Frankenstein's Daughter is an independently made 1958 American black-and-white science fiction/horror film drama, produced by Marc Frederic and George Fowley, directed by Richard E. Cunha, that stars John Ashley, Sandra Knight, Donald Murphy, and Sally Todd.

The film, set in mid-20th century America, tells the story of the creation of the first female "Frankenstein's monster".

Teenager Trudy Morton, who lives with her uncle Carter Morgan, has nightmares in which she is a monster running about the streets.

Back at the home lab, Elsu mistakenly enters through a secret door while Carter and Oliver are working.

When Elsu asks why he wants to create this creature, Oliver says that "now we're aware the female mind is conditioned to a man's world.

Layton Films was a company established by Dick Cunha, a filmmaker who had just left Screencraft Productions, and Mark Frederic, an investor.

[2] It was filmed at Screencraft Studios in Hollywood, although the house in which much of the action takes place was the home of producer Marc Frederic.

He later recalled "AIP was low budget – one hundred grand a movie – but at least they shot on sound stages and the size of the crew was bigger.

[9] Additional production information can be found on the Tom Weaver-David Schecter-Steve Kronenberg-Larry Blamire audio commentary on Film Detective's 2021 "Frankenstein's Daughter" Special Edition Blu-ray.

Although he does not name the theater or provide a reason for the change in title, he writes that other films were also retitled when they were shown in Chicago at about the same time.

[5][12][10] Frankenstein's Daughter was released theatrically in Canada and West Germany in 1959, Mexico in 1960, and France in 1962, as well as on unspecified dates in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

In December 2011, it was shown, along with Lady Frankenstein, as part of Michael W. Phillip's "Shock Theater" film series, which specialized in showing 16 mm prints of "drive-in movie horror fare".

He notes that "the Los Angeles Examiner called the film 'a dismal clunker,'" while critic "Paul V. Beckley in the New York Herald-Tribune felt that it was 'a little better [than Missile to the Moon], although much more confusing".

New York Times critic Howard Thompson wrote that "'it's a toss-up whether [Frankenstein's Daughter or its co-feature] Missile to the Moon is the cheaper, duller piece of claptrap.

[11] Also taking note of the "teenage partying" segments of the film, critic Robert Horton writes that the pool-party song-and-dance numbers give viewers a "Z-movie view of Eisenhower America" and that "Frankenstein's Daughter blends early rock movie devices (lover's lane, nightclub combo) with an old-school monster story".

[24] Warren dislikes the monster makeup worn by Harry Wilson and the gender confusion that results from a man playing Frankenstein's daughter.

[10] In an interview, Cuhna laid the blame for the makeup not on Harry Thomas, but on a short shooting schedule and low budget, telling crtitc Tom Weaver that "it was a situation where we just got trapped, again, without any money.

We had no preparation time, and Frankenstein's Daughter was designed on the set on the first day of shooting ... we just didn't have enough money to create a monster that would represent Sally Todd.

Thomas told Weaver in a separate interview that he "wanted to make Sally Todd up as the monster, but the producers didn't think she was big enough to fight and look menacing".

[25] Critic Bryan Senn says that "though there's much to scoff at in this gender-bending cheapie, director Cuhna and cinematographer Meredith Nicholson at least try to invest the proceedings with some visual interest, utilizing shadows, depth of field, and even change of focus within a shot to bring a character into sharp relief at a dramatic moment".

Hardy writes that Nicholson's "shadowy lighting, however, can't fully disguise the few cramped studio sets and banal exteriors ... and so the picture possesses a cheap, claustrophobic feel".

While Emery writes that the film is "filled with awful acting and even worse rock & roll dance numbers", when it comes to a major character, "Dr. Frankenstein was never slimier than when he was portrayed by Donald Murphy".

[24] Senn is also favorable toward Murphy's acting, writing that he "gives a hearty performance as the arrogant, brilliant Oliver.

[26] Diabolique magazine wrote that Ashley "gives a solid leading man performance... it's not particularly memorable work but is grounded and realistic, and serves as a useful counter-balance to the extreme nature of the story.

20 percent of the audience says it likes Frankenstein's Daughter and gives the film an average rating of 2.5/5, based on 315 viewers.