Lady Frankenstein
Somewhere in Western-Central Europe in the 1860s, a trio of grave robbers, led by a man named Lynch, deliver a corpse to Baron Frankenstein and his assistant Dr. Marshall for obvious reanimation purposes.Baron Frankenstein's daughter Tania arrives from school, having completed her studies in medicine, and is greeted by her father and his young servant, the handsome but mildly intellectually disabled Thomas.Film historian Roberto Curti has suggested that their script may have been inspired by "For the Love of Frankenstein", a story by Bill Warren and Jack Sparling that had appeared in the fourth issue of the comic book Vampirella.[4] Welles was assisted by fellow expatriate producer Dick Randall in assembling the remainder of the cast, which included Joseph Cotten and Mickey Hargitay.$90,000 of Lady Frankenstein's budget was originally intended to be provided through a letter of credit given to Welles by producer Skip Steloff, which was denied by the Italian banks shortly prior to the start of production.[7] It was released in the United States in March 1972 by New World Pictures in a version that was ten minutes shorter than the Italian prints, with cuts that removed expository scenes but left its violence and nudity intact.[7][8] In Australia, Lady Frankenstein was released by Welles and his then-business partner Richard Lewellen, a former colleague of exploitation film producer Kroger Babb, as a segment of their theatrical production Orgy of Evil.Due to financing difficulties and protests from religious groups, Orgy of Evil lasted for only a handful of performances, ending Welles' partnership with Lewellen.