The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in
Plainville, Connecticut
Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,525 at the 2020 census.
History
Plainville first was inhabited by Europeans around 1650. By the 1660s, the land was incorporated as land for nearby Farm ...
, USA, is a collection of figures of classic movie monsters.
The museum is owned by the Bristol-native Cortlandt Hull. Cortlandt is the great nephew of film actor
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's '' Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a c ...
.
Josephine Hull
Marie Josephine Hull (née Sherwood; January 3, 1877 – March 12, 1957) was an American stage and film actress who also was a director of plays. She had a successful 50-year career on stage while taking some of her better known roles to film. Sh ...
, well known for her role in the classic film and stage play
Arsenic and Old Lace, is also a relative. In 1966, Cortlandt's father helped him build the Swiss chalet-style building to house the museum. Cortlandt built life-size figures of classic movie monsters that were made of wax, fine wire mesh, papier-mache and polymers. The figures were later replaced with more accurate ones.
The museum is open year round, weekend evenings. The new location for "The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum" is 103 East Main St in Plainville , CT 06062. The greatly expanded format allows for each figure to have its own backdrop and props. Additionally the museum features professional level lighting by Emmy award winning
Bill Diamond.
The heads of many of the figurines have been based on life-casts of the actual actors who portrayed them. Background sets and clothing are authentic to the era, with some costumes or props actually used in the original films. Characters represented in the museum are:
*
Frankenstein's Monster
Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...
(portrayed by
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...
)
*
Erik, The Phantom Of The Opera (portrayed by
Lon Chaney Sr.)
* Zenobia, The Gypsy Witch (an original character voiced by
June Foray
June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...
)
*
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (portrayed by
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
)
*
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...
(portrayed by
Ricou Browning
Ricou Browning (born February 16, 1930) is an American film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman. He is best known for his underwater stunt work, especially in the 1954 film ''Creature from the Black L ...
)
*
Count Dracula
Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...
(portrayed by
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
)
*
The Mole People
''The Mole People'' is a 1956 American science fiction adventure film distributed by Universal International, which was produced by William Alland, directed by Virgil W. Vogel, and stars John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and Cynthia Patrick. The st ...
*
Kharis, The Mummy (portrayed by
Lon Chaney Jr.
Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...
)
* Professor Henry Jarrod (scarred and unscarred versions), from ''
House Of Wax'' (portrayed by
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
) (one wears the original suit worn by
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
in the film)
*
The Fly (portrayed by
David (Al) Hedison)
*
Nosferatu, Count Orlok (portrayed by
Max Schreck
Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
)
*
The Masque of the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plagu ...
, from ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (portrayed by
Lon Chaney Sr.)
* Dr. Niemann (with Dracula's skeleton), from ''
House of Frankenstein'' (portrayed by
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...
)
* The Beast from ''
La Belle et la Bête'' (portrayed by
Jean Marais)
* Maleficent, from
Disney's ''Sleeping Beauty''
*
Dr. Wilfred Glendon, The Werewolf of London (portrayed by
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's '' Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a c ...
)
See also
*
Universal Horror
*
Universal Monsters
Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conc ...
References
*
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External links
The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum(official website)
{{coord, 41.6974, -72.9700, region:US-CT, display=title
Museums established in 1966
Museums in Connecticut
Cinema museums in Connecticut