Robert Vaughn was a versatile, dependable actor over his long career. From a suave gunslinger in "The Magnificent Seven" to a troubled young man in "No Time to Be Young" to a callous, cross-dressing villain in "S.O.B.", Vaughn did it all and did it well. Here he plays a Dr. Frankenstein-type role in a TV movie with decidedly mixed results.
Vaughn plays Dr. Arno Franken, a brilliant yet rather reckless surgeon at a big New York City hospital. He keeps a comatose John Doe (Robert Perault) alive in a hospital room, and periodically adds spare organs in order to keep him going. Later Franken hires a private ambulance-in broad daylight!-to take his patient to his basement, where he continues his experiments. Trouble starts when Franken's colleague, the evil Dr. Foster (David Selby) tries to kill the monster and dies in the attempt. These films usually end with the mad doctor and the monster both dead, but here the creature aimlessly wanders New York's streets while Dr. Franken ponders what went wrong.
The unusual thing about this film is that it's played perfectly straight, with no campiness and no humor. As I watched I found myself thinking about "The Brain that Wouldn't Die" and "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" because the plots are so similar. There's a really weird subplot featuring Teri Garr as a former girlfriend of the dead guy who donated the monster's eyes (!), which has to be seen to be believed. I was amused by another subplot in which an older couple are demanding the return of their late son's legs, which disappeared at the hospital.
Vaughn and Selby are very good, Perault is okay, and Garr appropriately plays her part as a very confused young woman. Despite its sober approach and familiar storyline, I did like "Doctor Franken" for what it was, a time-filler with a very good cast.
Vaughn plays Dr. Arno Franken, a brilliant yet rather reckless surgeon at a big New York City hospital. He keeps a comatose John Doe (Robert Perault) alive in a hospital room, and periodically adds spare organs in order to keep him going. Later Franken hires a private ambulance-in broad daylight!-to take his patient to his basement, where he continues his experiments. Trouble starts when Franken's colleague, the evil Dr. Foster (David Selby) tries to kill the monster and dies in the attempt. These films usually end with the mad doctor and the monster both dead, but here the creature aimlessly wanders New York's streets while Dr. Franken ponders what went wrong.
The unusual thing about this film is that it's played perfectly straight, with no campiness and no humor. As I watched I found myself thinking about "The Brain that Wouldn't Die" and "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein" because the plots are so similar. There's a really weird subplot featuring Teri Garr as a former girlfriend of the dead guy who donated the monster's eyes (!), which has to be seen to be believed. I was amused by another subplot in which an older couple are demanding the return of their late son's legs, which disappeared at the hospital.
Vaughn and Selby are very good, Perault is okay, and Garr appropriately plays her part as a very confused young woman. Despite its sober approach and familiar storyline, I did like "Doctor Franken" for what it was, a time-filler with a very good cast.
