Alfred Hitchcocks’ “SABOTEUR” (1942) remains one of my favourite Hitchcock thrillers. The tried and true formula of the innocent man on the run is handled with style and breakneck pace. The uncredited special photographic effects work of the great John P.Fulton remains among the best in all of Hitchs’ films in my mind. The sheer number of matte paintings and complex optical work including rotoscoping is staggering. All the more staggering is that as far as I could ever learn Universal only ever seemed to have one matte painter on staff – Russell Lawson, later to be succeeded in 1961 by Albert Whitlock. In the early days and the 30’s Jack Cosgrove teamed with Lawson on many films such as “BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN”, and “THE INVISIBLE MAN” and others, but for the most part from the late 30’s through to the early 60’s it just seemed to have been Lawson.
Given the huge volume of major matte paintings in “SABOTEUR” I can’t help but feel Lawson must have had help, or at least Fulton farmed out some of the matte work to meet the deadline perhaps? There is some discussion that noted art director John DeCuir may have been a matte painter on this film. I’d love to have the full low down on this show. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the mastery of Fulton and Lawson…
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A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX
Please Note: Now that I am all caught up with Matte & Effects Films Celebrated, I am going further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more great articles from this great site.
This blog is intended primarily as a tribute to the inventiveness and ingenuity of the craft of the matte painter during Hollywoods’ Golden Era. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today.