“Blood is too precious a thing in these times,” said Gary Oldman as the eponymous vampire in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). Once horror films were made in color, filmmakers needed a red substitute and could no longer rely on chocolate syrup. Two inventors developed their own recipes, and each formulation has been used in classic cinema.
Very little is known about John Tinegate. He was a retired British pharmacist, in the village of Abbotsbury, Dorset. Tinegate manufactured fake blood used in films and theatre in the 1960s and 1970s, under the name “Kensington Gore.” Many varieties of fake blood, having various degrees of viscosity, shades, and textures, were available. In The Shining, 360 gallons of Kensington Gore was used for the famous wave of blood in the elevator bank of The Overlook Hotel. Kensington Gore was also used in Hammer Horror movies, including the Dracula movies starring Christopher Lee.
To make Kensington Gore, you’ll need:
· 2 cups of corn syrup
· 1 cup of water
· 10 tablespoons of corn (maize) flour
· 10 teaspoons of red food coloring
· 10 drops blue food coloring
· (Optionally) a few drops of concentrated mint, for taste.
Richard Emerson Smith, pictured above, was born in Larchmont, New York. He attended the Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut, and Yale University, where he studied pre-med with a major in zoology, intending to enter dentistry.
Upon reading a book on theatrical make-up techniques, he began applying make-up for the Yale drama group. After graduation, Smith served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Smith entered television after the war, and was self-taught as a makeup artist. He was appointed as the first make-up director of WNBC, where he worked for fourteen years. Smith pioneered the development of prosthetic makeup from the basement of his home in Larchmont.
At the time, prosthetic face masks were normally made in one piece, but Smith made them in three foam latex pieces, allowing an actor to use his full range of facial expression. The modern standard methods of applying prosthetics to faces are those that Smith invented, according to his protégé Rick Baker.
Smith drew attention for turning Laurence Olivier into a leprosy victim for The Moon and Sixpence. Olivier remarked at the finished make-up that, “Dick, it does the acting for me.” Smith also worked on all fourteen episodes of “Way Out,” a shortlived clone of “The Twilight Zone.” He also provided special makeup for two episodes of “Dark Shadows” to make Barnabas Collins appear to be more than 175 years old.
In Little Big Man (1970), Smith made Dustin Hoffman appear to be about 120 years old.
For The Godfather (1972), to age Marlon Brando, who was unwilling to have prosthetics applied, Smith used stipple effects moving across the face from the actor’s eyes, and a dental device called a “plumper” to cause Brando’s jowls to droop. In order to depict the bleeding of characters after they were shot, Smith created the first ever bleeding special effects by creating bladders that were hidden under foam latex, with squibs that detonated the bladder, allowing blood to pour through pre-arranged holes in the latex.
On The Exorcist (1973), Smith figured out how to make the welts swell up on Linda Blair’s stomach and make her head spin around by use of a mechanical dummy. Smith also created the vomiting scenes.
Smith created the make-up for Robert De Niro’s character in Taxi Driver 1976), and the effects for the blood-drenched finale. Smith’s recipe is as follows (the Photo-Flo is poisonous, so a drop of non-bleached detergent can be substituted):
· 1 quart white corn syrup
· 1 level teaspoon methyl paraben
· 2 ounces Ehler Red Food color
· 5 teaspoons Ehler Yellow Food color
· 2 ounces Kodak Photo-Flo
· 2 ounces of water
Mix the methyl paraben with some of the corn syrup in a cup. Pour the powdered red and yellow food coloring into a bucket and mix in two ounces of water. Then add the rest of the corn syrup. Add two ounces of Photo-Flo.
Smith won the Academy Award for Best Makeup for his work on Amadeus (1984), for the transformation of F. Murray Abraham into an elderly Antonio Salieri. Smith received a second nomination for his work on Dad (1989), for which he aged Jack Lemmon.
In November 2011, Smith was awarded an Academy Honorary Award for his life’s work. He was the first ever make-up artist to be so honored.
Smith died at the age of 92, survived by two sons.
In addition to the films mentioned above, Smith worked on The Godfather Part II (1974), Marathon Man (1976), Scanners (1981), Death Becomes Her (1992), and House on Haunted Hill (1999).
Happy Halloween!