ISSUE 1 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Format: epub

TEST tubes bubble, electricity crackles and sparks fly as the mad scientist works on his latest laboratory creation a familiar scene in countless horror films, especially those made during the 1930s and 40s. Usually the one responsible for those spectacular electrical displays was a man called Ken Strickfaden. He specialised in making electrical equipment for use in films, working in the garage of his home in Santa Monica. California. It was Strickfaden who designed and built all the equipment that Dr Frankenstein (Colin Clive) used to activate the Monster (Boris Karloff) in the 1931 version of Frankenstein, and in the sequels that followed. Strickfaden worked mostly for Universal Studios- during the 30s though not exclusively. For instance in 1932 he designed and built the giant electrical generator used in the climax of MGM's The Mask of Fa Mancha. Strickfaden’s machines weren't fakes — they actually did produce millions of volts and were quite dangerous to work with. On Fa Mancha he designed a special rig for Karloff, who w playing Fu, which would enable him produce electrical sparks between the long metal finger-tips he was wearing and the surface of a sw'ord. Wisely. Karloff declined to test the effect so Strickfaden himself donned Karloffs costume and rig. He grounded himself with a wire from one leg and then placed his hand in the electrical circuit. Everything worked fine until he happened to move his ungrounded leg near a metal conduit in the floor. Strickfaden literally took off and spun round in the air as the rest of the film crew, including a stunned Karloff, watched in amazement. Fortunately Strickfaden wasn't seriously hurt in the accident and was soon back at work trying to invent even more spectacular electrical effects. When Mel Brooks came to make his 1974 Strickfaden, then in his seventies, still had a lot of the original Frankenstein electrical equipment stored in his garage. Brooks decided it would be a great idea to make use of it in his film and also hired Strickfaden as an adviser. So, over 40 years later, his equipment was once again appearing in another Frankenstein film. Strickfaden also built a number of new devices for Young Frankenstein and as before there was some risk involved in their use. For the sequence where young Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) attempts to bring his creation (Peter Boyle) to life, Strickfaden’s machine produced 5,000,000 volts! Gene Wilder bravely agreed to stand close to the lightning machine, making sure he was carrying nothing metallic, but a dummy replica of Peter Boyle was used to represent the Monster. Happily, nothing went wrong during the Another important person who worked on many of the horror films made during the 30s and 40s was make-up man Jack Pierce. He was responsible for designing the make-up of such famous monsters as Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy and the Wolf Man. Frankenstein's Monster was probably his most memorable creation and Karloff later said that the success of the screen test which led to him getting the part was largely due to Pierce's skill.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.