IMDb RATING
5.5/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
When a master monster make-up artist is sacked by the new bosses of American International studios, he uses his creations to exact revenge.When a master monster make-up artist is sacked by the new bosses of American International studios, he uses his creations to exact revenge.When a master monster make-up artist is sacked by the new bosses of American International studios, he uses his creations to exact revenge.
Rodd Dana
- Lab Technician
- (as Rod Dana)
Jaclyn Hellman
- Jane
- (as Jacqueline Ebeier)
Thomas Browne Henry
- Martin Brace
- (as Thomas B. Henry)
Paulene Myers
- Millie
- (as Pauline Myers)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was advertised with the tagline "See the Ghastly Ghouls in Flaming Color!" However, most of the movie was in black and white with only the final two reels in color.
- GoofsThe visitors to the studio are told they are about to visit the set of Horrors of the Black Museum (1959). That film, which was also produced and written by Herman Cohen, was actually shot in England, not at the U.S. studio.
- Quotes
Jeffrey Clayton: [Surprised that Pete has declined severance pay] Turn down money? Maybe you've been living too long with these monsters!
Pete Dumond: Sometimes I find them better company than humans.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: How to Make a Monster (1970)
Featured review
For those of us who find monsters better company than humans.
American International Pictures, that famed home of countless delightful B flicks, takes self-referential aim at its own filmography with this knowing script (by the legendary producer Herman Cohen and his frequent collaborator Aben Kandel). It can work as a follow-up to the two A.I.P. "Teenage Werewolf" and "Teenage Frankenstein" classics, with two young actors, Gary Conway (the actual Teenage Frankenstein) and Gary Clarke ('The Virginian'), working on the studios' final monster movie. You see, the new regime at the studio have decreed that the current monster movie cycle is over, and they want to concentrate on upbeat diversions like musicals.
This doesn't sit well with veteran makeup effects designer Pete Dumond; unsung character actor Robert H. Harris ("Valley of the Dolls"), in a rare case of top billing, plays the unstable Dumond. He can't abide the thought of his career possibly being over, so he takes revenge on the new executives, using a new formula in his makeup to make Tony and Larry (Conway and Clarke) very suggestible. Once they are all made up, they make for handy murderers. Dumond and his weak-willed longtime assistant Rivero (Paul Brinegar, "High Plains Drifter") must then dodge frequent questioning by some very determined police.
The landscape is dotted with a variety of familiar character actors - Harris, Brinegar, Malcolm Atterbury ("The Birds"), Morris Ankrum ("Earth vs. the Flying Saucers"), Paul Maxwell ("Aliens"), Thomas Browne Henry ("Beginning of the End"), and Robert Shayne ('Adventures of Superman'), as well as the various creations of real-life monster maker of the era, Paul Blaisdell. These creations also figure into a final sequence that is filmed in color in order for us to properly appreciate them. John Ashley (the later "Blood Island" film series) does a brief musical number.
Overall, the movie offers quite a bit of fun. It is capably directed by Herbert L. Strock, who'd done "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein", as well as other flicks like "Gog", "Blood of Dracula", and "The Crawling Hand". It will have the most resonance for "monster kids" of all decades, but particularly those who originally got to see these efforts in theaters. No, it doesn't sport a lot in the way of atmosphere, suspense, or major scares, but it's pretty hard to resist, just the same.
Seven out of 10.
This doesn't sit well with veteran makeup effects designer Pete Dumond; unsung character actor Robert H. Harris ("Valley of the Dolls"), in a rare case of top billing, plays the unstable Dumond. He can't abide the thought of his career possibly being over, so he takes revenge on the new executives, using a new formula in his makeup to make Tony and Larry (Conway and Clarke) very suggestible. Once they are all made up, they make for handy murderers. Dumond and his weak-willed longtime assistant Rivero (Paul Brinegar, "High Plains Drifter") must then dodge frequent questioning by some very determined police.
The landscape is dotted with a variety of familiar character actors - Harris, Brinegar, Malcolm Atterbury ("The Birds"), Morris Ankrum ("Earth vs. the Flying Saucers"), Paul Maxwell ("Aliens"), Thomas Browne Henry ("Beginning of the End"), and Robert Shayne ('Adventures of Superman'), as well as the various creations of real-life monster maker of the era, Paul Blaisdell. These creations also figure into a final sequence that is filmed in color in order for us to properly appreciate them. John Ashley (the later "Blood Island" film series) does a brief musical number.
Overall, the movie offers quite a bit of fun. It is capably directed by Herbert L. Strock, who'd done "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein", as well as other flicks like "Gog", "Blood of Dracula", and "The Crawling Hand". It will have the most resonance for "monster kids" of all decades, but particularly those who originally got to see these efforts in theaters. No, it doesn't sport a lot in the way of atmosphere, suspense, or major scares, but it's pretty hard to resist, just the same.
Seven out of 10.
helpful•70
- Hey_Sweden
- Feb 21, 2021
- How long is How to Make a Monster?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Satan mit den 1000 Masken
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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