Halloween Special #1…Rare Frankenstein Color Footage
Halloween Special #1…Rare Frankenstein Color Footage
This is a short color home movie clip shot by Boris Karloff’s wife who took this on the set of ‘The Son Of Frankenstein’ in December of 1939. In it, we see Karloff goofing and playing with Universal’s top monster makeup man, Jack Pierce. There will be much more on Pierce in the next post.
This was the third and final Frankenstein role for Karloff and he and Pierce had been working together since Pierce first developed this classic look in 1931 for ‘Frankenstein’. Their second together was ‘The Bride Of Frankenstein’ in 1935. They both cooperated on the design of the now iconic make-up, with Karloff removing a dental plate to create an indentation on one side of the Monster’s face. He also endured four hours of make-up under Pierce’s hand each day, during which time his head was built up with cotton, collodion and gum, and green greasepaint (designed to look pale on black and white film) was applied to his face and hands. The finished product was universally acclaimed, and has since become the commonly accepted visual representation of Mary Shelley’s creation. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
You call that a little off the top????
The great makeup man Jack Pierce!!
More like Floyd’s evil twin! He’s a scary looking follow without any makeup.
Wonderful footage. Beautiful 16mm Kodachrome.
I said leave it long on top!
Love it!
Brilliant post thanks!
Is that Floyd the barber?