It is impossible to overstate the impact of James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) and how Boris Karloff’s stunning box-headed
Monster became an instant icon, recognized the world over. In short order, The
Monster was sampled in cartoons and films as a reference or a comedy foil,
appearing with, among others, Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, the Ritz Brothers and
Olsen and Johnson.
In what may be its first British cameo, The Monster appeared
in 1943’s
Thursday’s Child, a title
catalogued by Frankenstein expert Don Glut, but frustratingly unseen until now.
The film has surfaced and we can enjoy The Monster’s scene, which I’ve isolated
in the clip posted above. The whole film is up on YouTube.
Thursday’s Child,
featuring 13-year old Sally Ann Howes in her film debut, is about a young girl
whose movie stardom creates conflict within her family. Stewart Granger, a
British star before his late-Forties move to Hollywood, appears as the girl’s
father.
The Monster’s scene comes roughly 39 minutes into the
proceedings. Set in a film studios’ commissary, the girl’s mother, played by
Kathleen O’Regan, is in a cafeteria line, unaware that an actor in Frankenstein
Monster makeup stands behind her. Another extra, dressed as a Nazi officer,
greets him. “
Hello Jack!” he says, “Playing
another Karloff?”.
When O’Regan starts to
leave, the Frankenstein character holds her back: “You’ve forgotten
your pudding, Madam!”. She turns and we get
a tight closeup of The Monster. Watch the reaction.
This Frankenstein Monster wears a white smock and crude but
effective makeup with long, wispy hair. In closeup, the makeup is a bit more
elaborate, textured for effect. The film was makeup man Bob Clark’s first
screen credit. His career stretched until 1967.
Young Sally Ann Howes was discovered by her next-door
neighbor, writer and director Rodney Ackland. She would go on to an exceptional
career, running well into the 90s, as a singer and actress in films, theater
and television.
Thursday’s Child was produced
at the Welwyn Garden Studios in Hertfordshire, a facility used for quota
quickies, b-movies, a Bulldog Drummond film, and picking up the overflow from
Elstree Studios. Alfred Hitchcock made The 39 Steps (1935) here and returned to make a couple of
propaganda shorts in 1944. Famous films include the crime classic Brighton
Rock (1947) and The Dark Eyes of
London, aka The Human Monster
(1939), an Edgar Wallace mystery-horror
starring the visiting Bela Lugosi. Welwyn Studios, originally built in 1928 and
showing its age fell into progressive disuse by the late Forties and was sold
off for warehouse space in 1950. The site was leveled in 2007.
The Monster’s cameo makes for a fun, throwaway scene,
typical of The Monster’s frequent service as an all-purpose boogieman, with
Boris Karloff name-checked as a bonus. If anyone can ID the actor, please share!
