EXCLUSIVE! Return to Malibou Lake by John Cox

It is a scene etched in film history.

Shot at a mountain lake location on September 28 and 29 in 1931, the drowning of the little girl in Frankenstein was a truly transgressive moment in a film already overloaded with gruesome happenings. Actor Boris Karloff protested, as did audiences and critics when the film previewed. The scene was jettisoned, cutting off suddenly as The Monster reaches for the child.

Unseen for fifty years, the film clip miraculously survived and was eventually restored to continuity. Because of its impact and its enduring notoriety, and the only sequence with The Monster to be shot away from the confines of the soundstage at Universal studios, fans and film historians have long speculated about where the Maria scene was actually shot.

In January this year, screenwriter John Cox, armed with recent information and photo references, went looking for the spot where film history was made.

Come along with John as we Return to Malibou Lake...

Where did Universal shoot the famous Maria meets the Monster scene in the classic 1931 Frankenstein? For years I could never get a straight answer. Some claimed it was shot on the Universal backlot along with the rest of the movie. But it’s clear from the size of the lake and the rugged mountains in the distance that this can’t be true. My go-to source for all things Frankenstein — MagicImage’s Universal Filmscripts Series Vol. 1 — says only that it was shot at “a mountainous lake.” Rudy Behlmer’s superb commentary on the special edition DVD says it was “almost certainly Lake Sherwood in the Santa Monica Mountains.” Jack P. Pierce bizarrely claimed that it was shot at Malibu Beach. Unable to get a definitive answer, I came up with my own theory. Why would Universal travel so far from the lot when they had Toluca Lake in their front yard? I decided the scene must have been shot somewhere on Toluca Lake and the mountains in the distance were Glendale/Burbank.

But then one Sunday morning, while browsing the Internet, I stumbled on the Frankensteinia blog and the article The Lake of Frankenstein. Here at last was an authoritative answer (sourced to an article by Gregory Mank in Midnight Marquee, No. 60). The scene was shot at Malibou Lake on September 28, 1931. (Yes, Malibou, not Malibu.) There was even a map. That’s when I looked up from my computer screen and saw it was 11:00 am on this beautiful Sunday and Malibou Lake was an easy 30-40 minute drive from my house. Should I go? Follow-up comments on the article noted that the exact spot where the scene was shot (which it did not pinpoint) was now “a private home”; so I wouldn’t be able to stand in the footsteps of the monster. But maybe I could still get close. Armed with the map, my camera, and a photo of the scene that gave a good look at the topography, I set out to find the place where Little Maria met her fate.

As I drove, I wondered how the crew from Universal traveled to the lake that September day. Certainly in 1931 they were not blasting along the 134 Freeway at 70mph as I now was. It’s possible they traveled along Mulholland Hwy., which begins at Universal City and ends near the Los Angeles/Ventura county line. Or maybe they took Pacific Coast Highway and approached the lake from the opposite side of the canyon. Whatever route they took, in 1931 it would not have been a quick journey. Even today the lake is isolated deep in the coastal mountains of Las Virgenes.

As I pulled into Malibou Lake, I was surprised to find such an idyllic setting, a true mountain hideaway resort. Expensive homes and boat slips rimmed a central lake with a small island sitting in the center. Pretty, yes, but nothing looked familiar. This was hardly the rugged “Bavarian” mountain lake of the film.

Just over a bridge sat a clubhouse and realtor — the only public buildings — so I pulled off and parked at the clubhouse. Maybe inside I could get some guidance. The door was open, but the clubhouse was empty. On the walls hung photos from famous movies that had been shot on the lake, but Frankenstein was not among them. Not a good sign. I then walked to the realtor, but they were closed on this Sunday. Looked like I would have to find the spot on my own.

Dismissing this populated area, I climbed back into my car and drove west along the edge of the lake. Here it became more mountainous and isolated. Several times I pulled over to compare some mountain peaks with my printout of the scene. There was one very clear landmark — a rock outcrop with a bare peak, not unlike the mountain in the Paramount logo. Certainly that would not have changed, and if I could find it, I could use the angle to zero in on the location. As the road wrapped around to the other side of the lake, I found an area that looked very promising. Here there were several rock outcrops that could be the “Paramount peak” in my picture, just from a different angle. The rocks towered over what appeared to be a dry lake bed -- perhaps this could have been the original lake before being diverted to the town entrance, which all seemed quite new. But I could find nothing conclusive. I took some photos, then continued around the lake. Here I started to ascend into the mountains. I certainly wasn’t going to find a lakeside setting up here; so I turned around. At least now I had a range to search.

I traveled back down the main road, again stopping to examine some peaks. After taking a few more photos, I decided I had pretty much covered the area and I wasn’t going to find the exact spot. But I had found some possibilities and photographed them and that would have to suffice. And it wasn’t like I’d be able to stand on the exact spot anyway. I drove back into town and again parked at the empty clubhouse. I figured I’d get one last photo of the main lake, which was certainly the most scenic part of the area. This time I walked out onto the town bridge, where I could get the best shot. I raised the camera to my eye and froze.

There it was!

It was the Paramount peak, clear as a bell, sitting directly across the lake at almost the exact angle as the scene photo in my hands. Trees had grown up around it, and there was a house now sitting at its base, but there was no mistaking it. This WAS the lake all along! I was so excited, I stopped a couple who were coming across the bridge at that moment and asked them whether I was crazy or whether that rock outcrop in the photo was the same as the one across the lake. They agreed and, even though they were locals, had no idea of the Frankenstein connection. But what was still throwing me was the island in the center of the lake. That was what had obscured my view of the rock peak when I first arrived in town. It was nowhere to be seen in my photo or the film. The scene must have been shot at an angle that somehow omitted the island. But with the rock peak in my sights, I now had a way to find the spot.

Looking around, I saw there was a private gated road of homes that ran alone the lake. Recalling the information that the spot was now on private property, I figured it must have been shot somewhere along that stretch of road. Sure, I would need to trespass, but I would do so conspicuously, holding my camera and printout so I appeared to be exactly what I was — a nosy harmless tourist. I entered via a pedestrian entry and walked along the road with one eye on the photo and one on my Paramount peak, waiting for the magic alignment. But it didn’t happen. If anything, it was now looking less promising than the angle from the bridge. It hadn’t been shot over here after all.

I stopped and turned and saw an older gentleman sitting on his sundeck looking out over the road and lake. I went up to him, apologized for the intrusion, and I explained I was a fan of Frankenstein. Before I could finish, he nodded and said “And you’re looking for where they shot the movie?” Yes! He stood and pointed back across the lake, back toward the boat slips across from the clubhouse. “They shot it right there,” he said as he pointed out a grassy spot between two slips. Ironically, it was just yards from where I first stopped when I arrived at the lake. I explained how the island had confused me. He said the island was a relatively new addition to this man-made lake. The area he was pointing to was also private, but he said it was no problem if I went over and had a look. I thanked him and set off.

Crossing back over the bridge, I hopped over a picket fence that cordoned off the area and approached the boat slips. As I neared, I instantly recognized an unruly collection of reeds, exactly like those that frame the famous scene. Amazing that they were still here! I then passed a boat slip made of stone with spiked iron gates. Is it too poetic to think this slip was built in a “Frankenstein style” to commemorate the location? I stepped to the right of the slip and walked down a grassy incline to the lake, exactly as Maria and the Monster had, hand in hand, 78 years ago.

I raised my photo printout to the horizon and everything lined up perfectly. While tree growth has changed the look of the shoreline quite a bit, the silhouette of the mountains was unmistakable. I was standing on the spot where Boris Karloff and Marilyn Harris, with director James Whales and a full Universal crew, filmed one of the most famous scenes in horror movie history.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure, John. I felt as if I was right there with you! Someday, someone must visit again and perhaps float some daisies on the lake, in honor of James Whale, Boris Karloff, and Marilyn Harris.

JOHN COX is a professional screenwriter who lives in Studio City, CA. Besides Universal horror, he is also a fan and expert on the legendary magician Harry Houdini and runs the website Wild About Houdini.

Related:
Time Out at Malibou Lake
The Lake of Frankenstein, a history of Malibou Lake

Time Out at Malibou Lake

Emerging from the grainy static of time, in a photograph taken 78 years ago today, two British gentlemen sit, as the saying goes, out in the midday sun.

Perhaps a soothing breeze wafted off Malibou Lake, affording Mr. Whale and Mr. Pratt (aka Karloff) a bit of respite on their cigarette break in the notoriously hot summer of 1931. Whale, Karloff and young Marilyn Harris traveled to Malibou Lake on September 28 and 29 to shoot the difficult scene where the confused Monster accidentally drowns little Maria.

I previously posted a history of Malibou Lake here. I have just now updated that post as information surfaces that Frankenstein cinematographer Arthur Edeson had built himself a house at the lake in 1926, making him the most likely candidate for suggesting the location and perhaps even guiding the crew with their cars and equipment trucks along the winding dirt roads to the site.

Be sure to return here tomorrow, Tuesday September 29, for a terrific Frankensteinia Exclusive Guest Post as screenwriter John Cox drives out to Malibou Lake, looking for the exact spot where the notorious scene was shot. It’s great detective reportage and a fascinating journey you won’t want to miss, as John takes us along on a RETURN TO MALIBOU LAKE.

Related:
The Lake of Frankenstein

Maria and The Monster

It was 80 years ago, on September 28 and 29, 1931, that the notorious drowning scene in Frankenstein was filmed.

Radiating innocence, the child Maria stops The Monster in his errant tracks and forces the only smile ever to cross his hideous face. He is thrilled by a simple game of floating daisies and, when he runs out of flowers, he reaches for the girl.

Young Marilyn Harris (1924-1999) would encounter The Monster again, appearing briefly in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) among a group of schoolgirls sent squealing in fright when The Monster stumbles across their path. Director James Whale was fond of Marilyn as she also plays small roles in Show Boat (1936) and The Road Back (1937). Sadly, Marilyn Harris’s childhood was an unhappy one, due to parental discord and a domineering stage mother. Her short film career, playing bit parts and often uncredited, petered out in 1944.

No doubt Marilyn Harris would be forgotten today, but for a short scene with Boris Karloff, shot 80 years ago, out at Malibou Lake. Today, Marilyn as Little Maria is a movie legend.

Related:

Return to Malibou Lake: In a FRANKENSTEINIA Exclusive, John Cox visits the mountain lake location where the scene was filmed.

James Whale and Boris Karloff take a Time Out at Malibou Lake.

The History of Malibou Lake.

The Lake of Frankenstein

On this day, September 28, and on the 29^th, in 1931, director James Whale and his crew, with actors Boris Karloff, Michael Mark, and 7-year old Marilyn Harris, shot the controversial drowning scene at Malibou Lake (not ‘Malibu'), about 30 miles west of Universal studios.

Karloff was uneasy with the scene, but Whale insisted it was necessary. A few weeks later, preview audiences were appalled and the scene was removed. Ironically, the resulting jarring cut, just as The Monster reaches for the little girl, suggests a fate worse than drowning for poor Maria. The scene, thought lost, was found in the late 70s and restored to the film.

The location, a man-made lake, had filled up in 1926 after sitting dry for 3 years. Frankenstein was only the second motion picture to visit there, but the location was soon to become a movie favorite. Films shot there include Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) and Monsieur Verdoux (1947), the Noir classic The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and the cult science-fiction I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958).

In the 30’s, The Malibu Club charged $1000 a day “for the use of the lake and adjoining property” and extra for lodging and food. A local newspaper reported that Hollywood money had gotten “the lake and its members out of serious debt. In eight short years the lake reduced its debt from $235,000 to a mere $20,000.”

UPDATE: The Maliboulake.net site reports that Frankenstein’s cinematographer, Arthur Edeson, built himself a home on South Lakeshore overlooking the dam at Malibou Lake in 1926. He may very well be the one who suggested the location for The Monster's only outdoor scene in an otherwise stage-bound film.

Hulkenstein

Stan Lee acknowledged the influence of Frankenstein movies on the creation of his green behemoth monster-hero, The Hulk. The reference would be committed to film when the character was translated to live-action television.

In a recent Halloween-time series of posts on the fun, eclectic Baking With Medusa, blogger Micha Michelle explored the connections between the classic Universal Frankensteins and the Bixby/Ferrigno Hulk, complete with scene comparisons.

In the pilot episode, The Incredible Hulk, broadcast on November 7, 1977, the newly minted mint-green monster goes wandering about and comes upon a little girl by a lake, like Karloff’s Monster did in the original 1931 film. The outcome is, thankfully, different: This monster doesn’t drown the child but rather saves her after she falls into the water, but the reference is perfectly clear. Writer, director and series producer Kenneth Johnson has an obvious love for the original material. He has a long list of genre credits, mostly TV, that include The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, V – The Original Series, Alien Nation and An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe starring Vincent Price.

By the way, the mountains on the far shore look tantalizingly familiar. It would be fun to know if the scene was shot at Malibou Lake!

The second episode, A Death in the Family, famous for its scene of The Hulk wrestling a grizzly bear, also has a Frankenstein moment, this one recalling The Monster’s brief friendship with the blind hermit in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The Hulk is given bread and a drink by an old man living in the woods. The scene ends in flames, like the original, but this time the conflagration is provoked by the Hulk spitting cheap booze into the campfire.

The most elaborate Frankenstein connections would roll out in a Season 4 two-parter, The First, written by Andrew Schneider and directed by Frank Orsatti, broadcast on March 6 and 13, in 1981. A fan favorite, the whole episode pays homage to Classic Universal monster movies.

Having heard of another scientist who once transformed into a Hulk-like creature, Bruce Banner goes looking for a cure in a place called Vissaria, like Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man went looking for Dr. Frankenstein in Vasaria in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. There’s a scientist named Clive and an Igor equivalent named Frye. There’s a lady named Elizabeth, and a lawman evoking the Lionel Atwill character in Son of Frankenstein. The show even has angry, torch-bearing villagers.

Direct visual quotes are mostly from The Bride of Frankenstein. There’s a sequence with Bixby operating mad-lab machinery. Levers are pulled, with attendant rooftop effects. In the end, The Hulk battles his Evil Hulk counterpart, played by Dick Durock, who would go on to play The Swamp Thing.

Head over to Baking with Medusa for more details and lots more photo comparisons. With thanks to Micha Michelle, who did a wonderful job tracking down these references.

Hulkenstein on Baking with Medusa:
Part 1, the lake scene.
Part 2, the hermit.
Part 3, Evil Hulk.

Have some cake!

I want to take a moment before this day runs out and note that this blog was launched on August 20, all of eight years ago. Eight years! I don’t know how that happened! I was just fooling around, honest, and I never thought I’d make it past eight days, maybe 8 weeks tops and, well, look at us now. I just checked my stats counter, and we’ve clocked a bit over two million visits in eight years. Two million! How did that happen?

Posting has been sparse over some time now, due mostly to real life butting in. Lots of things keeping me busy, and I won’t even mention my recent Hard Drive meltdown and the loss of research material I had failed to backup properly. Otherwise, it’s been a very good time, being busy with my graphic novels for the French market, and busy with TV, movie and web series writing, all good news for a freelancer. I also was the subject of a TV documentary, how about that! On the side, I never stopped researching Frankenstein in all its aspects and I’ve amassed tons of great new material.

Now I’m on top of things again and I’m undertaking a much busier posting schedule. Very shortly, I’ll be running a series celebrating the 80th anniversary of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) and, after three years of research, I’ll be posting about the Forgotten Frankensteins of the Thirties! Earlier this year, I made a pilgrimage to Malibou Lake just outside LA, where they shot the Little Maria scene for FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and I’ll be sharing that, and lots more finds and surprises over the days, weeks and months to come.

I made a lot of real friends here over the years, and I got to visit with some of you as I traveled to New York, Louisville, London, Paris and Los Angeles. I hope to see you all again, and meet new friends along the way. You all are the reason I keep doing this.

So join me, and do have a slice of birthday cake, won’t you?  

Frankenstein in 2009

Remember 2009? Let’s!

2009 marked the 70^th Anniversary (on January 13!) of Son of Frankenstein (1939), and the 35^th anniversary of the film spoof that closely referenced it, Young Frankenstein (1974). The live musical version of Young Frankenstein bookended the year. It closed in January after 14 tumultuous months on Broadway and reappeared as a touring show in the fall. It is currently booked into some 17 cities through September 2010.

Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl was the most creative and outrageous of the year’s Frankenstein films. I called it “a live action Itchy and Scratchy cartoon”. The bizarre trailer contains equally jarring blackface and arterial spray. Another alternative title was Matthew Saliba’s Frankenstein Unlimited, a collection of short films very loosely based on Frankenstein themes. It was released to DVD in September.

Bikini Frankenstein, starring Jayden Cole as a Bride called Eve, was an “erotic horror comedy” shot in ’09 for a January 2010 release.

For mainstream fare, Frankenhood was a comedy featuring king-sized athlete Bob Sapp as a king-size corpse reanimated and recruited as a street basketball player. House of The Wolfman was a fanfilm that channeled the classic Universal Monster Rallies, with Ron Chaney playing a lycanthropic scientist and Craig Dabbs as a nasty-tempered Frankenstein Monster.

Frankenstein films announced in 2009 included I, Frankenstein, a modern-day action/horror movie in development from writer/actor Kevin Grevioux. Dutch director Richard Raaphorst announced he was repurposing an abandoned WWII zombie film, Worst Case Scenario, as Army of Frankenstein. Here’s a good-looking trailer.

A proposed remake of Bride of Frankenstein, on and off the Universal schedule over the last decade was trotted out again, this time with writer-director Neil Burger attached and media hype attributing the title role to either Scarlett Johansson or Anne Hathaway. Meanwhile, Tim Burton is reportedly putting together a feature-length version of his wonderful short film Frankenweenie, and the unstoppable Guillermo del Toro, busy with the simultaneous shooting of two Hobbit films, has been downright eager to discuss his own planned version of Frankenstein, with Doug Jones locked in for The Monster’s part.

In books, Dead and Alive, the long-awaited third episode in Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein series arrived in July. A Monster’s Notes by poet Laurie Sheck, was described in The New Yorker as “an uncanny fable that portrays Frankenstein’s monster as an enigmatic but compassionate spirit”. Writer-artist Neil Numberman’s Do Not Build a Frankenstein was reviewed by the ALA Booklist as “a light, fun, and awfully cute intro to the famous horror icon”. You can preview the book here.

Books from the previous year released in North America in ’09 included The Original Frankenstein, a reconstruction of Mary Shelley’s original manuscript by Charles Robinson, and The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein: A Novel by Roger Akroyd, which conflates the life of Mary Shelley and her entourage with that of her fictional characters. Both titles were praised by critics.

In comics, R-13 from Blacklist studios was described by its writer, Thomas Hall, as “Frankenstein meeting Homer’s Odyssey”. The art is by Daniel Bradford. Over at IDW, John Byrne crafted a one-shot meeting between Joss Whedon’s Angel and the Frankenstein Monster, just in time for Halloween. There’s a five-page sample up on i09.

Theatrical adaptations of Frankenstein were, as usual, abundant. There seems to be a new version, pro or amateur, playing somewhere every week. I noted a few in passing, otherwise, it’s impossible to keep track.

In the news last year, Christopher Lee, whose career kicked off with his interpretation of The Monster in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) was knighted.

The year’s most intriguing Frankenstein story developed on The Classic Horror Message Board, where vintage horror movie experts and devoted fans explored the possibility that a brief bit of Bela Lugosi’s deleted dialog survives in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942). The film (which I previously discussed here) was shot with Lugosi’s Frankenstein Monster spouting extensive dialog but, for reasons unclear — screenwriter Curt Siodmak claimed that Lugosi’s Hungarian accent sounded hilarious — The Monster was made mute again in post-production, his dialog either cut or erased from the soundtrack (Lugosi’s lips are seen to move in some remaining scenes).

The moment comes when The Monster leads Lon Chaney’s Larry Talbot to a hidden box said to contain the journal of Dr. Frankenstein. Many listeners hear Lugosi saying a line, albeit gnarled and buried under scraping noise and booming music. There’s debate over what is actually said — “It’s in here” or “Here it is” — or if anything is said at all. If you care to give it a try, the CHFB thread is a fun, if rambling read, and contains several soundclips isolating and amplifying the purported dialog. Here’s a YouTube clip of the whole scene, zoomed in on the characters, and here’s the “Eureka Moment” isolated, with sound enhanced. It’s your call.

Finally, this blog — if I may say so myself — contributed a few worthwhile Frankenstein-related events. Notably, screenwriter John Cox reported on his pilgrimage to the site where the infamous Little Maria drowning scene was shot, way back in 1931, for James Whale’s Frankenstein. John’s article, Return to Malibou Lake, complete with exclusive photographs, is a gem.

In November, I called on fellow bloggers to join me in celebrating the life and career of actor Boris Karloff. The result was, in a word, spectacular. An amazing 105 individual bloggers participated in the Boris Karloff Blogathon, creating a total of 292 posts. I don’t know, it could be some sort of record. What I’m sure of is that it was a rich, informative, entertaining and thoroughly overwhelming experience, and a powerful tribute to the abiding popularity of the great Karloff. Thanks again to all who participated. I’m very proud of our collective achievement.

Now, a new year is underway. I’m very excited about some of the posts I have lined up for the next few weeks and, come March, we’ll be celebrating the centennial of the first Frankenstein film.

2010 is looking good!