FRANKENSTEIN TEST FOOTAGE 1931
To movie aficionados and horror film lovers world wide, it has always been reported that Bela Lugosi turned down the role of Frankenstein's Monster. The fact is, Bela never turned the role down; he was fired. When Robert Florey, who was originally slated to direct Frankenstein, was first given the script, he read it over and immediately called Bela Lugosi (who was working on another film). Florey told Bela about the script and that he wanted him for the film's lead, the title role of Doctor Frankenstein, instead of the monster. Bela was pleased to learn that he was chosen to play the part of the doctor since he felt it would give him a chance to step out of his "monster" role of Dracula, and into the Hollywood role of a "leading man".
Once Robert Florey had the script for Frankenstein, he immediately began to rework the storyline and modify some of the characterizations. Because he had picked Bela to portray Doctor Frankenstein, Florey decided to make the doctor into a stereotypic mad scientist. Florey also wanted to make the film the ultimate horror movie. Because of this goal, the Florey version of Frankenstein was to include several scenes not found in the book. Florey never had a chance to see his ideas implemented. Before the script ever made it to the Universal moguls, Florey was relieved of his duties as director (a studio's polite way of saying, "you're fired"). When Florey was released from the film, Bela lost his chance to play Doctor Frankenstein, although he was not yet aware of this.
Florey's replacement was to be James Whale, not the only changes to take place. One major change concerned Bela Lugosi . Carl Laemmle, the film's producer , no longer wanted Bela to portray Doctor Frankenstein. Instead, he wanted to cast the tall Hungarian actor as the monster. Bela did not become aware of this change until he saw the final draft of the script. To say he was displeased would be a gross understatement. During this time, while all of these changes were going on with Frankenstein, Bela was still promoting Dracula. After an Interview with a Los Angles radio station Bela learned he was to play the Monster and not Doctor Frankenstein. Upon seeing this script draft Bela flew into a rage which was more horrifying than any creature that he ever played on the silver screen. It was not necessarily the monster role which sent Bela over the edge, it was because the monster had no speaking lines. Bela screamed in broken English, "The Monster could be played by any half-wit extra who knows how to grunt! Without any dialogue and all that makeup, what do they need an actor for?" Without saying another word on the subject, Bela threw the script to the ground, lit a cigar, and marched out of the radio station.
Because he was still relatively new to the Hollywood system, Bela did not realize that he had no choice in the matter because of the way that film contracts were constructed. He was under contract to Universal Pictures for two films, the first was Dracula the second was Frankenstein. Once Bela became aware that he was legally bound to the film, he submitted to the role - albeit briefly. After a close reading of the new Frankenstein draft script, and taking notes on the physical description of the monster, Bela came up with his own makeup. When everyone saw what Bela looked like in his original makeup, they did not shudder because of fright, they laughed uncontrollably. One Hollywood trade paper reported on Bela's costuming. "Bela Lugosi, in the starring role, will be built up with makeup and padding to resemble an 8 foot superman, Mary Shelley, wife of poet Percy Shelley, wrote in 1816. When Lugosi is made up, only his chin and eyes will be visible, greasepaint and putty completely hiding the rest of his face. Shoes to which nearly 12 inches have been added will complete the illusion.
It was at this point that Carl Laemmle ordered Bela to the quarters of master makeup artist Jack Pierce. Pierce was later to create The Wolfman and The Mummy makeups as well as many other Hollywood film creatures. Under the skilled hands of Pierce, Bela underwent four hours of makeup work. This included having his entire face puttied and painted and the addition of over 50 pounds of dead weight put upon his body to give him the presence of a creature who found the simple act of movement a major physical challenge. Though it has always been reported that Bela fought with Jack Pierce during the whole time his makeup was being applied and that Pierce went to Carl Laemmle to claim that he would not work another minute on Bela, which resulted in the release of Bela from the film. This is not true. The reason Bela was released from Frankenstein was because of the wounds he had received in the war. He could not move with the costume's added weight and he was not physically able to perform most of the movements that were required of the monster in the film. Contrary to popular belief, this did not displease Carl Laemmle. He was completely understanding, and instead of releasing Bela from his contract, he offered him a starring role in another horror film, Murders in the Rue Morgue.
Bela did complete a 20 minute screen test as the monster in his full makeup. Bela hated the makeup on top of this he was to lie on a table top for the total test, half covered by a sheet and after a few bits of special effects all Bela was to do was open his eyes, look into the camera and move a few fingers on one hand. The test came out so beautiful, from the artistic and photographic point of view, that all the directors on the lot wanted to make the film.
This screen test film has since been destroyed by time because the film used was not chemically treated to protect it from oxidation - not uncommon for the films of this era.