After Jack Pierce put his spellbinding stamp on Frankenstein’s Monster in 1931, it probably made any makeup artist’s blood run cold to think of attempting to surpass his interpretation. Thankfully, the bloody brave souls at Hammer Films were willing to take a crack at it. Here we’ll take a closer look at the Monster’s makeup from the Hammer era.
The series consists of seven films, beginning in 1957 with The Curse of Frankenstein, and ending in 1974 with Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell. I know some people prefer not to count The Horror of Frankenstein as an official entry, given it’s different tone and cast. Even if you’re not a fan of that one, I have included it here so we can take a look at it’s makeup effects alongside all the other installments.
Let’s get stitching…
1. The Curse of Frankenstein – 1957
Universal Studios still held the rights to the Jack Pierce Frankenstein makeup when Hammer Films started their own series in 1957. Hammer was then forced to come up with their own design to avoid copyright infringement and legal action from Universal, who also apparently monitored the production of Curse of Frankenstein to make sure there were no slip-ups.
With a monster to make and no idea what it should look like, Hammer brought on British makeup artist Philip Leakey to create the look of their creature. The year before, Leakey had been the first makeup artist to receive onscreen credit for “Special Makeup Effects” on the film X the Unknown. X was a science fiction film with a goopy, Blob-like main creature, while Frankenstein was going to be a whole other recipe.
In need of an assistant (like Igor), Phil Leakey invited fellow artist Roy Ashton to help on the film. Both had met on the set of the Gene Kelly film Invitation to the Dance in 1956 and had become friends.
Ted Marshall, the art director on Curse, also helped the makeup artists by submitting character sketches for possible designs.
Christopher Lee had significant input into the makeup process, as well. In the documentary Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror, Lee states that after the first makeup test they attempted, he came out looking like a cross between a wolf and a pig. The second test made him look too much like the Elephant Man.
Eventually, one of them suggested they should make him look more “patched together”. This resulted in the various lumps of “flesh” being added to Lee’s face to make it look as if he was made from different corpses.
To create the makeup, Leakey used coatings of latex to make the face and the torn flesh at the neck, while cotton and pieces of wool were built up to create the flesh lumps. This also helped to make the face look more repulsive and lend some extra cadaver “decoration”.
The artists used mortician’s wax on the cheeks and forehead to create the stitched-up gashes, which go for a more grisly design than the Jack Pierce makeup.
The cuts are made to look deeper and more fresh, no doubt since the movie was shot in color instead of black and white, and the audiences were now able to see the more gory aspects of the Creature.
To give the Monster a pasty, walking-corpse look, the face was covered in a coating of yellow and white greasepaint. Still not looking quite dead enough, Lee was fitted for a contact lens to create a diseased eye. A black wig was placed on top to complete the look, which amounts to a horrifying and decidedly more grotesque version than previous Frankenstein monsters.
Towards the end of the movie, he’s looking worse for wear. His hair has been stripped away and part of his bare head is seen, with more scars decorating his pale skull.
The scene where the Creature gets shot in the eye is also classic, since we get to see a flood of deliciously bright red “Hammer” blood gush over his face . With all these horrific goodies, The Three Musketeers of Hammer makeup, Leakey, Ashton, and Lee, made our nightmares look so much cooler.
2. The Revenge of Frankenstein – 1958
Instead of a creature, the sequel features a deformed hunchback named Karl (Oscar Quitak) and the new body that his brain is transplanted into (Michael Gwynn). Once the new body begins to reacquire Karl’s deformities, we’re treated to a bit of makeup wizardry, once again courtesy of Phil Leakey. Roy Ashton did not return, since the makeup was going to be minimal and an assistant wasn’t needed.
The best moment for makeup in the film is when Karl, whose brain now resides in a new body, stumbles into a ballroom get-together where Baron Frankenstein is spending the evening.
With one half of his face deteriorating, Gwynn looks like he’s suffering from Phantom of the Opera syndrome. Sadly, I couldn’t find any information on what materials were used to create the makeup. The right side of his face is covered with a cadaverous pallor, along with some reddened tissue on the bottom lip. A white contact lens seems to be used for the dying eye.
It’s not a monumental makeup achievement, but it’s still cool to examine. The tousled hair adds some flavor as well. It’s tough to stalk around the town strangling people like a madman and not have a bad hair day.
3. The Evil of Frankenstein – 1964
By the time the third installment of the series was underway, the budgets for the Hammer films were shrinking. As the story goes, Philip Leakey had a retainer with Hammer Films that secured his role as their main makeup artist. Anthony Nelson Keys, a producer at the studio, was finding ways to slash costs and ended up revoking Leakey’s retainer. Leakey balked at this and, feeling he had been treated unfairly, left the studio.
As a result, Roy Ashton was put in charge of makeup for The Evil of Frankenstein. At the time the film was greenlit, Hammer had entered into a distribution agreement with Universal Studios, who allowed Ashton to copy elements of the Jack Pierce Frankenstein makeup.
Ashton stated that he did almost 300 different concept drawings for the Monster since Hammer seemed particularly indecisive. For all the work he did, it looks like the studio wanted to stick to something more familiar. Many people don’t think the end result is a very imaginative makeup, probably since it looks too similar to the Jack Pierce makeup made with what looks like half-baked clay. For me, if it’s not CGI, then it looks pretty cool to me.
According to Ashton, the large forehead for the Creature was built using layers of paper, as were the cheeks. Unfortunately, the makeup on the cheeks doesn’t exactly blend well against actor Kiwi Kingston’s skin, and it ends up looking pretty fake in that area. A piece of old rag provided some mass for the top of the head.
A bootlace stood in for the suture that sews up the massive scar along the head, while metal washers were used for the electrodes on the sides of the face. Once again, the magic of budget restrictions means interesting materials (or the makeup department’s garbage?) end up being used for makeup effects.
As opposed to Jack Pierce’s makeup, where the Monster has nicely kept hair, Ashton makes the hair for this makeup more sparse and “stringy”. This is actually a nice touch, since it gives the Monster a more wild look. At least when he turns around…which isn’t too often…
Black makeup was added to the eyelids for when the Creature sits with his eyes closed. This dark shade was also added to the lips, no doubt another inspiration from the Jack Pierce makeup. Sadly, most audiences think that sitting with their eyes closed is a better idea than seeing the movie, so this film is the lowest rated out of all the Hammer Frankenstein series.
4. Frankenstein Created Woman – 1967
Roy Ashton was still working with Hammer when Woman was released in 1967, though he must have been busy on other films like The Reptile and Dracula: Prince of Darkness at the time. Instead, makeup artist George Partleton created the effects for the 4th Frankenstein film.
There’s precious little information about Partleton floating around out there, unfortunately. Before Woman, he worked as a makeup artist alongside Stuart Freeborn on Bridge Over the River Kwai, as well as the Vincent Price horror film The Masque of the Red Death. Later, he was a makeup man on A Clockwork Orange.
For Frankenstein Created Woman, we are absent one Frankenstein’s Monster once again, so there’s not too much in the makeup effects department. Even so, the title woman of the film, Christina, does have a facial disfigurement for the first part of the film before her body is cured by Baron Frankenstein’s questionable methods.
The makeup consists of red and furrowed skin, with scars running vertically down her face. It almost looks like she was caught in a windmill fire.
We’re also treated to a few gruesome prosthetics, including when Christina speaks to the severed head of her lover, Hans, (having had the soul of Hans transferred into her body), after killing one of the men responsible for his being wrongfully executed. And they say Joker and Harley Quinn have a strange relationship.
5. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed – 1969
Just as Peter Cushing kept switching laboratory assistants, the films started switching up makeup artists. The prosthetic work for this film was helmed by Eddie Knight, who started his association with Hammer on The Devil Rides Out in 1967.
For this movie, Frankenstein’s “creation” is an insane former doctor’s brain transplanted into the body of a professor, played by Freddie Jones. Jones starts out with a full head of hair in the film, which is later shaved off in order to transplant the brain into his body. Eddie Knight created a scar that wraps all around the Jones’ head, with some good old-fashioned stitches sewn in.
In addition, Peter Cushing wears a mask in the opening moments of the film no doubt created by Knight. It’s a warty looking visage that’s supposed to look a bit fake, since the Baron is using it for a disguise, though it’s particularly unsettling for me since it looks like a scary Patrick Stewart mask.
6. The Horror of Frankenstein – 1970
Story, writing, tone, and casting aside, Horror of Frankenstein always seems to get a bad rap because of the uninspired Monster and makeup played by David Prowse. It is pretty bland compared to other Frankenstein’s Monster outings, but for me it’s like watching different actors do the same Shakespeare monologue — even if it’s subpar, it’s interesting to see whatever new is brought to the table.
To build the Creature’s new look, Hammer hired makeup artist Tom Smith, who had helped to create the clammy look of the main actors in the 1963 film The Haunting. He also later went on to work with the makeup department on The Shining, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Ghandi.
The main difference for this incarnation of the Monster is his total lack of hair. Though Freddie Jones sports a hairless cranium in Must Be Destroyed, his head has just been shaved for a brain transplant. In Horror, the head is built using prosthetics, which makes it more of a “monster” makeup.
The Monster (who has virtually no personality in the movie) features a high, square head, again reminiscent of Jack Pierce’s design. In an interesting change, the jagged scars that run across the head are held in place by metal clamps instead of stitches. More scars are present across Prowse’s shoulders and around his back, and also on his legs.
It is odd that Smith didn’t bother to add any type of prosthetics to Prowse’s face. With his enlarged upper head and normally proportioned lower features, he ends up looking more like a mutant from The Hills Have Eyes.
7. Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell – 1974
This one marked the last of the true Hammer Horror Frankenstein movies, and also director Terence Fisher’s last film before his retirement. It also made the Creature a man in a suit.
Hammer left it to Eddie Knight once again to create the Creature’s makeup. This time, he had assistance from special effects artist Les Bowie, who helped with the design.
In the film, the Monster is actually supposed to be a human with an unexplained condition that apparently makes you look like a Neolithic Chewbacca. What sets it apart is that it’s a pullover mask and gorilla-looking bodysuit as opposed to the traditional makeup effects.
The costume is very ape-like, with a bulky build and plenty of coarse looking hair. Knight added ridged cheeks and black eyeliner to create the face, with a scar running along the cranium where Baron Frankenstein has performed yet another brain transplant. A large scar is also present on the top of the head. The Monster’s hair is very thick especially around the neck, giving him a lion-like mane, which then thins out as it gets nearer the center of his body.
Terence Fisher hated the suit and apparently tried to reduce the amount of screen time for the Creature. Production manager Christopher Neame also voiced his derision, stating that “…it just looked silly.” The decision to use a suit does result in some poorly executed action. The mask severely limits the amount of movement in the face, which is especially noticeable in a scene where the Monster is coughing and the lips barely budge.
David Prowse, who played the Monster, thought more fondly of the costume. He remembers that it only took him about a half-hour to put the entire suit on, as opposed to the several hours required for his makeup in The Horror of Frankenstein.
For the brain transplant scene, a lamb’s brain was reportedly used. The scene is one of the most detailed in the ongoing series of the Baron playing his favorite game of “Desecrate-a-Corpse”. It actually shows a bone-saw cutting into a dead man’s head, the cranium being removed, and the brain taken out. The soft sound of the saw cutting into the bone disturbs my dreams more than it should.
Unfortunately, the dead man face doesn’t look very convincing, since he almost looks like one of those unpainted plaster life casts that makeup artists are so fond of. I guess you would be pretty pale if your brain was being removed, but a little greasepaint or something would have been nice.
“Let’s let our friend here rest in peace…while he can.”
For me, Christopher Lee’s makeup in The Curse of Frankenstein is the best of the Hammer Horror Frankenstein films. Philip Leakey is one of the heroes of all Hammer fans, though he never seemed to gain the amount of fame he deserved. Someday I’ll host a flash mob where we all put up a statue of him and burn an offering of spirit gum.
Monster Merch
Need to add more Curse of Frankenstein stuff to your collection? Probably not, but it’s fun to look anyway. These are affiliate links, so any commissions I may receive will be used to fund additional expeditions to Swiss prisons in the hope of finding Dr. Frankenstein still alive and well.
