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There used to be - and maybe still is for all I know - a regularly issued practical jokes & tricks catalogue from a company called Ellisdons, from which (if memory serves) I got my first over-head Frankenstein mask sometime around the mid-'70s. I think I later bought another one which had 'real hair' (it was certainly real something, but it definitely wasn't hair), and though it was based on Jack Pierce's original make-up design, its likeness wasn't that of Boris Karloff or Glenn Strange, but a slight amalgam of both of them.
One night myself, a friend, and the mask, visited another friend, who took a couple of photos of us clowning around that were developed as slides. He later gave me copies, which I cut up and installed in one of those toy TV-type viewers that, when you clicked a switch, revolved the pics past the viewfinder. I made a little sign saying 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' and attached it to the viewer, and when I showed it to yet another pal (Moonmando), he remarked "More like the curse of Adam Cowie" (name changed to protect the guilty), the friend that I, as the Monster, was 'attacking' in the pics.
Ah, such fun - the joys of youth! (I was yet a teenager.) Anyway, today, all the way from America (actually saved a tenner by not buying it in Britain), the official Universal Studios full over-head mask of Boris Karloff as the Monster arrived at Castel Crivens. When I tried it on, the smell of latex whisked me 45-odd years into the past, because it smelt exactly the same as the masks obtained from Ellisdons. True, the Universal version is much better made, more fully detailed, and of far superior quality, but the smell was the same.
Anyway, it's such a brilliant mask I thought I'd let you see it, so that's it above among some other goodies in one of my rooms, and below are a few close-ups of Frankie's fearsome fizzog to astound and amaze you. Brilliant, innit?! Who else remembers Ellisdons, and did any of you ever have a Frankenstein Monster mask when you were a youth? Or any other kind, come to that.
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| The mask is draped over a globe lamp, which I switched on for this photo. If you look closely, you can see a hint of the lit-up eyes. Click to enlarge, then click again for full size |
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| Photo used in eBay listing |
14 comments:
Must have been a bit expensive if it's an official Universal Studios mask?
The only mask I ever owned was a Planet Of The Apes gorilla mask when I was 8 and the POTA series was on TV. It was made of plastic and quite bulky and there was a movable jaw which was attached to the upper part of the mask.
Good heavens, my friend, we are of like mind today. I continue to be astonished (and probably a little humbled) when a coincidence such as this materializes. :)
Crikey! If I had a mask like that in my house I think I'd have nightmares. Looks great though. Are you going to wear it when shopping in WH Smiths
I've been meaning to talk to you about that, CJ; you're a grown man - isn't it time you took off that POTA mask once and for all?
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Yeah, I saw the Frankenstein comic on your blog earlier today, CF. I posted the UK version of that same comic a few weeks back - take a wee look and compare the difference. If you type 'Frankenstein' into my blog's search box, it should take you to it.
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I'd better not, AL, 'cos then I probably wouldn't get noticed. Besides, customers already run out off the shop, screaming, when they see my own face.
I never had an over the head mask as a kid ( or adult) I'm afraid but this one looks pretty cool. Oh and that's a nice poster in your door.
And it goes without saying, McS, that I know every one of those young ladies personally (I wish). The mask looks even better in real life than in the photos - it truly is stunning.
I had a Frankenstein monster face mask which actually looked a lot like Herman Munster. I bought from an advert on an American comic in the late 60s. I had it stored in its box in the linen cupboard for years. When moving house 20 years ago there it was still in its box in the cupboard. My boys thought it was great until we opened the box and found it had dissolved itself . Pity.
Yeah, that's the thing about latex, LH - it needs looking after to preserve its 'integrity', otherwise it can deteriorate. I'll have to give it a wipe down, inside and out, every so often, but as I won't actually be wearing it, hopefully that'll extend its survival prospects over the years.
Kid, I notice you didn't deny that your official Universal Studios mask was expensive so I'll assume it was.
Don't worry - you don't have to say how much it was. I know you're rolling in dosh and can afford it :)
Nor did I confirm whether it was expensive, CJ, so you could just as easily assume that it wasn't.
Anyway, expense is relative, and hardly matters when one is as ridiculously rich as I am. (Or am I joking?)
Genuine question: the mask appears to have eyeballs, so how does the wearer see out?
The iris and pupil of each eye is open, DS, so the wearer sees out that way.
Ah, I see it now- I thought they were just dark eyes. Very detailed mask though. You must be tempted to put it on just before opening the door the next time a meter reader calls round?
I read my own meters, DS, so that isn't an option. The postie delivering a parcel is a tempting prospect though. You can also buy latex arms and hands that can be worn like gloves to complete the disguise, but as I'll never be attending any fancy dress parties, they're not a 'must-have' (at the moment).
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