 |
| Bela Lugosi as Dr. Carruthers, a perfumer, in The Devil Bat (L), and Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers, a chemist, as himself (R). |
Thirteen is a lucky number. Why? Because thirteen years after posting "Bella Lugosi was a Perfumer: Strange Oriental Perfume" led to a light-bulb moment that may or may not be a matter of coincidence.
Bela Lugosi portrayed a perfumer named Dr. Carruthers in the film The Devil Bat (1940). There's another Carruthers, a real one, with a slightly different spelling of the same last name. Does one inform the other?
Wallace Hume Carothers (April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, inventor, and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, who was credited with the invention of nylon.
Carothers' research into cyclic compounds led to the discovery of Astrotone (1934), aka ethylene brassylate, a synthetic macrocyclic musk used in perfumes. It smells powdery, sweet, floral, ambrette-like, woody and musky.
Is there a connection between Carothers and Carruthers? Variants in the spelling of the last name exist (Irish and Scottish for the curious, with debates regarding what defines a real member of the clan).
Consider the image that accompanies this post. One man is an actor pretending to be a scientist bent on corporate revenge with deadly aftershave, the other is a scientist performing his job.
Did the accomplishments of Dr. William Hume Carothers inspire story writer George Bricker and screenplay writer John Thomas Neville to use the chemist's last name for Lugosi's character in The Devil Bat?
The discovery of Astrotone and year The Devil Bat was released are only six years apart. Whether it's probable deserves further investigation with respect to the history of perfume plots in film.
Notes & Curiosities:
Industrial Fragrance Chemistry: A Brief, Historical Perspective is a terrific read for existing and aspiring chemistry nerds. P.S. There’s no paywall.
