The Cast     Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar, Gary Conway, Gary Clarke, Malcolm Atterbury, Morris Ankrum and Walter Reed. Produced by Herman Cohen and Directed by Herbert L. Strock. Screenplay by Kenneth Langtry (Aben Kandel) and Herman Cohen. Make-up by Philip Scheer. Running time 75 minutes. Last 10 minutes filmed in Color. (Many video and TV prints have it in B&W)
Spanish title is "The BATTLE OF THE MONSTERS" ("LA BATALLA DE LOS MONSTRUOS") and in Germany the title was THE DEVIL WITH 1000 MASKS. ("DER SATAN MIT DEN 1000 MASKEN") Sort of a behind the scenes look at AIP. Would have preferred a real Teenage Werewolf VS Teenage Frankenstein sequel.

          The Plot:     Pete Dummond, Chief Make-up Artist for 25 years at American International Studios, is pink slipped by the new management from the East, Jeffrey Clayton and John Nixon who plan to make musicals and comedies instead of the horror pictures for which Pete has created his remarkable monster make-ups and made the studio famous. In retaliaton, Pete vows to use the very monsters these men have rejected to destroy them. By mixing a numbing ingredient into his foundation cream and persuading the young actors that their careers are through unless they place themselves in his power, he hypnotizes both Larry Drake and Tony Mantell, who are playing THE TEENAGE WEREWOLF and TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN in the picture "FRANKENSTEIN MEETS WEREWOLF" currently shooting on the lot... and through hypnosis, Pete causes Larry in werewolf make-up to kill Nixon in the studio projection room, and later he wills the unknowing Tony to wait for Clayton in his garage at night and brutally choke him to death. Studio guard Monahan, a self-styled detective, stops in at the Make-up Room on his rounds one evening and shows Pete and Rivero--Pete's reluctant assistant and accomplice--his little black book in which he has jotted down many facts such as the late time Pete and Rivero checked out the night of the first murder. By this show of initiative he plans to get a promotion. Apprehensive, Pete, made up as a terrifying primitive monster, one of his own creations, kills Monahan in the studio commissary at a later point on his beat.
          Richards, the older guard sees and hears nothing until he uncovers Monahan's body. Police investigators uncover two clues: a maid, Millie describes the Monster Frankenstein (Tony, in make-up) who struck her down as he fled from Clayton's murder, and the Police Laboratory Technician discovers a peculiar ingredient in the make-up left on Clayton's fingers from his death struggle with Tony. The formula matches bits found in Pete's old Make-up Room, and the Police head for Pete's house -- where Pete has taken Rivero, Tony and Larry for a grim farewell party to his home which is a museum of all the monsters that he has created in the 25 years in the studio. Pete has stabbed Rivero to death secretly in the kitchen and hidden his body. Finding Tony and Larry trying to escape the locked living room, he attacks them with a knife, but Larry knocks over a candelabra, setting the living room on fire and Pete is burned to death trying to save the lifelike heads of his monster "children" mounted on the wall. The Police break through the door before the flames reach the boys.

          While entertaining and with my two favorite teenage monsters, I think the battle between the two teenage combatants could have been longer. The one in the film ends too abruptly. The female vampire from "Blood of Dracula" should have been included also. Actually I would have preferred a movie similar to Universal's "House Of Frankenstein", with a mad doctor (possibly a relative of either Professor Frankenstein or Doctor Brandon) bringing all of the AIP teenage monsters back to life. The song by John Ashley could have been edited out and since AIP made several movies with real rock stars, one such act could have been added instead. I liked the color ending, but they could have found a way to show the two teenage monsters in color during the film.

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Disclaimer: HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER was copyright 1958 by Sunset Productions and released by American International Pictures and renewed in 1986 by Selma Enterprises. All rights reserved. No rights given or implied. Do not use any material on this website without permission.

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