International photographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

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ThE AMAZINQ MR. fulTON SPECIAL EFFECTS CHIEF, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS Who said "impossible?" There is no such word, according to John Fulton, Universal studios ingenious young special effects chief. Fulton has proved it by doing the impossible time and again. Since 1923, when he first became active in trick effects work, his amazing photographic achievements have startled the worlds film audiences and been the envy of Hollywood's technical experts. Probably Fulton's most celebrated accomplishment— at least, the one which brought him public recognition for the first time — was his rendering the Invisible Man invisible in 1933. Universal had purchased "The Invisible Man" from another studio which had given it up as impossible to film. Called in by studio officials, Fulton stated that nothing was impossible. Then he set out to show them. With Claude Rains in the title role, "The Invisible Man" showed clothing walking down streets alone, footprints impressing themselves in the snow, cigarettes smoking themselves, and other weird effects. The press, public and Hollywood itself asked, "Who did that?" When told, they began to shout Fulton's praises. Previously, Fulton had scored numerous other scoops in camera trickery. But being behind the scenes, he was accorded no credit or acclaim. It is only in recent years that the film industry has deigned to honor its technicians as well as its performers. Fulton began life in Beatrice, Neb., in 1902, descendant of an impressive array of antecedents. Among the latter were steamboat inventor Robert Fulton, writer-composer-actress-pianist Maude Fulton, stage artists Jesse and Enid Fulton, and Dr. John Fulton, John's grandfather who brought Robert Taylor into the world. Fulton's father is Fitch B. Fulton, a prominent Hollywood scenic artist for the past 17 years. When John was born, the senior Fulton was an itinerant stage manager and scenic artist for the Orpheum Circuit. As a result of the family's constant traveling, John attended 18 schools before settling in Los Angeles in 1917. Early in his youth John was struck with the urge to reproduce beautiful scenes. His first impulse was to paint, but since most of the artists he met were starving, he turned to photography as a more practical method of capturing those breath-taking views glimpsed on vacation trips to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and other beauty spots. John's entire world was wrapped up in his little Brownie. He built his own laboratory, mixed his own "soup," developed his own prints. By nature curious and in ventive he was soon dabbling in double exposure and other amateur photography tricks. In Los Angeles John entered the Polytechnic Trade School, majoring in electrical engineering. He secured a job immediately upon graduation with the Southern California Edison Co. Dissatisfied with his meagre pay, he quit his position and became a surveyor for a realty company. Meanwhile he kept alive his interest in photography with frequent visits to the Mack Sennett studios where Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and other famous comedians were working. It was in 1923 that Fulton surrendered to the lure of the film industry. He gave up his $50-a-week surveying job to serve for $18 a week as assistant cameraman and still photographer at the Sennett Studios. A year later he was called to Universal, where he remained for two years as assistant to Jack Rose. Then Frank Williams, who owned most of the trick film patents at that time, engaged Fulton as his assistant. At last John was in his element. His next few years were marked by ingenious accomplishments. Such memorable scenes as the chariots running over men in "Ben Hur," the battle and barrage sequences in "What Price Glory," and "The Big Parade,*' the Johnstown Flood in the picture of that name were but a few of the amazing effects he conceived and supervised. In 1927 Universal again summoned Fulton, this time for "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The ice scenes in this film are still remembered today as a most remarkable film achievement. Not long afterwards, Fulton produced another sensation when he showed how lap dissolves could be made right in the camera. A little later he gave film-makers another jolt when he created a 400-foot montage sequence for "The Black Cat." In 1928 Fulton went over to Columbia to concoct more celluloid magic for Frank Capra's "Submarine." After that historic production, he joined Producer Henry King to serve as cameraman on three films. In 1931 Fulton again returned to Universal to head the studio's process department. His first assignment was to create the earthquakes, lava flows and other special effects for "East of Borneo." The startling electrical effects in "Frankenstein," the realistic bombing raid in the original "Waterloo Bridge," the spectacular plane crashes in "Air Mail" were other camera highlights evolved by Fulton before his notable work in "The Invisible Man." A list of Fulton's other accomplishments since then would fill a volume. Last season he topped his efforts in "The Invisible Man" with even more ingenious wizardry in "'The Invisible Man Returns." When Universal released "The Invisible Woman" a few months ago again it was Fulton who stole the show with incredible new magic. At present he is busy brewing new legerdemain for "Man-Made Monster," the studio's latest horror drama. In it he will show a human being, supercharged with electricity, glowing like an electric light bulb. Tall, blonde, modest John Fulton tries to disclaim the difficulties of his work. "Much of it is purely mechanical, if secret," he states. "Most of it is done by a simple formula which we hit on and others just failed to find. Practically all of it requires long hours of tedious work by a large staff of photographers, artist* and technicians. "In many ways our job is a thankless one. For instance, an apparently difficult trick may be accomplished very easily. Other effects much more difficult are hardly remembered. But all in all the work is satisfying and I still don't think anything is impossible." In the same department and ably assisting Mr. Fulton are Stanley Horsley and Ross Hoffman, second cameramen, and James V. King, assistant cameraman. Weird Set at Universal One of the spookiest sets ever devised by Universal technicians, famous for their backgrounds for blood-chilling thrillers, provides the principal setting in the newest Bud Abbott and Lou Costello starring comedy, "Oh, Charlie," now in production. To all intents and purpses the setting is a bedroom, elaborately furnished, in a long abandoned tavern to which the comedians fall heir. By the simple application of pressure on a coat hook in a clothes closet, the room suddenly comes to life. The bed folds back into the wall, chairs and dresser disappear as though by magic, and in their places a big roulette table, crap table and other gambling devices snap into place. Apparently the tavern at one time was a hideout for bootleggers who operated the place as a gambling joint also, and the innocent appearing bedroom was provided in case of raids. Costello, rotund member of the famous comedy team, attempts to bed himself down in the room with hilarious results, supplying one of the funniest sequences of the picture.