tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post5084701806334596028..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Monsterpiece Theater: Frankenstein (or the Modern Prometheus)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-70542136216938900612015-11-04T20:46:34.313-05:002015-11-04T20:46:34.313-05:00Finally, Karloff had to wear shoulder pads, ill-fi...Finally, <a href="http://images3.static-bluray.com/products/22/6426_1_large.jpg" rel="nofollow">Karloff</a> had to wear shoulder pads, ill-fitting clothes, and massive welder's boots (along with the head piece) to look taller and wider. (He was actaully <a href="http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Karloff,%20Boris/Annex/Annex%20-%20Karloff,%20Boris%20(Frankenstein)_06.jpg" rel="nofollow">shorter</a> than Colin Clive, who played Frankenstein.) <br />The makeup job was <a href="http://www.filmhorror.com/upload/news/img/982Jack+Pierce+and+Boris+Karloff.jpg" rel="nofollow">redone every day</a> (Pierce refused to use reusable prosthetics), taking between 4 and 8 hours. Sometimes, rather than endure the 'taking off' and 'putting on' process again, Karloff would go home and sleep with his head between stacks of books.<br /><br />As for the Bride...<br />Director Whale took over and demanded that her look be based on the Egyptian bust of <a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7c/fd/b4/7cfdb484b135ef29912ad33fd41cb90c.jpg" rel="nofollow">Queen Nefertiri</a> in the British Museum. Elsa Lancaster's hair had to be styled around a cone-shaped wire frame. The <a href="http://www.cinemagraphe.com/_imagery/2015-07-29/bride-of-frankenstein-2.jpg" rel="nofollow">lighting highlights</a> seem to have been just to make the hairdo stand out against the <a href="https://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Frank-10.jpg" rel="nofollow">dark backgrounds.</a><br />Lancaster apparently hated for Pierce. (She damned him for thinking that he 'made' people who wore his makeups.) In addition to her hair, she had to walk on stilts to be as tall as Karloff in costume and had her eyes taped open the entire time. She based her character's trademark hissing on swans she watched at Hyde Park in London. <br /><br />And for 'Once Upon a Time' fans...Dr. Frankenstein's alter ego of 'Dr. Whale' is, in fact, a homage to director James Whale. Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-35108629784129144952015-11-04T20:28:58.609-05:002015-11-04T20:28:58.609-05:00And another thing...
I wanted to add this to the ...And another thing...<br /><br />I wanted to add this to the article, but it was already pretty long. <br />So, a few notes on Karloff;s iconic makeup:<br /><br />Universal makeup artist/legend Jack Pierce got the assignment. He reportedly made dozens of preliminary sketches before settling on a design that was essentially an exaggeration of Karloff's facial features.<br />To make his head bigger, Pierce wrapped multiple layers of cheesecloth and various chemicals (not sure if mortician's wax was used or not) around Karloff's head (similar to spirit gum and cotton he later used on Karloff's mummy makeup). The flattop head is a source of controversy. Both Pierce and director James Whale took credit for coming up with it, but neither gave a satisfactory explanation. <br />The forehead scar is the result of Frankenstein cutting the top of the skull to insert the brain. (Pierce guessed that the doc, not being a practicing surgeon, would use the simplest surgical cut.) The neck 'bolts' are actaully electrodes positioning to let the lightning activate the motor section of the brain.<br />To achieve a 'dead' look, (the creature is made of dead body parts), Karloff's eyes were given heavy makeup jobs. Pierce even convinced Karloff to take out some dental bridges to make his cheeks collapse. Finally, his face was covered in green paint because, when filmed in B&W film, it resembled cadaver skin. (Pierce referenced photos he got from the LA Coroner's Office.)<br /><br />Continued...Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-58457586483699894902015-11-04T20:20:00.061-05:002015-11-04T20:20:00.061-05:00Pikebishop, the words 'Warhol' and 'fi...Pikebishop, the words 'Warhol' and 'film' in the same sentence send a chill down my spine! (That and visions of the monster lying in a pile of Campbell soup cans for eight hours!)Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-48320570207239033622015-11-04T20:18:05.422-05:002015-11-04T20:18:05.422-05:00You're welcome, Andrew!
There are other repu...You're welcome, Andrew! <br /><br />There are other reputed sources about the stuff Mary used as inspiration. Basically, her family and friends were one of those groups that discussed science, philosophy, literature, and politics all at the same time. Kind of like the salons in France where the ideas for the French Revolution came about.<br />And as I mentioned to Kiy, they also resembled 60's radicals or modern mega-rich liberal elitists of today.<br />Other reputed sources include actual (illegal) experiments being on human cadavers at the time that involved jolting the bodies with electricity and making them move. Such science was like DNA and molecular genetics today. Without modern knowledge of the nervous system, the possibilities seemed endless.<br /><br />As for making the creature a monster, that IS a problem. Just as DeNiro's version. <br />The closest to reaching the actual spirit of the novel would probably be Karloff. Watching the original Universal film and 'Bride,' I found it surprising just how sympathetic he made the creature. (FYI: Karloff always referred to the character as the 'Creature.' He hated it when people called it the 'Monster.')Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-68338823124233235182015-11-04T16:02:21.089-05:002015-11-04T16:02:21.089-05:00No mention of Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Rust...No mention of Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Rustbelt? ;-)PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-51806794625794884292015-11-04T15:58:58.926-05:002015-11-04T15:58:58.926-05:00Rustbelt, Thanks for an interesting article! I ac...Rustbelt, Thanks for an interesting article! I actually had no idea about Mary's history or how this book came about. I know only that I read it and really enjoyed it. I have not, however, enjoyed the movies because I think the movies try too hard to make the creature into a monster rather than an exploration of something creepier, as it is in the book.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-16797596897128630872015-11-04T13:53:08.099-05:002015-11-04T13:53:08.099-05:00Pikebishop, you have a filthy mind. Don't ever...Pikebishop, you have a filthy mind. Don't ever change. <br /><br />Hm...that might be plausible...<br /><br />Or, they could've waited for Mary to write the story and then play a drinking game while she read the book aloud: one shot every time Victor says "countenance" or "wretchedness." Given how often he blabbers those words, I'm guessing few would survive.Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-75117640826620043432015-11-04T13:46:53.946-05:002015-11-04T13:46:53.946-05:00Jim,
SOO-PER..DOO-PER!!!!!Jim,<br /><br />SOO-PER..DOO-PER!!!!!Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-17353184808424878412015-11-04T13:45:21.245-05:002015-11-04T13:45:21.245-05:00Kit, these four would be right at home at Berkeley...Kit, these four would be right at home at Berkeley in the 60's. I was going to be nastier, but I had to get to the film reviews. <br /><br />Hippies and their lunacy are always good for a laugh, aren't they? :)Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-64561594260969493412015-11-04T13:40:14.767-05:002015-11-04T13:40:14.767-05:00No problem at all, Andrew. Given the description o...No problem at all, Andrew. Given the description of your symptoms, I'm just glad you're able to use a computer.<br /><br />Glad you like it. And beat the plague man. Beat the plague! Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-61523387077606044432015-11-04T12:44:28.470-05:002015-11-04T12:44:28.470-05:00"well endowed?" ;-) Curious choice of ..."well endowed?" ;-) Curious choice of words, one of my English Lit. professors suggested that Mary came up with the contest as a way to pass the time after she got bored, and tired out by the group sex. PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-31315617533277645382015-11-04T08:37:41.797-05:002015-11-04T08:37:41.797-05:00Thanks to this monster franchise, I still can'...Thanks to this monster franchise, I still can't hear "Puttin' on the Ritz" without laughing...Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15946679501660440089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-43805706804181354522015-11-03T23:08:08.711-05:002015-11-03T23:08:08.711-05:00Still laughing about. :)Still laughing about. :)Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-72649793934577254322015-11-03T23:07:56.345-05:002015-11-03T23:07:56.345-05:00"It was this miserable weather that forced fo..."It was this miserable weather that forced four 19th-centurey hippies to spend their Swiss vacation indoors."<br /><br />Hehe.<br /><i>Perfect</i> description of Shelley & co.Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-50434912325795320972015-11-03T22:30:13.791-05:002015-11-03T22:30:13.791-05:00Thanks for the article Rustbelt. Sorry for the de...Thanks for the article Rustbelt. Sorry for the delay in getting it published. I'll be back to comment once my brain clears a bit from the plague. :)AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com