Lon Chaney sr. played so many characters alot of them monsters that he was dubbed the man with a thousand faces, and each of them he created with his own make-up kit back in the 1920's , The Phantom of the Opera was but one of the fantastic monsters he portrayed.
Count Dracula
Bela Lugosi is perhaps the best known "Dracula", his portrayal set the archtype of vampires for generations. Dracula the vampire, written by Abraham(Bram) Stoker in 1897 has been the subject of vampire and horror enthusiasts over a hundred years. Dracula the novel remains in print and a best seller even today(2003). Dracula was also a real life human, called Vlad the Impaler of the 15th century, while there was no evidencethat he was or is a real vampire,or undead, he was both a hero and villian in his native land of Transylvania.
In 1931 a little known actor lumbered onto the screen, he portrayed the best known character of fiction the Frankenstein Monster.His name was Boris Karloff and with the makeup design of Jack Pierce and direction of James Whale produced a classic of monsterdom.
The novel Frankenstein written by Mary W. Shelly, a young girl married to poet Percy B. Shelly, wrote this fateful tell on a summers vacation during a magnificent storm as a ghost tale, because there was nothing else to do! such boredom!
The monster ,which by the way never had a name , was brought to life many times on stage and screen, but Karloff's creature is by far the best,at least in my humble opion .My first Famous monsters of filmland had his picture on the cover,I believe we all owe a debt of grattitude to Mr Karloff and all those who made this thrilling picture so long ago.
This beautiful piece is but one of the many items that I have collected over the years about the Frankenstein Monster-truely the king of monsters!
The Wolfman
"Even a man who's pure of heart
And says his prayers by night
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright."
The werewolf legend has been with us since ancient times , just as the vampire and other supernatural beings. Even science has found a way and a name to explain this condition of the werewolf, they call it Lycanthrope.
Legend tells us of many ways to become a werewolf. Someone who practices the black arts is often able to accomplish this feat. A magickal ceremony must take place, in which the person wears a belt of wolfskin and smears a special ointment over their body. There are other ways as well:Eating the meat of a rabid wolf or drinking from the same water where a wolf pack drinks.Drinking from a wolf's pawprint can also transform a person into a werewolf. Of course being bitten by another werewolf is the most common way in the movies.
These legends are the stuff that movie makers have used to bring us such classics as "The WolfMan" starring Lon Chaney jr.
