Ben Cooper Shocking Phantoms

[darkmonkeygod]

This one ?

That's the one!

Fun, right?

[Count Zero]

that's a great looking costume

i do like the blood dripping dagger one a tad bit more though...

because it has a blood dripping dagger on it.

[YoungestMonsterKid]

This one ?

AHHH, THANK YOU!

[YoungestMonsterKid]

This was just shared on the Lon Chaney Fans Facebook page by Stanely Gilbert. But anyways, it's a production still from Lassie (or some Lassie related thing) and it seems to be another example of a James Cagney Phantom costume and mask but I think the mask looks a little different. And the costume is definitely different. So does anyone know anything about this? Was this also a Ben Cooper variant? Could the costume originally have come with a different mask?

[darkmonkeygod]

This was just shared on the Lon Chaney Fans Facebook page by Stanely Gilbert. But anyways, it's a production still from Lassie (or some Lassie related thing) and it seems to be another example of a James Cagney Phantom costume and mask but I think the mask looks a little different. And the costume is definitely different. So does anyone know anything about this? Was this also a Ben Cooper variant? Could the costume originally have come with a different mask?

Great photo! I'd love to know if it was worn in an episode. To answer your questions:

Yes. This is a Halco Phantom of the Opera Costume.

No relation to Ben Cooper other than being a competitor and *seemingly* loosing the Uni license to Ben Cooper in the middle sixties.

To my knowledge this is the only mask ever issued with the Halco Phantom costume, but I have seen the costume
in two differing color schemes, both with the same design (as seen in the photo).

[hugohernandez]

Then witch mask does this one go with?

[YoungestMonsterKid]

What was with the Cagney obsession in the 60's? I mean, I get that Man of a Thousand Faces was more recent than the actual Phantom of the Opera movie but it's still weird. Was Universal only officially licensing the appearance from that movie at the time? Well, I know the Don Post masks actually did the Lon Chaney look. So I don't know. Maybe MOATF stills were just more common at the time to work with?

[Hepcat]

There are only a couple eye witness renditions of the Phantom I trust:

James Bama



Basil  Gogos



 

[Mike Scott]

There are only a couple eye witness renditions of the Phantom I trust:

Eyewitness?

[Hepcat]

Oh absolutely! James Bama and Basil Gogos illustrated only what they observed in the wild (so to speak).

 

[Mike Scott]

Oh absolutely! James Bama and Basil Gogos illustrated only what they observed in the wild (so to speak).

Still don't get it. Gogos worked from photos.

[aura of foreboding]

What was with the Cagney obsession in the 60's? I mean, I get that Man of a Thousand Faces was more recent than the actual Phantom of the Opera movie but it's still weird. Was Universal only officially licensing the appearance from that movie at the time? Well, I know the Don Post masks actually did the Lon Chaney look. So I don't know. Maybe MOATF stills were just more common at the time to work with?

I imagine it's the same reason we get Glenn Strange as the Monster during this period.  He was the most recent Frankenstein actor. 

I believe the reason Bela Lugosi is now immortalized as Count Dracula is because of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.  But for his appearance in that film, he would have been forgotten to an entire generation, replaced by some other Dracula in all the model kits and masks.  And that's the weird thing about Lugosi...  He was very much present in the Monster Kid Generation, and would have continued to be for decades to come, but lawsuits took him away from the public eye for all that time.  But, because of his A&C appearance, he became secured as our collective vision of Dracula.  And that's the reason we never got any replacement Dracula merchandise in all those decades.  It was either no Dracula or a generic Lugosi knockoff.  Had Carradine or another actor played Dracula in A&CMF, we'd probably have another Universal Dracula.  The lawsuits did more harm than good for the Dracula image.  But Bela persists because he was Dracula at the beginning and the end.  I have a lot more thoughts on this, but I am tired and must sleep.   

[Hepcat]

Still don't get it. Gogos worked from photos.

Interesting! I heard that he was a frequent guest of the Phantom.

 

[Dr.Terror]

The Aurora kits influenced the majority of 60s monster toys.    Thats why so moch looks like Cagney.    Universal didnt have any specific actor or look they pushed to licensees at the time.

Don  Post Sudios almost used the Cagney make-up mold to create a mask.

Lugosi solidified himself as Dracula in the 30s.   All through the time between Drac and A+C and beyond..regardless whatever actor played the role....to the general public Lugosi is Dracula.    He was still represented in pop culture regardless who was currently on screen.

Whenever anyone else played Drac they were immediately compared to Lugosi.

[Hepcat]

I believe the reason Bela Lugosi is now immortalized as Count Dracula is because of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.  But for his appearance in that film, he would have been forgotten to an entire generation, replaced by some other Dracula in all the model kits and masks.  And that's the weird thing about Lugosi...  He was very much present in the Monster Kid Generation, and would have continued to be for decades to come, but lawsuits took him away from the public eye for all that time.  But, because of his A&C appearance, he became secured as our collective vision of Dracula.  And that's the reason we never got any replacement Dracula merchandise in all those decades.  It was either no Dracula or a generic Lugosi knockoff.  Had Carradine or another actor played Dracula in A&CMF, we'd probably have another Universal Dracula.  The lawsuits did more harm than good for the Dracula image.  But Bela persists because he was Dracula at the beginning and the end.

Hmmmmm. Bela Lugosi as Dracula:

Dracula (1931)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

John Carradine as Dracula:

House of Frankenstein (1944)
House of Dracula (1945)
Matinee Theatre: Dracula (TV 1956)
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966)

....to the general public Lugosi is Dracula. He was still represented in pop culture regardless who was currently on screen.

Whenever anyone else played Drac they were immediately compared to Lugosi.

It would therefore perhaps have been a good thing had Bela Lugosi not re-appeared as Dracula in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Lugosi introduced an element of camp into the Dracula character. It's his portrayal that's caused generations of kids to mime Dracula by raising their forearms to their chins and repeating the words "I vant to suck your blood" in heavily accented English.

This was not the Dracula in Bram Stoker's book, nor the character Christopher Lee portrayed. Interesting that at a preview screening of Hammer's Horror of Dracula, the audience all laughed when Christopher Lee appeared in the full Dracula regalia that Bela Lugosi had made famous. As soon as he spoke though, the laughter stopped - and was heard no more during the film. Christopher Lee was the one who nailed the grim menace of Bram Stoker's character: