Doctor Who (1963) - Season 3

Continued from Doctor Who (1963) - Season 2

'Galaxy 4'

The Chumblie robots were constructed by Shawcraft Models, based on drawings by designer Richard Hunt. Shawcraft made four Chumblie props, operated like the Dalek props. The operator inside could manipulate the two prongs or lift the top of the Chumblie from inside. Due to the small size of the Chumblie props, only little people could operate them on the set.

The Rill aliens meanwhile were the work of freelance costume-maker Jack Lovell based at the request of costume designer Daphne Dare. Lovell explained in The Doctor's Effects:

'We built up four of these on thin fibreglass frames, which we covered with rubber and painted a very dark green. The Rills weren't designed to be mobile, so the only real movement came from the actor's hands and feet positioned inside the creature's flippers.'

'Mission to the Unknown'

Daphne Dare designed the predatory alien Varga plants, realized as large costumes over an actor. The Varga plant costumes were reused in 'The Daleks' Master Plan'.

'The Daleks' Master Plan'

The costume department also handled the invisible 'Visian' aliens - there is actually little information about these costumes. I believe these were for brief shots showing the true form of the Visian when the screen goes negative as they are shot by Daleks.

'The Ark'

Jack Lovell fabricated the alien Monoid costumes on Daphne Dare's request, and explained the construction in detail in The Doctor's Effects;

'Daphne Dare had drawn them out as a basic humanoid shape, but without a mouth and only one eye. We built the body and head sections of the costume separately and then permanently fixed them together into one-piece suits to save time and maintenance in the studio.

You got into the thing at the back, putting the trouser part on first and then pulling the upper part over your had to be zipped up along the spine. The Monoids eye was just a ping-pong bal level with the actor's mouth, so with the aide of a wooden peg fixed in the back of the ball, the eye could be moved from inside the costume.

Originally the Monoids were going to be bald, but we couldn't disguise the holes we'd included in the creature's forehead to allow the actor to see out of the costume. As a solution to the problem, the Beatle-like yak hair was added.'

'The War Machines'

The tank-like 'war machines' were constructed by Shawcraft Models; only one prop was made, and it was operated by Gerald Taylor in a similar fashion to the Dalek props.

Sources:

• The Doctor's Effects (Steve Cambden, 2001)
  

Continued in Doctor Who (1963) - Season 4

Millennium (1989)

Note: I would like to thank Nina Laden for having been so kind to send me scans of the polaroids that her father, Bob Laden, took of his work on Millennium. Nina Laden is a talented illustrator and author whose work can be seen on her website ninaladen.com

(So far, I've found little in the way of solid sources on how Millenium was made; a shame, as the film has some striking set design, visual effects and prosthetics!)

Millennium was director Michael Anderson's second foray into science-fiction, adapted from John Varley's short story 'Air Raid'. In contrast to Anderson's earlier Logan's Run, the future depicted in Millennium was a dark and decaying world populated by a dying human race.

This morbid aspect of the story was reflected in the film's production design, which extended to the makeups. Millennium's prosthetic makeup effects were designed by Bob Laden, with Paul Mejias, Kenneth Brilliant and Jay Kushwara credited as 'prosthetic makeup assistants'.

An angular prosthetic with a metallic paintjob was designed for Robert Joy as the robot Sherman. The makeup was complimented with a specialty 'robot' costume for Joy to wear, with a hard piece covering the back of his head. Identical prosthetics and costumes were made for extras playing other robots glimpsed briefly in the film.

(I've tried to find credits for whatever specialty costume-makers could have made the Sherman robot costumes, but to no avail so far. There's no credits as such in the actual film either)

Bob Laden's specialty was in old age makeups, having done the old age makeup for Max Von Sydow's turn in The Exorcist. A sickly-looking prosthetic makeup was designed for Brent Carver to wear as Coventry, one of the humans living in the far future.

The future humanity is ruled by a council of heavily disfigured and mutated humans; an especially grisly prosthetic was made for Chapelle Jaffe as the councillor Stockholm.

A similarly grotesque prosthetic was designed for Chris Britton as the councillor Buffalo, showing his brains growing out his skull.

Aged makeups were made for Gerry Quigley and Leonard Chow as the councillors Khartoum and Beijing, but they do not get close-ups in the film, nor are they in the polaroids.

It also seems that two rudimentary puppets were made to depict the councillors whose bodies had deterioated to nothing but brains and eyes; I don't know who made these particular props, as there is no specialized credit in the film.

Motion Picture Contact Lenses - Part 1: Pre-1980

As they say, 'the eyes are the window to the soul'. The contact lens is an essential yet overlooked element of makeup effects throughout film & television history.

It's not just the lens' ornate paintjobs that is deceptively easy to ignore. Throughout the twentieth century, prosthetic contact lenses tended to be made out of hard glass, and if that sounds like it would be hell to wear; yes, indeed it was. Many are the stories of actors feeling discomfort or even temporary eye injuries, thanks to the prosthetic lenses.

Often the lenses were designed by the film's respective makeup effects artists, but had to be constructed by opticians; Dr. Morton Greenspoon being one of the most famous.

Dracula (1958)

Christopher Lee wore these infamous bloodshot eye contacts in his iconic role as Dracula. These contacts were worn again by Lee in the next few sequels, with the below screenshot actually being from 1968's Dracula Has Risen from the Grave.

I think the contact lenses were reused for 1964's The Gorgon (which was also a Hammer Films production), worn this time by Prudence Hyman in the title role.

Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

Slit-pupiled demon eye contacts were worn by Judi Meredith and Anna Lee when under a sorcerer's influence. Opticans were uncredited.

X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963)

Several sets of uncanny eye contacts were worn by Ray Milland's titular role as he begins to lose control of his powers. Opticians were uncredited.

Star Trek (1966)

All-silver contact lenses were worn by Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman in the episode 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'.

The Snow Woman (1968)

Gold iris contacts were worn by Shiho Fujimura as the titular 'yokai' spirit.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Slit-pupil demon contacts were worn by Clay Tanner in his extremely brief (and cut down!) turn as Satan himself.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

A new design of vampire contacts were made for Christopher Lee to suffer as the titular Transylvanian count.

The Vampire Doll (1970)

Gold pupilled contacts worn by Yukiko Kobayashi as the vampire Yuko.

The Omega Man (1971)

Uncanny, pale iris contacts were applied on various cast members playing the post-apocalyptic mutants.

Westworld (1973)

Silver contacts were worn by Yul Brynner as the homicidal android gunslinger.

The Exorcist (1973)

Assorted sets of contacts - a yellow iris 'demon' design, and all-white 'blind' designs - were worn by Linda Blair as the possessed Regan Macneil. Makeup effects by Dick Smith, but opticians were uncredited.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)

Uncanny, bloody contacts were worn by various actors playing zombies. Makeup effects were by Giannetto De Rossi, but opticians were uncredited.

Enter The Devil (1974)

Sets of demonic eye contacts were made for this terrible The Exorcist wannabe. The contact lenses were credited to the Italian manufacturer Schalcon.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

Slit-pupil alien contact lenses worn by Davie Bowie as an extra-terrestrial.

The Incredible Hulk (1977)

Contacts with white and green iris lenses were worn by Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in their roles as the titular superhero.

Salem's Lot (1979)

Some visually intense vampire lenses were made for Reggie Nalder as the vampire Kurt Barlow, with similar yellow lenses for his underlings. Morton Greenspoon was credited for the special lenses, making this one of his first contributions on a vampire film!