THIS ISLAND EARTH - Universal takes to the skies...and beyond

Todays' retrospective is a look back at the various matte paintings, optical composites and bug eyed monster that make up the big Universal sci -fi picture "THIS ISLAND EARTH" made in 1955.

* by the way I forgot to mention that if you want to see the majority of my images in big screen quality, click on it, and then click again to blow them up.  I always try to post as higher quality frames as I can.  Also I often add new and improved images to these blogs so check back sometime, you never know what you might find.

Above - Terrific advertising campaign artwork by the great Reynold Brown

Special Photography - David Stanley Horsley and Clifford Stine

Matte Artist - Russell Lawson

Optical Cinematography - Roswell A.Hoffman

Animation Effects - Frank Tipper
Rotoscope Artist - Millie Winebrenner
Special Effects Cameramen - Jim King and Wes Thompson

Mechanical Effects and Miniatures - Charlie Baker and Fred Knoth

Special Make-up - Bud Westmore,  Jack Kevan, Chris Mueller, Millicent Patrick and Bob Hickman

As you'll discover on this blog I'm a huge fan of old style main title cards and the artful techniques therein - "THIS ISLAND EARTH" regrettably has the dullest of dull title cards and is reproduced here purely out of  a sense of 'completeness'.

Above - One of those many old time 'invisible' matte shots I spoke of in an earlier blog - and a frame I was going to include there.  Only the plane and midground are real with all else added by matte artist Russell Lawson.

A wonderfully inventive explosion visual effect - the likes of which I've not seen elsewhere in what appears to be a carefully manipulated series of explosion practical elements massaged on Ross Hoffmans' optical printer with the aid of colour filtration and soft roto mattes.  Great stuff!

Top shot - one of the convincing and fluid outer space travel shots.

 Middle shot a printed down version of Lawson's matte painted hilltop manor home.  Bottom shot - animation and possibly a painted spacecraft (for reasons of focus and depth of field).

Classic 50's sci-fi stylised matte painting  with matted in live action portion.  The shot reminds me (as did many other 50's mattes) of Chuck Jones classic "DUCK DOGERS IN THE 24 1/2th CENTURY" Daffy Duck cartoon designs by the equally great Maurice Noble.

A terrific series of lap dissolves and artwork supervised by Frank Tipper for this creepy for the day hyperspace sequence.

Large scale Metaluna planetscape miniature with practical effect meteorite crash and optically enhanced explosions. The miniature was some 200 feet across and the meteors travelled down piano wire - and effect Horsley had earlier utilised with mixed results in the 1953 "IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE" where guidewires and devices were clearly visible on camera (which oddly the Universal executives just loved).

Russ Lawsons' matte painted view of Metaluna enhanced with wonderfully 'big scaled' practical explosion elements and animation of the elevator and interactive lighting.  For more wonderful matte paintings from Lawsens' extensive career at Universal, click here.

Another Lawson matte painting - again with optically added explosion effects which in themselves were maniplulated for greater effect and awe.  The bottom frame highlights the frailties of the blue screen travelling matte technique in the 1950's.  Apparently the resulting blue fringe which plagued so many films in the 50's was as much due to shrinkage of film elements as it was to unavaoidable blue spill.  In this incarnation shown above I actually feel it adds to the 'extraterrestrial' feel of the proceedings as much as anything else.

More great miniatures and some of the best explosions of their type.  Apparently George Lucas was so taken with these explosion elements that he obtained the original effects out take footage dailies, still in the vaults at Universal, in 1976 to show to John Dykstra and the infant ILM outfit to show just what he wanted for a little sci-fi flick called "STAR WARS".  Of course NO retro look at "THIS ISLAND EARTH" would be complete without a look at the brilliant make up effects that comprise the Metaluna Mutant (above).  This fellow was the sole reason for the film being 'restricted to 13 years and over' in New Zealand back in the day and I remember trying to 'look old' when sneaking in to it underage back in the early 70's.

Very nicely shot climax with wonderful optical manipulation of the flaming space ship close ups - really very impressive and so authentic as the much later real Apollo re-entries would demonstrate, but Horsley was way ahead of his time with this effect.  Terrific work David.  Sadly, at least as far as the story goes, Horsley was demoted or had his contract terminated as I recall after or during "THIS ISLAND EARTH" due to cost over runs and back stabbing studio politics, and was replaced with Clifford Stine as head of special photographic effects. Recent reports suggest that in fact Universal's head of production, Edward Muhl 'spat the dummy' and fired Horsley on the spot with still a few weeks of effects to be completed.  Horsley was apparently ordered off the lot right then and there, with DOP Stine pulled in to finish the effects shots Horsley had yet to shoot - modtly the spacecraft crashing into the ocean at the climax.   Horsley went on to handle effects in other studio films and did uncredited visual effects work (shooting the titles) on "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" with John Fulton among them.

Cliff Stine had a long, long career in cinematography and visual effects being one of the original team on the 1933 "KING KONG" with Willis O'Brien and Vernon Walker, Stine ran the Universal effects dept for around 6 years with such films as "THE DEADLY MANTIS", "TARANTULA" (more about this later) and the exceptional "THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN" (all with Ross Hoffman) - which should have garnered Universal an effects Oscar.  Stine supervised the split screen work to multiply the scale of the armies on Kubricks' "SPARTACUS" and also I suspect looked after the Russell Lawson matte shots as well, which numbered some dozen shots.  Stine was an expert at shooting miniatures and did alot of work on "PATTON", "EARTHQUAKE and "THE HINDENBERG" - all three of which were Oscar recognised with the latter two winning.

A behind the scenes look at some of the visuals of "THIS ISLAND EARTH".  Top left a miniature sphere as earth with a Russ Lawson painted glass in foreground representing the atmospherics.  Top right - effects cameramen Jim King and Wes Thompson setting up a saucer travel shot, which were very effective in fluid movement and spacial distance of stars etc.  Bottom left - monster suit specialist Jack Kevan and make up head Bud Westmore prepping the Mutant suit.  Bottom right - Westmore and Kevan with suited stuntplayer.  The only drawback in this nightmarish beast were the silly blue trousers that 'he' wore.... crazy stuff.... should have had alien creature make up legs not a pait of Sears and Robuck track pants!  Bloody hell!  Still, the bugger gave me nightmares back in the day!

I've added this sidebar of colour photos which I recently discovered in my files.  These wonderfully demonstrate the terrific miniature set and the novel use of the Universal Globe.  At lower right is former beauty queen and model turned conceptual designer Millicent Patrick, seen here at work on CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.  Apparently the lovely and talented Patrick was a thorn in the side of the ego-centric head of make up Bud Westmore as the top brass sent her on the promotional tour for CFTBL instead of Westmore. Author Tom Weaver states that Westmore never touched foam rubber, let alone making molds from sculpted figures for all those wonderful creature flicks, and it was people like Millicent, Jack Kevan and Chris Meuller who did all the work - yet as the departmental system stood, it was the HOD who should recieve all the glory.  Patrick was quickly demoted after (rightfully) taking the limelight.

Bud Westmore getting up close and personal with the Metaluna Mutant - in fact as the story goes, this was as up close as Westmore ever got....when the press photographers were around!

Invisible Matte Shots - part one

Here is the first of what I hope will be many more similarly 'invisible' matte painting shots from days gone by.
This frame is an example of the work of long, long time Paramount matte artist Jan Domela and is a wonderful and very rare sample of Jan's work.  I will cover Jan's long career in an upcoming post in which we may see many wonderful and very rare images of his 40+ year career in matte painting.

Sadly the title of this film is unknown - almost certainly from a Paramount picture from the 1930's.  Without the shot by shot breakdown as seen here I dare anyone to pick this out as a matte composite.  The shot is perfect.  If anyone knows the title please let me know.  **STOP PRESS=  I've just found this matte, and several more of Jan's in the 1934 Leo McCarey directed Mae West film BELLE OF THE NINETIES.

For an extensive look at Jan's career and huge matte painting output click here

SABOTEUR - a showcase of dazzling matte shots and excitement

Alfred Hitchcocks' "SABOTEUR" (1942) remains one of my favourite Hitchcock thrillers.  The tried and true formula of the innocent man on the run is handled with style and breakneck pace.  The uncredited special photographic effects work of the great John P.Fulton remains among the best in all of Hitchs' films in my mind. The sheer number of matte paintings and complex optical work including rotoscoping is staggering.  All the more staggering is that as far as I could ever learn Universal only ever seemed to have one matte painter on staff  - Russell Lawson, later to be succeeded in 1961 by Albert Whitlock.  In the early days and the 30's Jack Cosgrove teamed with Lawson on many films such as "BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN", and "THE INVISIBLE MAN" and others, but for the most part from the late 30's through to the early 60's it just seemed to have been Lawson.  

Given the huge volume of major matte paintings in "SABOTEUR" I can't help but feel Lawson must have had help, or at least Fulton farmed out some of the matte work to meet the deadline perhaps?   There is some discussion that noted art director John DeCuir may have been a matte painter on this film.  I'd love to have the full low down on this show.  In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the mastery of Fulton and Lawson.....

***For a special tribute in pictures to the career of matte painter Russell Lawsen, click here.

The memorable opening sequence from "SABOTEUR" with the slow opening of those huge metal doors revealing an aircraft armaments factory (top right) - a superb, forboding visual effect shot.  The actual shot at lower left of the planes may be real (?) though I feel due to wartime security such a shot may have not been permitted by the military?

Upper frame - guy being immolated - what appears to be a large scale miniature set on fire with a beautifully rotoscoped guy being pretty much vapourised in the inferno....fantastic effect!!  Rotoscoper Millie Winebrenner had a very long career at Universal - from the Fulton era right through to the Whitlock era in the late 70's.  The lower shot is a wonderful full frame painting with just a small insert of Robert Cummings approaching the cabin.

Four matte shots from the cross country chase sequences.

The classic ballroom matte - frequently applied throughout the 30's and 40's - and beautifully executed here.

One of my favourite mattes from the film - almost all paint with a soft blend running almost diagonally across the frame just above the heads of the actors, with even much of the foreground statue etc painted in by Lawson.  Smoke inlays from the chimneys add to the final stunning effect.  This is what matte painting is all about friends!

For years I'd never noticed this shot as a trick shot and only on the 6th viewing or thereabouts did I deduce that it is in fact a masterfully executed split screen with almost everything added by Fultons' photographic effects dept.  The blend is perfect and the shot is massive in it's scale and drama.

The stunning and riveting Statue of Liberty climax.  I've seen this on the big theatre screen and it looks great.  A multiple component matte shot with foreground actor on limited set on the stage at Universal,  a soft matte line isolates the small set and adds in a two part composite consisting of Russell Lawsons' NYC painting and skies with a real water plate.  I'd always imagined this sort of comp to be a nightmare to blend invisibly - to run a matte through the sky like this with no fixed 'lines' to adhere to - and it is visible but quick editing and general excitement of the moment hides the split.

Another of several fantastic, moody and thrilling matte shots from the same set piece - one of Hitch's best bits of business!  Just love this shot so much.

Tremendous matte shots from the same climax.  The actor is seen to slip down halfway through the matte line at one point and his legs disappear from view - but it takes several viewings to spot it.

The end - Norman Lloyd falls to his death - a blue screen comp with Lloyd attached to a sort of a chair which was manipulated and tipped back as he was filmed in front of a blue screen by Fulton.  Terrific sense of gravity and weight as he 'falls' - an effect Fulton replicated later in "Rear Window" and "Vertigo".  Mention must be made of long, long time Universal matte cameraman and optical composite expert Roswell A. Hoffman who put together all of the opticals and mattes not just in "Saboteur" but in practically every darned Universal picture from the 1930's up until his final film "Earthquake" with Whitlock in 1974.  I wished that author Craig Barron had interviewed Hoffman for his indispensible tome "The Invisible Art - the Legends of Movie Matte painting" as he was still alive at the time.

THE RED SHOES - Powell & Pressburger: a retrospective look at the matte shots and optical composites in this classic British film.

I'd always put off looking at this film as it never seemed to appeal to me, even though I like the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger -  that is until about a month ago when I finally hired it out to 'give it a go'.

What a pleasant surprise it was to find it was a magnificent film!!  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and was utterly captivated by Moira Shearer - the beautiful 21 year old lead in a wonderful portrayal of the doomed ballet dancer.  Again, a magnificent film in all departments - wonderful dialogue and delivery - and not half as effete as I'd dreaded it to be.

Here are a collection of matte shots and opticals which enchant the viewer and the casual observer and always serve the story of this excellent 1948 picture.

No specific 'photographic effects' credit, just this 'Technicolor Composite Photography' card credited to F.George Gunn and Doug Hague (the Linwood Dunn equivilant of British cinema).  'Special Painting' credited to Ivor Beddoes and Joseph Natanson.  Contrary to popular folklore I have it on good authority that W.Percy Day and Peter Ellenshaw had no involvement in the matte work on this film though two of Days' young matte artists, Les Bowie and Judy Jordan were almost certainly on the payrole as matte artists for "The Red Shoes".  My friend Domingo Lizcano has the ultimate tribute and biographical site dedicated to the life and career of Joseph Natanson (among many, many other great matte painters - highly recommended)  http://galeon.com/mattepainters/natanson/Joseph-Natanson.html

above - two matte painted set extensions that broaden the canvas of art director Hein Heckroth. Anecdotal reminiscences by matte cameraman Leslie Dear mention the embaressment of readying one of the glass mattes for photography when the heat of the many lamps needed to illuminate the painting for the slow technicolour film caused the glass to crack.  The team tried to disguise the crack and carried on with the composite.  The upper frame is supposed to have the crack visible though I personally feel it is the second lower frame which does it appear have a significant crack visible next to the shadow and above the lamp running down from the top.  In all likelyhood no one would have noticed it.

The commencement of the legendary 'Red Shoes' ballet segment where an extensive matte painting(s) is/are seen in numerous shots under different dramatic theatrical lighting.

More frames from the wonderful 'Red Shoes' 20 minute set piece.  Noteworthy for a huge number of blue screen travelling matte composites with Shearer added into a number of elaborate and often multi-plane painted backgrounds and moving foreground painted elements.  Exquisite art direction  and the camerawork of Jack Cardiff who should have won the Oscar here.  I read somewhere that glass tanks of chemical mixtures were utilised to produce the organic backgrounds for some of the shots - something akin to the modern cloud tank method.

Another great shot - though the head of Robert Helpmann momentarily drifts through the painted area and becomes translucent, suggesting either a very soft matte line or a foreground glass painting shot on set?

Pictorially and compositionally first class matte shots.  Matte artist Ivor Beddoes was a former ballet dancer himself and had a long career in film as sketch artist, conceptual artist and occasionally matte painter up until "Superman - the Movie" Judy Jordan trained under Walter Percy Day and painted for him on numerous films such as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", "The Fallen Idol" and "Black Narcissus" before moving on to British MGM under Tom Howard to paint on films such as "tom thumb" and "Knights of the Round Table"

Painted in scenery and drapery which has a subtle lighting dissolve during the dance.

A lovely, subtle transition optical where the male dancer moves toward Shearer and transforms into a different character all in one shot.  This sort of thing isn't new but here it is beautifully done with a soft split screen at the edge of the beam of light.  The match up is perfect and the action fluid and barely noticeable.

A complex transitional effect with a painted in theatre stalls, people and architecture softly wiping into a raging sea enveloping the conductor.  Nicely done.

A new Blu Ray frame of one of THE RED SHOES elegant glass shots

Another new Blu Ray grab of one of the beautiful glass mattes.  Apparently five of these original matte painted glasses survive and are in the collection of the BFI (British Film Institute) as part of Ivor Beddoes' estate bequest.

The last of three Blu Ray matte images

Some of the original art directors' storyboards and explanations for matte and special process shots.

More storyboard sketches pertaining to process and painted glass shots.

The last matte painted shot in the film (taken directly from DVD) - with most of the restaurant building added in above the ground floor level.

Cosgrove: Mars, Marseilles, Chaplin, Dali, World Series, Texas Crude, Frankenstein...

Some more mattes and miniatures representative of Jack Cosgroves' long career. Some are small images on purpose as I lifted certain images from vhs sourses and are not particularly good quality.

First up are some old effects shots from Jack's days at Universal in the 30's where under John P.Fulton he painted with Russell Lawson on some gothic horror pictures such as "THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN" and several others.

Next up are a collection of matte painted shots from the first "A STAR IS BORN" (1937) upon which both Cosgrove and Slifer teamed. Interestingly, the theatre shot 3rd row on right was subsequently 'borrowed' outright by Warren Newcombe at MGM for "Singin' in the Rain".

Next set, below - prime Cosgrove/Slifer trickery afoot in the superb 1937 version of "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA" with much brilliant in camera use of split screen twin shots which still look amazing. Interestingly the 1950's version replays their effects shots in identical set ups!

above & below - some of the many, many lovely matte paintings featured in 'Zenda'. Cosgrove  had help with many of these -  Byron Crabbe and perhaps Albert Maxwell Simpson.  In fact it was Crabbe who painted the magnificent ornate ceilings in the above grand reception sequence.


A few of Jack's Oscar nominated matte shots from the baseball drama "PRIDE OF THE YANKEES" (1942). Lots of painted in cityscapes and crowds of painted people opened up the scale somewhat. Matte artist Albert Maxwell Simpson. Process photographer Ray O.Binger
below - Cosgrove reteams with Hitchcock, this time for "SPELLBOUND" (1945) - and another Oscar nomination for Jack. Effects cameraman again Clarence W.D Slifer.
*images from 'Spellbound' courtesy of Domingo Lizcano

some of Jacks' uncredited work for Chaplin on "THE GREAT DICTATOR" (1941) involving 'crowds of moving people' and hilarious Fuerher-esque statues.Pioneer effects veteran Ralph Hammeras was miniatures cinematographer on this picture.Below - One of Cosgroves' big Warner Bros effects shows when he headed the effects dept there in the 1940's, "PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES" (1941). The frames here are unfortunately only from a vhs sourse as I can't find it on dvd, but the film is laden with effects shots from start to finish.... so many in fact that my head was spinning trying to take them all in. Aside from the excellent and many matte paintings are heaps of incredible and undoubtedly complex miniature set ups.

The film has the usual model planes, ships and such but stands out of the bunch for it's ingenious and unique use of miniatures in many motorcar sequences which include not just the moving miniature car but also a fully animated landscape surrounding it - tractors, hay making machines chugging along, even COWS moving their heads up and down!! Bloody Hell!! It looks far better than it sounds. Entire French farms were built in miniature here - and with sweeping camera moves taking it all in too. Incredible! Just some of the bomber landings etc let the show down as they really don't work. Other matte artists at Warner at the time were Paul Detlefsen and Chesley Bonestell.   Effects cameramen at that period would have been Byron Haskin, John Crouse, Edwin DuPar and Willard van Enger.

below - Cosgrove goes to Mars.... "FLIGHT TO MARS" (1951) - a bizarre little poverty row sci fi thing with Cameron Mitchell which according to the star made a packet of money too!  It is entirely possible that Cosgrove subcontracted these shots out to colleague Irving Block to paint and his partner Jack Rabin to composite.

Below - Cosgrove returns to Mars!!! This one is "INVADERS FROM MARS" directed by long time colleague and fellow "GWTW" nominee William Cameron Menzies. There is some question as to how much Cosgrove did on this picture even though he recieved screen credit for photographic effects.

According to matte painter Irving Block in Fantascene no.2 Cosgrove farmed out much of the matte painting duties to Block and compatriot Jack Rabin as Cosgrove was experiencing personal problems at the time, quite possibly alcohol related.

Below - three sets of effects shots by Cosgrove and the Warner Bros special effects dept for the 1944 war picture "ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC". Many good miniature sequences - some with roto'd in actors jumping off burning model ships (below) and a great plane crash and tremendous full scale conflagration scenes. I expect Byron Haskin, Edwin DuPar, Roy Davidson and others long time established at Warners to have been heavily involved here too.

below - one of Cosgrove last films was the James Dean-Rock Hudson epic "GIANT" (1955) whereby Jack was required to paint in additional oil derricks and possibly some sky work as well.