Happy Birthday to Boris Karloff – Here Are His Ten Best Films [We Are Movie Geeks]

No other actor in the long history of horror has been so closely identified with the genre as Boris Karloff, yet he was as famous for his gentle heart and kindness as he was for his screen persona. William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell, London, England. He studied at London University in anticipation of a diplomatic career; however, he moved to Canada in 1909 and joined a theater company where he was bit by the acting bug. It was there that he adopted the stage name of “Boris Karloff.” He toured back and forth across the USA for over ten years in a variety of low-budget Theater shows and eventually ended up in Hollywood. Needing cash to support himself, Karloff landed roles in silent films making his on-screen debut in Chapter 2 of the 1919 serial The Masked Rider. His big break came when Howard Hawks cast him as a creepy convict in THE CRIMINAL CODE in 1930. Producers at Universal were looking for an actor to play the monster in their upcoming adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Their main horror star Lon Chaney had died the year before and Bela Lugosi, starring in their hit DRACULA, turned down the role, so Karloff was offered the part. FRANKENSTEIN became an enormous success for the studio, and for its newest star whose name was not revealed until the final credits of the picture, and then only as “KARLOFF”. The role made Karloff a major box-office draw, the king of horror, heir to Lon Chaney’s throne, and he followed it up with THE MUMMY, THE MASK OF FU MANCHU, THE OLD DARK HOUSE, THE GHOUL, TOWER OF LONDON, and of course two sequels as the monster: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. His star never faded and for the next several decades he reigned as Hollywood’s undisputed horror king. In the 1960’s, he teamed up with Roger Corman , Vincent Price and Peter Lorre for THE RAVEN and with Price and Lorre again for COMEDY OF TERRORS. Karloff continued working up until the very end, even while physically impaired and infirm, often performing from a wheelchair or with a cane. His last involvement of consequence came in 1968 with the critically acclaimed TARGETS. Karloff was well known as a genuinely kind and gentle soul off the screen.

Boris Karloff appeared in over 200 films in his five decades as an actor and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best:

https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2020/11/happy-birthday-to-boris-karloff-here-are-his-ten-best-films/