The Making of the Monster

Boris Karloff gets his make-up applied by Universal’s chief make-up artist Jack Pierce and his assistant Bill Ely (left) for 1939’s Son of Frankenstein. It took four hours per day to apply Karloff’s make-up.

Karloff had been making movies since 1919 when he made his breakthrough star appearance as the Monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein. After Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Karloff returned for one final turn at playing the role of the Monster in Son of Frankenstein.