Posted by proxy from Dana’s “stuff to blog” queue while she is on medical hiatus. She reads and appreciates all comments…and apologizes for not being able to respond at the moment.
Artist Emil “Rocky” Fiore’s art is to set spider webs in a way to preserve them.
These are quite beautiful. In high school, I, your humble proxy poster, used to do this with white paint and transfer the webs onto my shoes and leather jacket. It never dawned on me to do this as Emil has. Check out more at his website:
Posts are in “wordless” mode due to illness…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond at the moment.
Medical hiatus no-typing mix…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond at the moment.
Medical hiatus no-typing mix…
How I wish I could visit the Science Museum of London to see these incredible wax anatomical figures, originally created circa 1810-1830.
What is the appeal of a laboratory? Its potential for discovery? The experiments? Or the cool apparatus?
The experimental pharmacology laboratory of the Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories. 1909.
Apparatus used for reaction of active nitrogen with CO, CO2, O2, and H2 at the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory.
Early research lab – Dr. Jesse L. King (1926)
Apparatus for Ozone Production, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, 1926 (CHF)
One thing is sure–these images add danger, excitement and mystique to something certain; Science!
I have more images on this subject, so I am going to extend the week a little while guest hosting. As exciting as Mad Scientists’ laboratories can be in movies, perhaps they would not exist in too much form if the real deal labs were not as fantastic.
High-frequency apparatus in the arc laboratory at the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory.
Kodak Research Laboratories in Rochester, New York, in 1920 / Courtesy of Kodak. Now that’s a lab! Imagine the research that went into developing celluloid film in the early 1900′s…
Stay tuned for more!
Little introduction is needed for Metropolis, a 1927 film by Fritz Lang; written by his wife Thea von Harbou. Complete with a futuristic city set only 100 years in the future, this science fiction morality tale features amazing alchemical laboratory sets. The neon lighting is a great touch.
Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) is a scientist ordered by the master of the city, Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), to make a robot doppelganger of Maria (Brigitte Helm). Maria’s spirit transcends the class system–by sending a robot imposter back to the oppressed working class, the master of the city hopes to suppress an uprising. Rotwang has some really great neon light accented minimal lab sets.
Joh Fredersen, Rotwang and robot.
Sparse laboratory where the real Maria is encased–her form will be transferred onto the robot through Alchemy and Science!
Totally tubular!
A flick of the switch…
zap
whirrrr
zzzzt
zzzzt
zzzzt!
Rotwang with the fleshed-out Robot Maria.
Mad Science at work!
From the archive and some image searches to supplement my material, today’s installment proves you can almost never have enough Lugosi. The man always gave his all in a film, no matter how bad it may be.
Bela Lugosi with Arlene Francis in the 1932 Poe adaptation Murders in the Rue Morgue. A fun film; having Lugosi meant Universal Studios would take license with the story and inject a Mad Scientist!
But why is it when you try to breed apes and humans you always end up with tainted blood? Bela gets cross with Arlene… groan.
Lugosi is seen below in The Phantom Creeps, a 1939 serial in which he tries to create an army of Atomic Supermen.
Without much of a film budget, it is only an army of one. What, no Atomic Superwomen?
Ah, here we find Dr Brewster in his lab. The 1943 B-movie is not quite the right answer to big studio hit The Wolfman, but the film The Ape Man is entertaining. Dr. Brewster is not quite your average Mad Scientist. He walks stooped over, swaying his arms, and talking like, well, Dracula. And he wears a morning suit!
Jumping to 1955, Mad Scientist Bela is, after a slew of experiments, confronted by his servant Lobo (Tor Johnson) in Bride of the Monster. As much as I like monsters, I rather fancy director Ed Wood’s original title, Bride of the Atom!
I will wrap up today’s post with a rare archival negative find from ten years ago (even though it has made its way around the Internet a bit). Circa the mid 1950′s here is a publicity still of Bela with Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira. No doubt from some variety TV performance, Vampira Show publicity, or Ed Wood promotion.
Some lesser known films may not be as evident with their Mad Labs. Or perhaps they do not put them to as good use as say Frankenstein or The Mask of Fu Manchu. Below are sets from a smattering of 1930′s Universal Horror Films and B-movies into 1940′s.
The iconic Dracula, Bela Lugosi as Roxor in the 1932 film Chandu the Magician.
Bela Lugosi is seen here in The Invisible Ray (1936), a film which also stars Boris Karloff.
Henry Hull is The Werewolf of London, 1935. Botony, botony, no escaping, not for me!
Dr. Neiman (Boris Karloff) and Daniel (J. Carol Naish) prepare new brains for Frankenstein and the Wolf Man in House of Frankenstein, 1944. It is sad to see how unimportant the filmmakers attention to a laboratory could be in a Frankenstein film!
While not very inspired, this secret laboratory is featured prominently in The Devil Bat, 1940. What does the apparatus do, exactly? Why, it makes giant vampire bats! Why would you want giant vampire bats? To use them to murder your enemies! How would these giant bats murder your enemies? Train them to kill anyone wearing a special aftershave you devise. Then give it to your enemy as a gift!
“Goodbye.”
