Mad Doctors: Dr. Jack Griffin

What would you do if you were invisible? ;)

Claude Rains, Griffin in "The Invisible Man" (1933), is the best example of a mad scientist. When we first meet Jack Griffin, he is already the victim of his own experiments: invisible and wanting an antidote. Unlike the H.G. Wells book upon which the movie is based,his descent into megalomania is an overlooked side effect of monocaine,the drug he has used to make himself unseen.

There is a rather nice continuity error for those collectors of trivia out there. Although the Invisible Man is naked so he can be completely invisible,the footprints left by him in the snow at the end of the film show the shape of a pair of shoes.
Another trivia: Dr Griffin has no first name in the HG Wells' novel.

Extra points to who guess what that diagram in the illo is for ;)

Well, the week is over but, as mentioned, I might do another Mad Doctor week sometime soon. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Mad Doctors: Dr. Moreau

Hello Pulp friends :)

Mad scientist? How about those who like to play GOD? ;)

Created by the pen of Herbert George Wells, the mad Dr Moreau tries to mix humans with animals in a lost island in the middle of the ocean. The novel has been adapted 4 times for the big screen, but the best version is still the original one, "The Island of Lost Souls", 1933, directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Charles Laughton as the mad doctor. The movie was so filled with excesses and sadism that was censored... a lot!

Filmed in an expressionistic style by director Erle C.Kenton, with dramatic shadows running up walls as if darkness itself is evil, Island of Lost Souls is a marvel of storytelling, pulling back layer upon layer from the mystery to reveal the horrific truth of Dr.Moreau ’s experiments and providing plenty of suspense along the way.

Little trivia: Bela Lugosi was one of Dr.Moreau ’s “manimals.”

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Mad Doctors: Dr. Alex Zorka

Hello Pulp friends :)

As mentioned, there are too many mad doctors and crazy scientist to fit in one week, but I couldn't pass on the kindly requested Dr Zorka, also because I couldn't let this first Mad Doctor Week go without a Bela Lugosi tribute :)

So here he is, in all his intense and signature look, while working on his 8 foot tall robot he created to distroy the mankind. Yeah, becuase Dr Zorka is that kind of mad scientist, aiming to the world domination!

The tagline for the 12 episode serial that aired in the early '40s:
"12 SPINE-SHIVERING ACTION THUNDERBOLTS!
Sinister scientists... foreign spies...
federal agents... and a pretty girl...
crashing through amazing adventures!"
It reads like a truckload of FUN to me :D

Note: I know that he eventually shaves his beard during the serial, but I couldn't resist to draw a bearded Lugosi. ;)

See you tomorrow with another crazy Doc!

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Mad Doctors: Dr. Caligari

Hello Pulp friends :)

Today we continue our "MAD DOCTORS" gallery with maybe the oldest evil, mad doctor on the big screen: Dr Caligari!

From the classic - and German expressionism masterpiece - "Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari", 1919, directed by Robert Wiene and starring Werner Krauss as Caligari and Conrad Veidt as the sleepwalker- some sort of zombie ante-litteram.

Plot: An Asylum director discovers an old manuscript of the '700s about a certain Caligari who, using hypnosis, pushes a medium to kill several people. Undercover, the asylum director tries to emulate the experiment and pushes a sleepwalker, who is one of his patients, to murder several people. When the experiment is discovered, the director joins his patients behind the walls of the asylum.

Ommy, there are so many "Mad Doctors" out there that I am tempted to do another full week in July (or sooner).
Meanwhile ,see you tomorrow with another Mad Doctor!

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Mad Doctors: Baron Victor Frankenstein

Maybe the most famous mad scientist of all.

In the original classic trilogy with Karloff (as the creature) and Clive (as the Doctor), the focus of the stories was the monster who gets out of control and overpowers his creator. Things change in the '50s thanks to the famous Hammer Films. Movies like "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957) and "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958) - both directed by Terence Fisher - swap the roles between the two main characters. Now the focus is on the mad doctor Victor Frankenstein instead of the creature. He is the real monster, the cold and evil dandy with no scruples. The Creature he created is the victim escaping the lab and the morbose screenings of the so called "science".
Peter Cushing played the mad doctor Frankenstein in these 2 movies and in 3 more movies, 2 directed again by Terence Fisher (1967 and 1969) and one by Freddie Francis (1964), so I thought it would be perfect for this gallery, even more than Colin CLive (who will appear later in another week dedicated to Mad Doctor).

I am glad you guys are enjoying this themed week so far :) It is fun, isn't it? ;)
As for the mad doctors you guys suggested, Dr House is pretty crazy but I don't think it fits the topic ;) Gene "Young Frankenstein" Wilder (huge fan of that movie as well) is on my list but not for this week since we already had a Frankenstein.
Definitely a mad doctor Lugosi is gonna show up this week, as it is another mad doctor from the Frankenstein franchise ;)

Stay tuned for more Mad Doctors!

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Mad Doctors: Dr Paul Rigas

Hello Pulp friends :)

Today we start a new feature called "MAD DOCTORS"! All week long I will be portraying famous mad doctors and insane scientists, brilliant minds which have gone completely wrong in the name of Science. Of course, mine will be all tributes to fictional characters as introduced in many classic horror and sci-fi movies.

So let's get it started with Dr Paul Rigas (starred by Lionell Atwill) in "Man Made Monster" (1941) directed by George Waggner.

The Plot: A mad scientist transforms a man in some sort of robot, to use him as personal slave.
The title was translated in "The Electric Man" for the European distribution. This movie also represents the first of a long series of collaboration between Lon Chaney Jr and the Universal Pictures.

Hope you guys will enjoy the feature and feel free tod rop feedback or suggestions: I am planning to have a Mad Doctors week every now and then so anything that doesn't make it in this week will be saved for later.
See you tomorrow with another Mad Doctor!

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
Mad Doctors & Pulp Sunday created by, ™ and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

"The Voice of Death" (Dec 26, 1937)

"Beware of meowing dogs..."
While trying to reach Arthur, an old friend of Lamont, in the Louisiana bayou, Margo is attacked by large dogs who apparently can trick you by meawing from behind the bushes. Lamont manages to scare the dogs before Margo is hurt.

They finally reach Arthur's house which is pretty run-down and apparently abandoned. Arthur had a life-long problem with his voice which pushed him to retire in this remote area (since he believes everyone was making fun of it). The problem is that Arthur is also a scientist and, when our duo shows up to his doorstep, he seems to have resolved his "problem". The voice is now fixed, but what about his un-stable mind?
I can't help to think about mad scientist messing with nature like the Dr Moreau or even South Park's Dr Mephisto. This last one came to mind because of the apparently useless results of some of Arthur's experiments.
Those mad scientists: gotta love'em :)

Enjoy the show and have a great (pulp) Sunday!
Francesco

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