Mask History: At The Movies



Since the first film was developed in the late 19th century, masks have played an important part with them in culture. Because film performances are really an offshoot of theatre, masks continued over to the screen. Because of the nature of film, however, more could be done when it came to special effects and editing. Masks have become not only things to be seen, but replicas to be bought and used. They also hold an important part of makeup appliances. Unlike the more symbolic appearances in the past, however, they can be used to make someone appear realistically as someone (or something) else. Since camera started rolling, masks have been a large part of the cinema and television experience. From the earliest mask in Hollywood in 1925 with Lon Chaney’s performance in “Phantom of the Opera”, masks have hidden faces. Whether it’s a masked killer trying to hide (or find) their identity, an anonymous hero saving the day, or wearing a face to avoid capture, masks have done it all in film. So grab your popcorn and soda, the movie is about to start.
Because of the nature of film, it can get tricky when we are talking about masks; there are films where the mask is an actual part of a character, such as Jason from Friday the 13th, or “Catwoman” from Batman-masks that the character actually wears to hide their identity. Then there is the makeup application of masks, also called facial applicances-these are masks that are attached to the face to actually create a character’s appearance-Robert Engund is probably one of the more famous for his “Freddy Kreuger” makeup in “Nightmare on Elm Street”-masks that actually create the character rather than hiding identity and are often applied in long painstaking sessions in the makeup artists chair.
The Early years (1900-1940’s)
The early 20th century is a time of innovation for film. The technology to capture frame by frame “moving pictures” has some murky background. The earliest known horror film is a 2 minute French short titled Manic du Diable, or “House of the Devil. That was in 1896. Horror films continued through the early 1900’s, including movies like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” in 1919. Thomas Edison even made a film based on Frankenstein in 1910. But when did masks come into play as something the character wore?
In 1925 was the first incarnation of the well known “Phantom of the Opera”, with Lon Chaney. The story is about a disfigured man living in the Paris Opera house. Shunned from the world, he inhabits the caverns and tunnels beneath the Opera House. When he finds Christine, he immediately longs for her. Wearing a mask that covers his face, he terrorizes the opera group, eventually grabbing Christine. In one of the pivotal moments in cinema history, she pulls the mask off his face, showing his horribly disfigured face to the audience. It is said women fainted and men gasped at the horrible appearance when watching the movie. It was to be horror’s first “unmasking”. We can see the imprint of masks hiding a killer’s terrible secret on the audience. There were very few masked characters during this time. Surprisingly, there were a few early examples in this era of the “masked killer” which wouldn’t become well known for decades. Movies like “Star of Midnight” (1935), about a killer wearing a woman’s mask, and “Black Widow”(1947) about a woman behaving like her namesake, showed a little bit of monster as well. These films, not surprisingly, are not as well known as their more modern horror/thriller counterparts.

Coming out of the depression and slowly out of World War 2, colourful masked characters would slowly start to come back to the screens. Movie serials were finding some traction in the theatres, and “Batman and Robin” would star in a 15 part movie serial, the masked duo, along with more of the Lone Ranger, would work their way across the screen. Superheroes originated in cinema as serials back in the 1940’s. As part of a movie going experience, there were several segments to the cinema experience. There was a newsreel, a cartoon, coming attractions and movie serials before the main attraction. The serial was a short film that often had heroes battling villains, and ending in “Cliff-hangers”, often with hero literally hanging off of a cliff. If you wanted to see the conclusion, you had to come back the next week or month and see how the story continued. Heroes like Captain Marvel (1941), Batman and The Phantom (43), Captain America (44) dominated the screen in these films. Wha is interesting to note is that these characters, even though masked, were not feared. The admiring quote “Who was that masked man?” even today implies someone doing good while remaining anonymous. Even the masks the characters wore only covered part of the face-it was important to see part of the face of the hero, they were human, we can identify with them. The mask was a sign of humility, good was the main intention; whoever the person was, their actions were more important than their identity. To me this suggests that during this time, people were more likely to taking things at face value, and not question the motives. The masked hero wants anonymity, nothing more. The idea of masks to “scare” or unnerve people didn’t really enter too much into the equation.
Moving into the fifties, there was turmoil in the comic book industry. Regulatory bodies were imposing censorship on comics that were felt to be too violent. As a result, the serials dwindled, as the comic industry was connected to the serials in regards to income. Serials disappeared from theatres, as did their masks. The fifties were also a time of cultural change. As World War 2 was left in the mirror, there was more optimism, more hope. So why this seeming void of masks in movies? Perhaps a feeling of “nothing to hide” was prevalent. We wouldn’t see masks back on the screen until the 1960’s
The 1960’s were the beginnings of another shift in movie making. Masks at this time were becoming visible again in the theatre. There were a few masked killer films during the 60’s, most of them from Europe. Movies like Mr. Sardonicus, (1961), Onibaba, (1964) and “Les Yeux Sans Visage”; though it wasn’t the killer who wore a mask. A rebirth of sorts took place in 1966. “Batman” was released as a feature film. Based on the campy television series of the same name (which were two-parters, harkening back to the serial days), the campiness carried over to the feature. With odd camera angles, clichéd dialogue and the words “wham!” and “Pow!” filling the screen, the movie was still a hit, comic book heroes were back in the public eye. “The List of Adrian Messenger” has an intriguing use of masks. The main characters play their roles, all wearing masks that disguise their identity. It is only at the end of the film during the credits where the performers unmask to show their true (performer) identities. It wasn’t a superhero movie, but rather a movie that used masks as a way of telling a story. Television’s were tuned to “Mission Impossible”, an almost never ending parade of masks, spies, and plots. We would also see this in “The Second Best Secret Agent In The World” (1965), more espionage about a multi-masking spy hero. The 60’s were a time of cultural change again. There were the Korean and Vietnam wars, the women’s liberation movement was moving forward, a culture trying to find themselves. Perhaps this explains the “multi-masking” movies and televisionComing out of the depression and slowly out of World War 2, colourful masked characters would slowly start to come back to the screens. Movie serials were finding some traction in the theatres, and “Batman and Robin” would star in a 15 part movie serial, the masked duo, along with more of the Lone Ranger, would work their way across the screen. Superheroes originated in cinema as serials back in the 1940’s. As part of a movie going experience, there were several segments to the cinema experience. There was a newsreel, a cartoon, coming attractions and movie serials before the main attraction. The serial was a short film that often had heroes battling villains, and ending in “Cliff-hangers”, often with hero literally hanging off of a cliff. If you wanted to see the conclusion, you had to come back the next week or month and see how the story continued. Heroes like Captain Marvel (1941), Batman and The Phantom (43), Captain America (44) dominated the screen in these films. Wha is interesting to note is that these characters, even though masked, were not feared. The admiring quote “Who was that masked man?” even today implies someone doing good while remaining anonymous. Even the masks the characters wore only covered part of the face-it was important to see part of the face of the hero, they were human, we can identify with them. The mask was a sign of humility, good was the main intention; whoever the person was, their actions were more important than their identity. To me this suggests that during this time, people were more likely to taking things at face value, and not question the motives. The masked hero wants anonymity, nothing more. The idea of masks to “scare” or unnerve people didn’t really enter too much into the equation.

Moving into the fifties, there was turmoil in the comic book industry. Regulatory bodies were imposing censorship on comics that were felt to be too violent. As a result, the serials dwindled, as the comic industry was connected to the serials in regards to income. Serials disappeared from theatres, as did their masks. The fifties were also a time of cultural change. As World War 2 was left in the mirror, there was more optimism, more hope. So why this seeming void of masks in movies? Perhaps a feeling of “nothing to hide” was prevalent. We wouldn’t see masks back on the screen until the 1960’s
The 1960’s were the beginnings of another shift in movie making. Masks at this time were becoming visible again in the theatre. There were a few masked killer films during the 60’s, most of them from Europe. Movies like Mr. Sardonicus, (1961), Onibaba, (1964) and “Les Yeux Sans Visage”; though it wasn’t the killer who wore a mask. A rebirth of sorts took place in 1966. “Batman” was released as a feature film. Based on the campy television series of the same name (which were two-parters, harkening back to the serial days), the campiness carried over to the feature. With odd camera angles, clichéd dialogue and the words “wham!” and “Pow!” filling the screen, the movie was still a hit, comic book heroes were back in the public eye. “The List of Adrian Messenger” has an intriguing use of masks. The main characters play their roles, all wearing masks that disguise their identity. It is only at the end of the film during the credits where the performers unmask to show their true (performer) identities. It wasn’t a superhero movie, but rather a movie that used masks as a way of telling a story. Television’s were tuned to “Mission Impossible”, an almost never ending parade of masks, spies, and plots. We would also see this in “The Second Best Secret Agent In The World” (1965), more espionage about a multi-masking spy hero. The 60’s were a time of cultural change again. There were the Korean and Vietnam wars, the women’s liberation movement was moving forward, a culture trying to find themselves. Perhaps this explains the “multi-masking” movies and television; everyone perhaps trying to find themselves, trying on “different faces”, as it were.; everyone perhaps trying to find themselves, trying on “different faces”, as it were.


Yet through all the horror of the 70’s and 80’s, something happened as we approached the 90’s. Our heroes would start to return, yet almost as dark as the villains they encountered. In 1989, “Batman”, directed by Tim Burton, returned the hero to the screen. However, this was not the campy Batman of the 1960’s. This batman was in black, he prowled a gothic Gotham City, and he meant business. His nemesis, The Joker, was not the Sid Cesar of old, but a psychotic Jack Nicholson, who was possibly more liked than the hero! Dark, twisted humor was the order of the day. And fans flocked to the cinema, raking in over 200 million dollars domestic box office, which back in 1989 was almost unheard of, an era where “Star Wars” was at the top of the fox office records with over 300 million. The franchise would spawn one sequel under Burton (Batman Returns), with a latex clad Catwoman in Michelle Pfeiffer, before being turned over to Joel Shumacher for two rather underwhelming sequels. But the idea of heroes being as dark as their villains started to take hold.


Heist films would start to become noted in the cinema for their use of masks in the 90’s. Now heist films had been around for many years, but the masks, often baklavas, or maybe pantyhose, were merely a prop. Certainly Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killers” had the antagonists wearing pig type of masks, but it wasn’t until Point Break caught filmgoers attention. The film, in which the characters wore masks of various presidents, caught filmgoers imagination. The movie is probably more well known for the masks, than for the actual film; Point Break with simple baklavas would come across as “just another Heist film. “ “Heat” is another heist film where the masks, this time hockey masks not unlike “Jason” masks, are worn in the film. This film also has Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro , two of the greatest actors of the generation, in the film which obviously helped. The climactic shootout between the masked gunmen and police is one of the highlights of cinema history. “Sugar And Spice”, a teen comedy heist film, portrays the characters in identical “Barbie” masks. The twist in the film is that the “villains” are all cheerleaders helping out their pregnant fellow cheerleader. More recently, “The Town”, where the characters wear various masks, from monsters, to hockey masks (a tribute to Heat) to elderly nuns(!), and The Dark Knight, where the movie opens to a heist with clown mask clad robbers continue the heist genre. What is notable about all these films, people wish to have replicas of the masks. They empathise as wanting “the big score” and some excitement in their lives. Also notable is the masks are either suggest innocence (nuns, Barbie) or are cynically appropriate (presidents/politicians). So we see that the masks in fact become part of the story, and are often featured prominently on ads for said films (“Heat”, “Sugar and Spice”, “Point Break” and “The Town”).

As movies moved into the 21st Century, the heroes and their masks became more fantastic. At the dawning of the new century, masked heroes have returned, again with a twist. Advances in computer effects now allow for “fantastic” heroes to come forth. “Spiderman” (2001) would be one of the first examples of this. Crawling walls, and swinging from webs, the movie was a comic book brought to life. “Iron Man”(2008) is another example of this-a robot-like suit of armour allows the hero to fly and blast repulsor rays. Yet looking at these fantastic heroes, the masks need noting. The masks are “full face” ones, not exposing any humanity-because possibly they aren’t seen as human. Flying, swinging on webs, crawling on walls-these fantastic elements could be seen as dehumanizing the hero. They are beyond human in their form. Yet these heroes regularly “unmask” during the film, to show us the human side of us. It’s an interesting contrast between the “humble” human and the “fantastic” hero that sets him apart from those he wishes to protect The Batman franchise would restart in 2006 with a return to its darker roots. Christian Bale would take up the lead role as the Caped Crusader “Batman Begins”. A sequel would follow, “The Dark Knight”. This sequel, even darker than the first, starred the late Heath Ledger as The Joker in a performance that was considered by many to rival Nicholson’s. Ledger died shortly after the filming was completed due a drug overdose. “The Dark Knight” was a critical and box office smash, recording over five hundred million at the North American box office alone. Part of the mythology about the Batman stories is about masks that are worn, and the psychological importance of the “alter ego”. Also in 2006, “V for Vendetta” opened. A story about a masked anti-hero who wears a Guy Fawkes mask, the story in unusual in that, unlike most hero movies, we never see an unmasked “V”. The character, played by Hugo Weaving, either is seen on screen with his mask on, or shots without his mask do not show the character’s face. In a symbolic way, the mask is more important than who is wearing it; it is about the ideal that is trying to be commuWho was that masked woman?
Because of the visual nature of film and storytelling, masked women play an intriguing part of film history. Up until the latter half of the twentieth century, women in Western culture were rarely the villain in stories and film. Men were the heroes and villains, the women often helpless characters that had to be rescued, or worse, property that was simply a part of the show. Whether a love interest, damsel in distress, or simply “eye candy”, women didn’t really get an opportunity to rule or save the world. They were seen as to be the “weaker sex”. Because of the nature of film, the portrayal of masked women in cinema would become one of empowerment; strong females, hero, villain or somewhere in between, would show other women that anything could be done. These women showed that sisters, indeed, could do it for themselves.
In horror films, masked women are considered relatively new. Horror fans would say Pamela Voorhees, Jason’s mother, was one of original “bad girls”, yet she wore no mask. The mother and daughter in “The Strangers” wore masks as terrorized the family. In one of the scream movies there is a female killer. “Curtains” has a spurned female killer. A vengeful female hunts young girls in “Alice, Sweet Alice”. Part of the interest in the unmasking of a killer is when it is a female, particularly a brutal killer; the shock value is much higher. The term “Hell Hath no fury as a woman scorned” certainly applies to these ladies.
Hero films tend to have more masked women characters, both hero and villain. In 1966’s “Batman” Julie Newmar laid down a memorable performance as “Cat woman”. Cat woman almost has her own history. Created in 1940 by Bob Kane, a number of women on the big and small screens have played her. Besides Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt have played the femme fatale on the small screen version of the show. Michelle Pfeiffer played the role in “Batman Returns” and Halle Berry played in a standalone “Cat woman” film (though it was only loosely based on the Batman character, and was box offices flop). Even today, with rumours about of a third instalment of the current “Batman” franchise, Cat woman’s character has been suggested, with names like Angelia Jolie, Megan Fox and even Cher being connected to the film, though all can show is, after the failure of Halle Berry’s version, the film audience longs for a return of “The Cat”.
Also in the Batman universe, “Batgirl” was a big part of the 1960s program. “Poison Ivy” was introduced to the big screen, along with Batgirl in “Batman and Robin”, the fourth and final film of the previous Batman movie franchise, which also received negatively due to its campy theme. Outside of the Batman universe, masked female heroes and villain are hard to find in film. It could be suggested that Hollywood doesn’t want to cover up “that pretty face”.Heist films are an interesting place look, particularly if there is an espionage element. The comedy “Sugar and Spice” featured a group of cheerleaders wearing “Barbie” masks to hold up banks to help their fellow pregnant cheerleader. “Lady in the cage” had women with stockings over their head as they robbed a bank. In the original 1966 “Mission Impossible” television series series, there are a number of women who are unmasked during the series, both villains and heroes alike. In Disney’s “The Witches”, the lead witch hides her true, rodent-like face with a mask of a beautiful woman. In the movie “Return to Oz”, the villainess goes so far as to wear different women’s heads, as she takes them off and puts them on depending on what suits her in this dark “sequel” to “The Wizard of Oz”. Women are slowly getting their due in regards to masks and movies, though it has taken awhile. Perhaps culture is still not used to the idea of women being strong, assertive characters. Maybe it’s the “pretty face” effect. For whatever reason, Hollywood doesn’t like to mask womennicated. The mask is the symbol of the revolution, and Guy Fawkes is certainly an appropriate image.