Jack Pierce fixing up Boris Karloff on the set of The Mummy. (1932)
I asked myself how they did the Karloff make-up because it looked so dry shrinked. Now I know: Since today’s make-up materials did not exist in the 1930s, Jack Pierce had to put several layers applied with collodion smeared cotton on Karloff’s face to represent the effect of dried-up, shriveled mummy skin. This extremely uncomfortable mask was so rigid that Boris Karloff was no longer able to open his mouth to speak. He is acting with the eye’s.