a failure? And that failure led him to do terrible things? It’s appalling… What if the monster was Frankenstein himself? Watch the first film again! Read the interview over and it all makes sense! And it means that all along, the real murderer was –’
At this point the recording becomes momentarily inaudible. After a couple of seconds Cain can be heard speaking the words, ‘What are you doing in my –’ before the message ends abruptly.
It remains the last known communication sent by Cain, and both messages, along with the interview above, are published with the approval of the Von Solling family. Cain Von Solling was officially reported missing in early October, 2015. In the following decade there have been several unconfirmed sightings of Baron Frankenstein, but none of our colleague.
At a recent service to celebrate Cain, Gavin Collinson noted that like so many people, Cain vanished after dealings with the Baron. He speculated that perhaps this, after all, is the curse of Frankenstein.
If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of our much missed friend and colleague, Cain Von Solling, please contact Hammer News.
Thank you.
GC
