Mystery of the "Ghost of Frankenstein" Photo

For years, I have seen the below photo here and there of Lon Chaney Jr. as the Frankenstein monster in Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). The first time was in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland from the late 1960s.

The photo had a caption that said something like, "The monster ablaze, he lifts his gaze in agony." (Funny how I can remember stuff like this.)

I have always wondered about the photo and now there's something more to it.

Above, yours truly with Don Glut at a Kong exhibition in 2017.

This morning, I was perusing around YouTube and came upon a clip that was discovered by Don Glut. It is the same scene as the photo that's been floating around for years. As the video states, the photo was originally thought to be a publicity photo, but the footage seems to indicate that it was possibly an alternate ending filmed but not used.



The footage is quite interesting. It really shows the genius of make-up artist Jack Pierce. 

Goodies At Creature Features

Above, Creature Features monster store in Burbank. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tonight, I was at Creature Features in Burbank for an exhibit reception of "The Art of King Kong, featuring William Stout".

Creature Features store carries many monster-related items such as magazines, model kits, toys, artwork, music, videos, books and other great goodies.

Here's a sampling on what they have available for monster fans:

Above, Karloff and Lugosi, together again. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, The Wizard of Oz items. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, flying monkeys! Oh, no! Photo by Brant Elliot.

Above, Hedorah and a gremlin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, King Kong merchandise. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a nice Moguera. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Godzilla merchandise. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Brant Elliot checks out magazine racks. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, that's not my ex-fiancee. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Art of King Kong, featuring William Stout

Above, permanent display of King Kong atop the Empire State Building. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This evening was spent in Burbank at the Creature Features monster store. There, an exhibit of King Kong related art work opened.

The new Kong: Skull Island by Legendary Pictures is set to open in theaters next week.

The store was crowded when the exhibit reception opened at 6:00. I met Brant Elliot at a nearby Italian restaurant before heading over to Creature Features, which was nearby. Brant had one piece of Kong artwork on display along with 50 other artists.

The exhibit is titled, "The Art of King Kong, featuring William Stout".

Creature Features screened a new King Kong documentary (not yet released) during the reception.

Here are some highlights of the event:

Above, the window display advertising the reception. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Kong atop the Empire State Building. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Fay Wray on the Empire State Building. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, "Kong Tiki", made of foam and coated with resin. Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

Above, King Kong art on display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, transporting King Kong from Skull Island. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, more Kong art on display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Kong: Skull Island movie posters. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Fay Wray as Ann Darrow. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Kong wins by a knock-out. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Kong sculpture. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a rare early print of King Kong art. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Brant Elliot and William Stout. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a Kong portrait by William Stout. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, "Son of Kong Dragon" by William Stout. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Armand with Donald F. Glut. 

Above, Donald Glut and William Stout having a discussion. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, construction paper art by Brant Elliot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

More photos to follow in part 2.

Terrorizing Burbank Bookstores

Above, yours truly with a new Dark Shadows novel by Lara Parker. Photo by Brant Elliot.

Today was spent hanging out in "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" with fellow G-fan Brant Elliot roaming around different genre bookstores.

We met up at The New Deal restaurant for lunch. We were supposed to be joined by Peter H. Brothers, but he had something come up.

Above, a couple of Godzilla goods at Dark Delicacies. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After lunch, we migrated to the Dark Delicacies bookstore, where one can find all kinds of books with horror themes. I saw a number of Dark Shadows books by Lara Parker that are based on the 1960s soap opera. She does book signings there when she publishes a new novel.

Above, Brant Elliot rummaging in a bin at Blast From The Past. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When we were done perusing Dark Delicacies, we then headed over to Blast From The Past, which has toys, books, CDs and old comic books.

Above, goodies for sale at Blast From The Past. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Following Dark Delicacies, we then went over to Creature Features, were more toys, books, magazines and just about anything else of horror and science-fiction can be found. I gave them my card so that "the Boss" can contact me to order copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

Above, now here's a gal at Creature Features who could use
a boob job, among other things. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After Creature Features, we then drove over to the House of Secrets comic book store. There, I held the first issue of Superman that was drawn by Curt Swan. I also saw the first issue of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen in the display case ($699.00). I mentioned to the clerk that the comic came about due to the popularity of Jack Larson in the Adventures of Superman television show. She asked, "Who's Jack Larson?" She never watched the show. So, I had to explain everything to her. I showed her photos of Jack that were taken with George Reeves during the production of the show and the photo of him and I taken by the Los Angeles Daily News during the plaque dedication two years ago. Now, she's up to speed! House of Secrets has a great collection of Silver Age comic books, many of which are from the 1950s, which are harder to find.

We then wrapped up the day at a coffee/latte shop in Burbank. This was a fun day. I haven't done thing kind of thing for quite a while.