Lionel Atwill
Born: Mar. 1st, 1885 Died: Apr. 22nd, 1946
If you are a fan of the old Universal classics, then you’ve seen Lionel Atwill. But it seems that younger fans today might now know him other than “that guy from the Universal films”. It’s really unfortunate too since Atwill was wonderfully talented at playing intelligent and authoritative figures. Granted, some of them were mad as a hatter, but that’s beside the point. Then again, that is where he seemed to excel!
Atwill could carry the lead in films, such as the original Mystery of the Wax Museum and The Vampire Bat (both 1933), but could also make the same impact when he was playing supporting roles in films like Man Made Monster (1941) or Son of Frankenstein (1939). He was always memorable with his distinct voice and glare, always leaving an impression. My first issue of Famous Monsters magazine featured an article on Man Made Monster, which to this day, remains one of my favorites. Same goes for The Ghost of Frankenstein, that I can still remember watching for the first time on a small 13″ black and white TV and enjoying the hell out of it. And Atwill is one of the reasons on both those examples.
In the early 40’s, he was sentenced to 5 years probation after being found guilty of perjury in a case about a young girl who had been raped at a “wild sex-party”, which was claimed to be at Atwill’s home. He testified that it was not true, which was found to be a lie after others testified. While he did work a little after this scandal, his career was pretty much done. I’m sure there is a lot more to that story as to what really happened, but I’m not sure we’ll ever really know. But he should at least be remembered for the fine work that he did give us.
For a great biography of Atwill, check out Hollywood’s Maddest Doctors, by Gregory William Mank.
Do you like to hear from different people in the film industry? From directors to composers to producers to actors, they all have insight to this crazy world that we follow. If you’re one of those that are trying to break into the film industry, what better people to get advice from than those that are already in the trenches. Filmmaker/author Danny Draven has written a book called Talk You To Death: 
The first time I watched this film, it was from a bootleg VHS tape, several generations down from the original source, in Italian with no sub-titles. I was very familiar with the director, being a huge fan of his first three films, and was very excited to see his latest, even if it meant watching it under these particular circumstances. And it didn’t matter. Soavi’s use of the camera, the look and feel of the film, and giving us something like we hadn’t seen before, even though I might not have understood exactly what was going on, I still loved it. Soon, I would upgrade my copy to another crappy looking tape, but this time in English. Then a great looking one, but back to Italian. Then finally splurging the money and acquiring the actual Japanese laserdisc, which has one of the best covers to date, which you can see to the right.
Rungs on a Ladder: Hammer Films Seen Through a Soft Gauze
George Bau
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