Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (DVD)

Residing in an eerie hilltop mansion are Dr. Maria Frankenstein and her brother Rudolph, conducting the same bizarre and deadly artificial brain transplant experiments that forced them to flee their European homeland. In a nearby town, the legendary Jesse James and his companion, Hank Tracy, are caught in a gunfight that leaves Hank seriously wounded. Jesse brings back the only nearby doctor - the sinister Maria Frankenstein. Hank will be the perfect subject for her next experiment and Jesse the perfect target of her romantic desires. She successfully transplants an artificial brain into the skull of Hank, transforming him into a monstrous creature named Igor.

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter was half of an infamous double feature that included Billy The Kid Vs. Dracula with John Carradine. Notorious for their low budgets, outlandish scripts and over-the-top performances, these films uniquely (if crudely) combined the horror and western genres for popular runs as kiddie matinees and Saturday morning TV horror movie shows. Over the years, these colorful and genuinely fun fright flicks have developed an avid following among bad movie lovers. This cowboys/Indians/monsters potpourri was directed by William Beaudine, who began his career in the silent era assisting D.W. Griffith. Beaudine churned out a long list of low budget movies, including several East Side Kids films, The Ape Man (1946) and Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla (1952). Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (actually his granddaughter if you follow the plot) was Beaudine's last film and also features actor Jim Davis, who later went on to fame in the TV series "Dallas." John Lupton is best remembered for his co-starring role with Michael Ansara in the 1956 series "Broken Arrow."

• horror