MAKING A MONSTER

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 25 July 1935, Page 8

MAKING A MONSTER

BIG TASK TOR SPECIALIST TWO FRANKENSTEINS There are. two Frapkenstpins at Universal City. One is Co,lin Clive, who makes monsters on the screen. The other is the man who. makes the monster in reality. - His ; name.' is Jack Pierce. He is Universal’s make-up specialist.

Pierce- recently finished work on “The Bride of Frankenstein,”, the sequel to . the Universal thriller of several seasons ago. In . this picture Pierce spent seven hours daily for--thirty days making up Karloff for liis-part-as -the monster.. In addition, he had to metamorphi.se Elsa Lanehes-

wr from? • ail attractive- actress- into a bride fit for the monster. Pierce net Karloff at (lie- studio each morning during production of “The Bride of Frankenstein" at 6 o'clock sharp. From then on until"F p.nV.' ho watT-Uusy creat-

ing his grotesque work of art. i Film “fans” will recall that the first picture ended with the monster being burned in a mill. The sequel shows that he was not burned fatally. “The Bride of Frankenstein”’ opens with the. monster still alive, but. with the ravages of the. flames strongly marked on his person. From 6 o’clock in the morning

till 12 was spent hv Pierce in plastering on Karloff’s facial and arm makeup. Tills make-up was built from thick, greenisli-grey grease paint, At 12 o’clock Pierce would begin fitting on the shoes, weighing 111 b soz apiece They were size 24. Then came the,final touch in creating the monster —helping Karloff on with the. padded suit two inches thick which he wore under his clothes from neck to ankles. By one o’clock, as a rule, .the job would be complete. .

.Frankenstein and his monster would sit down for a. cup of tea together before Karloff moved off to' I lie set for the . hours of act ing which were, iir store for him. Karloff towers 7fit Tin on the screen. Of this height, seven inches were added to . his'head

and nine inches to his feet-. Each day from BO to 45 minutes were spent in making up his hands alone.