ABUSED ON SET: EVELYN ANKERS

"Evie never really liked the business."

- Richard Denning, husband of Evelyn Ankers

Hollywood has come a long way in exposing miscreants, reprobates and downright criminals within their ranks. Harvey Weinstein is a prime example (may he rot on Rikers Island), Kevin Spacey's alleged misconduct and the more recent case of actor Timothy Busfield arrested for child molestation indicates the problem still persists. A world gone crazy with lawsuits only emphasizes the matter.

If one is inclined to say that this wasn't the way in Old Hollywood, they'd be way off the mark. Most--if not all--of these odious and unsavory practices were deeply entrenched in the dark underbelly of Tinseltown almost since its inception. However, unless it was looked upon as a serious criminal act (ex. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle), much of the activities behind the scenes we deem unacceptable today were often overlooked, neglected or otherwise ignored.

Not surprisingly, women had it the worst. Today, I'm taking a look at one of them: Universal scream queen Evelyn Ankers (pronounced “EEE-vuh-lin”). Later dubbed with the monikers, "Queen of the B's" and "The Screamer", it's hard to imagine that Miss Ankers had to endure working with an actor who, in so many of his own words, despised her. The actor's name doesn't come easily off the lips in this particular circumstance: Lon Chaney, Jr.

Evelyn Ankers by Universal photographer, Ray Jones.

Born in Chile to British parents, the young "Evie" began her acting career on the stage in Columbia, South America at the age of 10. She appeared in a handful of films after she and her mother moved to England. Somewhere along the way, she signed a contract with actor/producer Alexander Korda, but nothing seemed to come of it other than a single bit part.

When she was young, her father, a mining engineer, was shot by an angry company employee whom he had fired. He survived, but a short time after, left his family for another woman, leaving Evie and her mother high and dry and suddenly without financial means.

By all accounts, it would appear that Ankers enjoyed acting, but the reverse is true. Evie wanted to become a ballerina, but it was her mother that suggested--no insisted she pursue an acting career. It is not known if her mother worked or not, and it is likely Evie was their sole supporter.

Evelyn Ankers in 1947.

“Evie became one of those child actresses whom the mother kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” explained actor Richard Denning, later Ankers' husband, to author Greg Mank in his book, "Women in Horror Films, 1940s" (McFarland, 2005). “Evie never really liked the business.”

Around 1940, she got engaged to actor Glenn Ford while she was at 20th Century Fox and he was with Columbia Pictures. Her mother vehemently disapproved.

Affirming her mother's prodding of her daughter to pursue an acting career, Denning said: “Her mother didn’t want Evie to ever get married. To put it bluntly, she thought this might be the end of her meal ticket.”

Ankers signed a contract with Universal Pictures in January 1941. Her first film with them was with Abbott & Costello in HOLD THAT GHOST, released in August of that year, after which she starred in BURMA CONVOY (1941).

Early studio portrait of Lon Chaney, Jr.

Ankers was 23-years-old when she first worked with Chaney on location in Big Bear, California for NORTH TO THE KLONDIKE (released one month after THE WOLFMAN). A foreshadowing of his future behavior with her occurred early on during the filming.

Chaney had struck up a friendship with co-stars Broderick Crawford and Andy Devine and the three of them became notorious for drinking, carousing and "friendly" rough and rowdy physical behavior. Crawford was a heavy drinker, smoker and voracious eater. Later in his career, several DUI convictions prohibited him from operating a vehicle on public roads, which hampered his role on the popular HIGHWAY PATROL TV series. Devine was also a heavy drinker and smoker, but not on the scale of the other two of his cohorts.

Paul Malvern was associate producer of the film and is quoted as saying, "There never was a nicer guy. He [Chaney] got along with everyone." Although he always had a good word for him, in a later interview, he admitted: "They used to get together and do a lot of drinking. When we went on location to Big Bear, the three of them didn’t have to worry about keeping warm. If they weren’t beating the hell out of each other, they drank enough to generate enough heat to keep us all warm."

While the three of them were yucking it up, in less than a year at Universal, Ankers was forced to endure the practical jokes of Abbott and Costello (the two of them were also well known to be difficult to work with) and had to fend off an ardent Dead End Kid with a knee to his private parts. Far from a shrinking violet, when she and the rest of the cast observed the schoolyard antics of Chaney, Crawford and Devine, she was not amused.

To make matters worse, as a means of introduction, after reportedly saying, "Hiya, kid," Crawford hauled off and slugged Evie in the arm so hard that she burst into tears. Then Chaney did the worst thing imaginable for a so-called "nice guy": he laughed at her. This was not shaping up to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

After NORTH TO THE KLONDIKE wrapped, filming began a month later on THE WOLF MAN on October 27, 1941.

Chaney and Crawford had been sharing a luxury dressing room on the Universal lot they affectionately called "The Pest House". It was just one more place they drank and caroused, and after they broke one too many pieces of furniture, they were kicked out and moved to more meager quarters.

Without mentioning it to either Chaney or Crawford, the studio then gave it to Ankers and Anne Gwynn in recognition for the hard work they'd been doing. Chaney was furious and now he had to act with her. "That was a hell of a thing to do," he said, admonishing the stunned actress. Since Universal execs didn't explain to him why he and Crawford were evicted from their fancy playpen, he assumed it was Evie's underhanded doing.

This series of publicity shots shows that they could get along
with each other if they had to.

By this time, Chaney already had a reputation as a heavy drinker and prone to fits of rage. Consequently, his behavior was becoming more and more unpredictable. However, Lon was Universal's bread winner and his otherwise intolerable behavior was overlooked as a result.

Often discussed as the psychological reason behind his condition was that he was insecure as a result of Lon Sr.'s emotional and physical abuse when he was a boy and the resulting pressure from the expectation for him to become as big a star as his late father. While the foregoing is speculative, many film historians still affirm the fact that, whatever the reason, he had an increasingly serious alcohol problem that was affecting his work and continued to be detrimental for the rest of his career.

Also contributing to this toxic mix was his drug use. Not said to have been as severe as his drinking, he nevertheless was claimed to have taken pain pills and other drugs under unsupervised self-medication.

Then, more trouble. What likely began as a little teasing didn't take long to escalate. Chaney's harassment of Evie seemed boundless; he would often jump out at her in his Wolfman makeup and grab her, scaring her out of her wits. He would tell off-color stories near enough so she could hear them. Evie ended up calling him a bully and "a brute with bad breath".

In turn, Chaney's then wife Patsy confirmed her husband's extreme dislike for Evie by saying: "He didn’t like her. “He called her Shankers—Evelyn Shankers [a derogatory term for vaginal sores associated with syphilis].”

Jack Pierce had the unfortunate task of applying one of the greatest makeup creations in horror cinema history to an endlessly complaining Chaney, who didn't care to sit in Pierce's chair for countless hours and then enduring the painful removal of it at the end of the day. One writer described Pierce as having "found no humor in Chaney’s slovenliness, and confessed to understandable anxiety about applying yak hair to a boorish drunk for hours on end". Chaney even went so far as accusing Pierce of sticking a makeup pencil in his eye and mouth. Pierce had his own penchant for crankiness, so in this one case, the claim may not have been too far from the truth!

Photo of deleted bear wresting scene from Castle of Frankenstein #6, 1965.

To add insult to injury, a scene was filmed with Chaney wrestling a bear in the gypsy camp that ended up being deleted from the final cut. But that wasn't the end of it; the bear got loose and chased Evie up a ladder, which only added to the angst of the already tense actress.

If that wasn't enough, during the shooting of her scene as Gwen fleeing from Larry Talbot as the Wolfman in the woods, a fog machine was putting out a thick cover of aerosolized, glycol-based vapor on the soundstage. The vapor was so dense that Ankers was overcome by it and collapsed. Some accounts claim that she wasn't found until the crew was packing up for the day.

Details on the use of theatrical fog machines is explained on Panasonic's website. Panasonic manufactures specialized nozzles for various misting operations. 

Fog machine fluid is essential for creating captivating smoke and mist effects and is widely used across entertainment platforms such as on-stage, film sets, theme parks, and other applications.

Fog machine fluid, or fog juice, is a blend of liquid ingredients designed to produce fog when used with a fog machine or hazer. It dynamically interacts with lighting by creating a soft, diffused glow as light passes through fog particles. This effect enhances stage lighting, adds depth, and transforms ordinary scenes into magical moments.

Glycol-based fog fluid strikes a balance between water and oil-based options, creating a subtle and lingering haze that is perfect for dream sequences or romantic moments. It produces dense, long-lasting fog suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

Fog machine fluid often contains glycol or glycerin, which is vaporized to create fog. While generally safe when used correctly, these ingredients can lead to health issues if inhaled excessively or for prolonged periods. These include eye irritation or respiratory discomfort, especially for people with preexisting conditions like asthma.

Chaney continued his abuse of Evie on the set of GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, made the following year. Chaney claimed Evie had gotten "too heavy" (she wasn't, but it was still a hurtful remark, especially when actresses were expected to stay slim and feminine). He demanded to have a harness made to make it easier to carry her. It was cruelly called 'The Evelyn Ankers Strap'." Chaney damn well knew what he was doing.

Chaney's on set problems were not isolated to films with Evelyn Ankers. Respected film historian Tom Weaver had a few choice things to say about Chaney, none of them complementary:

A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) director Charles Barton says that even back in the 1930s when he worked with Jr., Jr. would be so drunk by the end of the day that he didn't know where he was. He was fired from JESSE JAMES (1939) for being drunk. Martin Kosleck said he was so drunk he was dangerous on THE MUMMY'S CURSE (1944), and Virginia Christine was afraid to let him carry her because he was lubed-up [curiously, no complaint from Chaney there]. He was fired off DAY OF THE EVIL GUN (1968) for showing up drunk and being unable to get himself in shape to deliver even a single line, and broke down crying when he was fired and told to go home. 

Evie had just about enough. Loosening the bonds from her mother, she dumped Glenn Ford and married Richard Denning. In the 1950s, Denning played in several horror and science fiction films, including TARGET EARTH, CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN, DAY THE WORLD ENDED, THE BLACK SCORPION and most notably THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.

One more thing worth mentioning that further illustrates the extent of Chaney's rancor towards Evie was another incident that occurred, surprisingly this time between he and Denning. In 1944, Universal threw a press party promoting their trio of horror stars, Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney. Unbelievably, Evie and Richard were seated next to the Chaneys, reflecting either the studio's ignorance or total lack of sympathy regarding their relationship. Denning had volunteered for the Navy and was there in his dress uniform. Chaney had been drinking and when they were eating ice cream, began making snide remarks to Denning about being in the service (Chaney attempted to enlist, but was rejected because of high blood pressure). Defending himself, Denning hurled a few insults of his own. Not giving up, Chaney said, "Drop dead", and threw some of his ice cream on Denning's uniform. Denning responded by pushing his bowl of ice cream in Lon's face. The two rose and were about to come to blows when Evie let out one of her famous screams. After that, the incident abruptly ended! Evie later said: "He looked as if he were back in makeup for one of his monster characters."

When Evie became pregnant with her daughter, Universal unceremoniously dropped her, a move that surely wouldn't have gone over very well today. She retired from making films at the age of 32 and became a full-time housewife (in today's parlance, a "stay at home mom").

Fortuitously, Denning landed the choice role of the governor of Hawaii in the hit TV series, HAWAII-FIVE-O. The Denning family subsequently moved to Hawaii, where they spent their remaining years. Evie was finally free from a Hollywood where she'd had a successful career, and remarkably despite all the adversity she was forced to endure.

In fairness, Evie was not a perfect angel. She was an intelligent, headstrong, independent woman, but had a streak of stubbornness and a temper of her own. She did admit more than once that she and Chaney were friendly and got along well until he was in his cups, which unfortunately appeared to be often. It is to both their credit that their on-screen chemistry betrayed nothing of their hostility toward each other.

“Evie never really liked acting, period," Denning later said. "She didn’t like the work [and] it was a real strain on her. Evie was a wonderful, wonderful gal, but she had a very strong personality, and a very definite temperament—she could take just so much.”

Lon Chaney, Jr. and Evelyn Ankers were cast in a total of six films together:

THE WOLF MAN (1941)

NORTH TO THE KLONDIKE (1942)

GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942)

SON OF DRACULA (1943)

WEIRD WOMAN (1944)

THE FROZEN GHOST (1945)