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Released by: Elite Entertainment
Released on: July 29, 2003.
Director: William Beaudine
Cast: John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Estelita Rodriguez, Cal Bolder, Jim Davis, Steven Geray, Rayford Barnes
Year: 1966
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The Movie:
The horror western - you'd think that combining two of the coolest genres in movie history would inevitably result in cinematic gold, wouldn't you? No dice. I can't think of any really good ones off the top of my head (unless you count High Plains Drifter of Django The Bastard), which is a shame. Adding to the pile of crappy horror westerns is Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, directed by William Beaudine, the same man who gave us Billy The Kid Versus Dracula.
The story (and I use that term quite loosely) follows the infamous outlaw Jesse James (John Lupton) during his most productive period in the Old West. James is on the lam, and Marshal MacPhee (Jim Davis of Al Adamson's Five Bloody Graves) is hot on his trail.
After spending considerable time fleeing the Marshal, and teaming up with a gang called The Wild Bunch to rob a bank on the way, James decides to hide out for the night at Castle Frankenstein. Little does he know that Maria, the granddaughter of the original Baron Frankenstein, is in residence there and has also taken to continuing some of her Grandfather's experiments. Notice I said that she's Frankenstein's granddaughter, not Frankenstein's daughter, but titles be damned, that's what they claim her relation to the Baron is in this film.
Shortly after James hides out, Maria abducts his partner, Hank Tracey (Cal Bolder), and turns him into a zombie and changes his name to Igor and it just gets even crazier and incomprehensible from here on out to the point where it makes very little
sense at all.
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a terrible, terrible film. A few of the key players were soap opera stars and that hammy overacting usually associated with daytime TV dramas is omnipresent throughout the film. That's not the problem though. Apparently Beaudine never did more than one take on any of his films and I can kind of see that here - there are plenty of goofs, poorly lit scenes, dialogue that makes no sense, and strangely composed shots. The script can't decide where it wants to go and because of that ends up really going nowhere at all.
Video/Audio/Extras:
OK, taking into account the conditions under which this puppy was birthed, it's pretty surprising how decent Elite's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks. It's far from perfect and because of all the day for night shots and bad lighting it never will be, but the colors are reasonably decent and while there is print damage present throughout, most of it is minor and not too distracting.
The film is presented in a tinny sounding Dolby Digital Mono track that, while quite flat, is at least easy to follow. There's a bit of hiss here and there but aside from that I didn't notice any serious issues and I didn't ever have a problem comprehending what was being said on the screen at any given time.
There are two extra features on the disc - an audio commentary from Joe Bob Briggs and a theatrical trailer. Briggs also contributes some brief liner notes printed on the back of the keepcase. As you probably already know, the only real reason to buy this disc is for Brigg's commentary track. If you thought his work on Elite's I Spit On Your Grave Millennium Edition DVD commentary track was good, you'll be happy to know that the work he does on this disc is just as interesting and informative.
There's also a great heaping dose of humor thrown in to keep it fun. Pretty much everything you could hope to know about Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is crammed into this track and Briggs does it in such a way that it simultaneously funny and fascinating without being disrespectful to anyone involved in the film (and that couldn't have been an easy task).
The Final Word:
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter is a terrible film made into an interesting and funny viewing experience thanks for Joe Bob Brigg's commentary track. Without that track, the film is worth seeing once for its unintentional comedy. Elite has done a reasonably good job bringing the film to DVD.