Karloff Frankenstein costume information

Full 1931 costume here:

http://www.frankenstein1931.com/graphics/frankensteinFull.gif

Does anyone have more info on Karloff's Frankenstein costume, from either 'Frankenstein' or 'Bride'?

Specifically, can anyone confirm whether the suit was a dark brown, or black? Do the trousers match the jacket in colour?

The sweater seems to be a ribbed wool, black.

The boots seem to be a plain leather or rubber boot, with an extra sole glued on the bottom for height.

These are just my observations from looking at the movies and some photographs, most of which are of course in black and white. The only (non fan made) colourised shot I know of in existence is the one I posted above, but even that has faded in colour over the years.

I have a feeling that there might be some much better knowledge and observations than mine here on the board, I know there are a lot of Karloff fans out there.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Al

I just found out that the original boots were modified 'asphalt spreaders' knee high workboots.

I have no idea what brand, sort or if anything like them is available in 2010..?

The asphault spreader boots were an item that was used in that era. They don't use them anymore.

Because of the way asphalt spreading was performed in 1931, those particular boots had the knee length and "extra" sole (which was heavily weighted) added to provide the worker spreading the asphalt with more stability; the extra sole was not added for height, though it did help to increase The Monster's stature. They were chosen for Frankenstein because they were considerably larger than normal boots of the day and, like the shortened coat sleeves, would give the impression of enlarged extremities, and the extra weight would contribute to The Monster's lumbering gait. Because the added weight (approximately 13 lbs. for each boot) aggravated Karloff's bad back, custom-made (and lighter) boots were used for Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein.

Modern asphalt spreading is largely done by machine, so this type of boot hasn't been used for decades. There is a modern version of asphalt spreader boots available, but they look like a regular workboot; specially treated leather and soles are used for heat-resistance and to provide the wearer with a layer of insulation as protection from the heat, but the added weight is no longer necessary.

I don't recall ever reading anything that confirmed the actual color of The Monster's wardrobe; it could easily have been any dark color. For black and white photography, designers would use whatever color photographed correctly for their purposes. The Monster's "green" fleshtone, for example, is derived from the makeup Jack Pierce used--variously described as "blue green", "gray green", and "yellow green", Pierce chose this color so that it would photograph as pale flesh to give The Monster a "death pallor". Chocolate syrup was often used for blood. And "home movie" footage shot behind the scenes on the set of Son of Frankenstein revealed The Monster's shirt and sheepskin tunic to actually be reddish-brown in color:



For the 1931 version, I would stick with basic black for the shirt, coat, pants, and boots, as this is the color most people associate with The Monster's clothing. And, IIRC, they used wool for the coat and pants.

I hope this information helps!

Fantastic info and a great pic of Karloff and Pierce there, thank you Zombie61!

Not real sure on the colors but I stuck with black for my life-size Frankenstein. The shirt is a basic sweat shirt, the pants are wool pants from Goodwill, and the suit jacket was also picked up at Goodwill.



The head was a vinyl cineart that was hollow, I cut out the eye area and added eyes, sanded off the hair and resculpted the forehead adding real metal staples and bands, then added real hair, some gel and tadda!



Here is a site designed for model buiders that might help: http://vampir.headlesshearseman.com/paint.html

Andy

Fantastic, Andy - that looks great.:thumbsup

What did you use for the hands / arms?

Al Elliott said:

Fantastic, Andy - that looks great.:thumbsup

What did you use for the hands / arms?

Click to expand...

I made some quick molds of my arms in Smooth-On's AlgiSafe Alginate and used their quick setting resin. I then sculpted the scar on the right wrist and painted them to match, then added the metal conductor plate on the left.


Andy

Thanks again for that link and the info.

Now that my werewolf is almost done, Frankenstein's Monster is definitely my next project. I hope mine turns out half as good as yours.

Al

:thumbsup

RangerAndy said:

Not real sure on the colors but I stuck with black for my life-size Frankenstein. The shirt is a basic sweat shirt, the pants are wool pants from Goodwill, and the suit jacket was also picked up at Goodwill.

The head was a vinyl cineart that was hollow, I cut out the eye area and added eyes, sanded off the hair and resculpted the forehead adding real metal staples and bands, then added real hair, some gel and tadda!

Here is a site designed for model buiders that might help: Headless Fritz's: Paint Guide

Andy

Click to expand...

.

Great thread! I've never seen some of these pics.
Nice work on your Monster, Andy.

very nice work,

I love the old horror movie.

n0x23, those are great pix of the boots. Never seen those before. Excellent!

Rick

Bob Burns has many of the original horror film items including the Frankenstien boots.

Google Bob Burns Basement and youll find lots of information.

Richie

The boots Bob Burns has are from the later Frankenstien films with Glenn Strange. They look totally different than the ones Karloff had.

Aww..I could tell they were different than the ones pictured above.

Richie

This is a really nice looking Frankenstein indeed! What makes up the main structure and holds him upright?