Lon Chaney Buried Alive for Ghost of Frankenstein
As many are aware, films are rarely shot in the same sequence as the script calls for.
Enjoy reading about this event that took place during the filming of '42 Ghost of Frankenstein, where Lon Chaney (minus the Jr.) inherits the role that Boris Karloff made famous.
Excerpts edited from The Ghost of Frankenstein/Scripts From The Crypt #16 by Greg Mank, Tom Weaver, and other contributors.
The scenes of Chaney encased in the dried sulphur pit from the conclusion of Son of Frankenstein, was filmed on tbe last day of production.
There are 2 reasons...one was Chaney's uneven temperament and drinking.... the other being the lengthy and complex nature of the set up and filming. Saving it until the end would make it easier to cope with Lon, were he to become difficult, since 99.9% of the film was already finished.
First was the 4 hour application of the Frankenstein monster make up and costume by Jack Pierce. After completion, Chaney went to the set, where a team of skilled technicians spent the next 7 hours troweling him into his plaster tomb. He was packed within a 1 foot thick mud/plaster shroud with only a tiny air hole to allow him to breathe. He did so through a straw until the 'action' directive. He was also unable to see. After the process was finished, the crew then went to lunch, leaving him alone!
Just imagine yourself in this ordeal!
This was a 1 take scene, with Chaney breaking loose from the 'dried sulphur' and begins to walk towards the camera. Only his extraordinary strength, stamina, and determination made it possible for this to be successful.
As noted, during this long preparation, he was often left alone....no food...no water.....buried alive until 'Action!'
He may have panicked...he may have suffocated.
He may have had a breakdown.
Maybe he did.
Immediately after the final wrap, Chaney's wife took charge and immediately got him off the lot, and made sure they went on a hunting trip, leaving this ordeal in the rear view mirror and escaping everything for a while.
In an interview done in July '68, Lon
recalled this scene in the film, "I was young, very conscious of claustrophobia, coupled with the heat, and lack of water, I went out of my head. The next thing I remember is I'm kneeling down in front of a campfire..." (Along on the trip was an aunt and uncle.) "I remember saying, where the hell are we and what are we doing?"
Enjoy reading about this event that took place during the filming of '42 Ghost of Frankenstein, where Lon Chaney (minus the Jr.) inherits the role that Boris Karloff made famous.
Excerpts edited from The Ghost of Frankenstein/Scripts From The Crypt #16 by Greg Mank, Tom Weaver, and other contributors.
The scenes of Chaney encased in the dried sulphur pit from the conclusion of Son of Frankenstein, was filmed on tbe last day of production.
There are 2 reasons...one was Chaney's uneven temperament and drinking.... the other being the lengthy and complex nature of the set up and filming. Saving it until the end would make it easier to cope with Lon, were he to become difficult, since 99.9% of the film was already finished.
First was the 4 hour application of the Frankenstein monster make up and costume by Jack Pierce. After completion, Chaney went to the set, where a team of skilled technicians spent the next 7 hours troweling him into his plaster tomb. He was packed within a 1 foot thick mud/plaster shroud with only a tiny air hole to allow him to breathe. He did so through a straw until the 'action' directive. He was also unable to see. After the process was finished, the crew then went to lunch, leaving him alone!
Just imagine yourself in this ordeal!
This was a 1 take scene, with Chaney breaking loose from the 'dried sulphur' and begins to walk towards the camera. Only his extraordinary strength, stamina, and determination made it possible for this to be successful.
As noted, during this long preparation, he was often left alone....no food...no water.....buried alive until 'Action!'
He may have panicked...he may have suffocated.
He may have had a breakdown.
Maybe he did.
Immediately after the final wrap, Chaney's wife took charge and immediately got him off the lot, and made sure they went on a hunting trip, leaving this ordeal in the rear view mirror and escaping everything for a while.
In an interview done in July '68, Lon
recalled this scene in the film, "I was young, very conscious of claustrophobia, coupled with the heat, and lack of water, I went out of my head. The next thing I remember is I'm kneeling down in front of a campfire..." (Along on the trip was an aunt and uncle.) "I remember saying, where the hell are we and what are we doing?"
