This is Week Two (Oct. 8-14) of KARLOFF MONTH.

To revisit Oct. 1 - 7 Karloff Films, you need to look HERE.

If you want to go to Week Three, click HERE.

If you're looking for Week Four, click HERE.

 October 14

This is Your Life: Boris Karloff
Produced by Ralph Edwards, 1957

On Wednesday, November 20, 1957, Mr. and Mrs. Karloff had plans for an early birthday celebration for Boris, who was turning 70 on Saturday. They were going with friends to watch a live airing of the popular reality TV show This is Your Life, and then join the host, Ralph Edwards, and his wife for dinner. Well, Boris thought that was the plan, in any case. When the camera swung over to him and Edwards announced, “This is your life, Boris Karloff,” the subject at first thought he was simply being introduced as an onlooker. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was about to be feted on live television before millions of American viewers.

Although many celebrities seem to have resented their This is Your Life surprise party (notably Stan Laurel), Karloff seems genuinely touched as his biography is recounted. An old school chum, Geoffrey Taylor, whom he hadn’t seen in 50 years is brought out (he calls Boris “Bill”) to recount their early days in school (Bill Pratt, it seems, was fond of fruit salad with cream). In 1909, Karloff travels to Canada and then to the U.S. in search of his fortune, and performs a variety of jobs, including acting; a friend from the year Boris spent in Minot, North Dakota is there, too, as is an acquaintance from San Francisco, another acting stop. Karloff rode to L.A. on a lumber boat and made his film debut as an extra in 1919 in His Majesty, the American (“I played the 13th man from the left, back row”).

As other milestones in Karloff’s career are reviewed, we met makeup expert Jack Pierce, who presents Boris with a set of neck bolts from the Frankenstein Monster (Karloff says they used to call them “alemite nubs”), and the producers of Arsenic and Old Lace, one of whom says that when he flew to L.A. to offer Karloff a role on Broadway, he got “the quickest NO I ever got in my life”). Eventually, Boris reconsidered, and ended up doing a 4-year stint as one of the nutty Brewster clan. Karloff starred in many revivals of the play, and the manager of the Anchorage Community Theatre is there to tell how Boris was the first legitimate star to appear with the players. He insists, over Karloff’s stringent protest, in mentioning that Boris donated his salary to a building fund for a permanent home for the Theatre, an act of generosity that is still mentioned on their website (Ivory soap, sponsors of This is Your Life, also made a donation to the Theatre).

Other guests included legendary cricket star Jim Laker, and of course Evie Karloff and Boris’ daughter, Sara.

The show is a charming review of Boris’ history, and he comes across as handsome, distinguished, pleasant, and quite the wit. We’ll leave you with appropriate words spoken by one of the guests, who said, “Boris, know this is your life, but it’s a big part of our lives, too.”

October 13

The Mask of Fu Manchu
MGM, 1932
Directed by Charles Brabin

Starring Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Charles Starrett, Myrna Loy, and Jean Hersholt.

If you want to find truly villainous Karloff roles, you typically have to look in his gangster films. As yesterday’s Before I Hang reminded me, most of his so-called horror films feature Boris as a sympathetic character who goes astray (or is created that way). This sympathy goes a long way to explaining his popularity, but if you want to see him in good ol’ fashioned boogeyman mode, The Mask of Fu Manchu is a good place to look.

In the initial year following the release of Frankenstein, Karloff had been busy, with no less than seven films in circulation before his second big horror role, in The Old Dark House. He also followed the footsteps of his predecessor, Lon Chaney, from Universal over to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Boris must’ve realized that after all the years of bit part toil, he was a Star. He throws himself into Mask of Fu Manchu, an adaptation of the Sax Rohmer novel, with so much relish that it’s pure camp to view these days, but must’ve been strong stuff back in ’32.

A British expedition is after the fabled sword of Genghis Khan, and they’d better hurry, because the vicious Dr. Fu Manchu (a Harvard man!) wants it too, and kidnap and torture are but two of his methods for obtaining his ultimate goal: the complete destruction of the occidental race. Well, not the ENTIRE race; as Dr. Manchu puts it, the plan is to “Kill the white man and take his women!” (If I were very cynical, I’d point out that most of the tortures devised by Dr. Manchu, which include strapping some poor schmuck under a giant ringing bell and tossing some other shmoe onto a teeter-totter over an alligator pit, do not fall under the definition of “torture” as recognized by the current U.S. administration. If I were cynical.)

The cast is one of the best Karloff would ever work with, including Myrna Loy as his “ugly and insignificant” daughter. The film is not great; apparently, original director Charles Vidor was sacked after principle photography was well underway, with a resulting change in direction to beef up the fantasy elements. Also, Boris and Myrna are sorely missed during the stretches they’re off-screen. That said, it’s good ol’ rip-roaring fun, moves briskly, is lavish by 1930s horror standards, and presents Boris at his evil best. His Old Dark House was released in October 1932, followed quickly by this in November and The Mummy in December. That three-month period cemented his reputation as Hollywood's #1 horror star. You’ll find Mask of Fu Manchu as part of the Hollywood Legends of Horror boxed DVD set from Warners.

October 12

Before I Hang
Columbia, 1940
Directed by Nick Grindé

Starring Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett, and Edward Van Sloan.

In early 1939, hot off the success of Son of Frankenstein, Karloff signed a deal with Columbia Pictures for what would turn out to be one of the crown jewels of his filmography, the “mad scientist” series. If you’re looking for generous budgets, top casts, genuine chills and macabre horror, look elsewhere. No, these five films (well, four of ‘em, anyway) are instead neat little B-movie thrillers with budgets and players to match. They’re also great fun, and amongst Boris’ most beloved films (well, four of ‘em, anyways).

Somebody was asleep at the marquee when they named these things, or they had some of those little magnets that spell out random words and phrases and just pulled them out of a bag. The titles, in order: The Man They Could Not Hang, The Man with Nine Lives, Before I Hang, The Devil Commands, and The Boogie Man will Get You, and yes, I have trouble remembering which is which, too. All five feature Boris as a well-meaning, affable old scientist who gets a little too wrapped up in his work, to the detriment of his reputation and the demise of some of his patients and friends. “He was polite to me,” a character describes Boris in Before I Hang, “but still made the chills run up my back!” That, in a nutshell, describes his scientist characters perfectly throughout the series: mad doctor as protagonist. (Incidentally, Boogie Man is a limp attempt to duplicate the horrific laughs of Boris' Broadway smash Arsenic and Old Lace.)

Before I Hang is typical of the series. Karloff has invented a nifty serum that can roll back the aging process, but he’s also convicted of the mercy killing of one of his subjects, a terminally ill patient. In the prison lab, he manages to perfect his serum, but makes the mistake of injecting himself with blood that came from a just-hanged serial killer. His scientific achievement rates him a full pardon, and the killer’s blood rates him a string of strangulation victims, including old buddy Eddie Van Sloan, reunited from their days together on Frankenstein and The Mummy. Boris is excellent in all the films, touching and sensitive and funny and charming. Oh, yeah, and creepy as hell when necessary.

Three of the four films are included in a boxed set called Icons of Horror: The Boris Karloff Collection from Sony, along with the great 1935 Columbia Karloff chiller The Black Room. The other two (The Devil Commands and The Man with Nine Lives) are available on separate DVDs. Buy ‘em all. Now. Go.

October 11

Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
RKO Radio Pictures, 1947
Directed by John Rawlins

Starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, and Anne Gwynne

Karloff’s post-Arsenic and Old Lace return to Universal lasted for only two pictures; by 1946, the studio was done (again) with horror films for awhile. He was (body)snatched up by RKO Radio and handed over to producer Val Lewton, who had been generating nice little profits and critical acclaim with a series of B-movie horror/suspense films. For whatever reason (probably Universal was correct, the post-war audience didn’t want horror movies) diminishing returns on The Bodysnatcher, Isle of the Dead, and Bedlam ended the series, but RKO kept Boris around for a memorable turn in the Danny Kaye vehicle fashioned from James Thurber’s classic story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and then Karloff finished his RKO contract with the fourth and final installment of the studio’s series based on Chester Gould’s popular Dick Tracy comic strip.

This film was a surprise and delight on all counts. The four RKO Tracy films don’t have much of a critical reputation, but they have the spirit and fun of the comic strip in its heyday, and if the grownups had the Lone Wolf, the Falcon, Boston Blackie and the Thin Man, well, why not give the kids in the Saturday matinee crowd a detective hero to cheer on? Ralph Byrd, veteran of four Republic Tracy serials, is truer to the character here, and a great asset to the film, as is of course Karloff.

Dr. L.E. Thal has stolen a secret formula for a paralyzing nerve gas from Professor A. Tomic, and with the help of a trigger-happy sociopath named (and looking) Gruesome, uses it to rob a bank. Dick Tracy and his pals Pat Patton and Tess Truehart investigate.

Boris is in his best “American gangster” mode here; you know he’s going to be fun when early on in the picture, he growls “Git movin’” as he chews on a toothpick. The best line in the movie, though, is when – after recovering from his own nerve gas and springing back to life in the morgue – Karloff escapes, leading Patton to tell Tracy, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear we were doin’ business with Boris Karloff!” From the opening credits – Chester Gould drawings – through the final shootout (well staged by veteran serial director John Rawlins), the fun never flags with this one. Look for the unforgettable Skelton Knaggs as one of the henchmen and Lex Barker in a cameo as an ambulance driver. This film is a pip.

October 10

The Walking Dead
Warner Bros., 1936
Directed by Michael Curtiz

Starring Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, Edmund Gwenn, and Warren Hull

A crooked attorney and his gang of racketeers kill an honest judge who won’t succumb to their threats, and pin the rap on hapless ex-con Karloff. He’s executed for the crime, but is restored to life by scientist Edmund Gwenn, who wants to know what Boris saw in his time beyond the grave. Karloff’s not talking, but he serves as an Angel of Death, luring each of the racketeers to their own doom.

Not your typical horror picture, The Walking Dead is more thoughtful than most, not always in the film’s favor. The third or fourth time a gangster sees Boris shambling about and stumbles backward in front of a train or out a window, it gets a little ludicrous. That said, it’s got the Warner Bros. polish, a who’s who cast of supporting favorites (Eddie Acuff! Barton MacLane! Marguerite Chapman! Paul Harvey!) and top production values, which set it apart from the many similar Karloff vehicles. Boris’s ghoulish post-execution visage is a classic, with one dead eye and a shock of white through his hair, and his halting movements do reflect his near-spectral existence (and a touch of rigor mortis, no doubt).

Since returning to Universal from his salary-increase-demand exile in early 1934, Boris had not ventured away from his home studio except for a one-shot deal with Columbia for The Black Room (1935). Karloff's Universal tenure officially ended with The Invisible Ray (released in January, 1936) and The Walking Dead was his debut as a Hollywood free agent; the next three years would see Boris in eight films for six different studios, including a reunion with Ricardo Cortez at Warners for West of Shanghai.

Thanks to Balconeer Foist Class Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. for locating a copy of this film, which is not available on DVD, for us. Mr. Shreve has a popular entertainment blog called Thrilling Days of Yesteryear; it’s one of our favorites, and can be read HERE or at http://blogs.salon.com/0003139/.

October 9

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
MGM Television, 1966
Directed by Chuck Jones

The Sounds of the Grinch are by Boris Karloff and read by Boris Karloff too!

“Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.”- Dr. Seuss

“Everybody hates Christmas a little bit.” - Chuck Jones

I’m willing to bet that when Boris Karloff agreed to voice a made for TV adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in 1966, he never guessed he was creating a role that would eventually eclipse the Frankenstein Monster as his most remembered. Kids (and former kids) who have never seen James Whale’s films know Boris as the Grinch; I think that would’ve made the old man very happy.

The Grinch is a gnarly green cuss who lives in a cave high above Whoville; he decides to eradicate Christmas by stealing all the presents and decorations and tinsel, but the Whos teach him that that’s not what Christmas is really all about, and consequently his heart grows three sizes and his shoes fit better.

First aired in December 1966, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! became an instant classic, a perennial favorite, and after 40 years still plays (and plays well) on TV every year. There’s scarcely a kid in America that can’t sing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” at the drop of a big colorful red and white striped Dr. Seuss hat. Karloff’s voice is electronically enhanced when he voices the Grinch to distinguish it from the regular narration, and June “Rocky the Flying Squirrel” and Thurl “Tony the Tiger” Ravenscroft contribute as well. One of my top five favorite Karloff films; it’s worth mentioning, in case you haven’t seen it (lucky you) that the 2000 big-screen disaster with Jim Carrey (narrated by Anthony Hopkins) gets everything wrong and is the absolute antithesis of the original. Would you believe that the plot has the Whos commercializing Christmas until they’re taught the true meaning of the holiday by the Grinch? I mean, how do you $#&% up How the Grinch Stole Christmas?!?

October 8

Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Universal-International, 1949
Directed by Charles Barton

Starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, and Lenore Aubert

It had been many years since Karloff had so little screen time in a feature role, and it's doubtful that ever such a fraud was perpetrated on the American filmgoing public as Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. Boris got a nice paycheck and for the only time in his career, his name in a theatrical title. He scarcely registers more screen time in this film, however, than John Wayne, who is not in the picture at all.

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein had been a (pardon the expression) monster hit for the studio in the summer of 1948, and for the follow-up, the team took a fairly good (but rather routine) mystery thriller and cast Karloff in a small part, originally written as a phony female medium (now described as "a fake swami from Brooklyn"). There was nothing Boris could do with the part; a hastily-fashioned sequence with Karloff attempting to hypnotize Costello into killing himself was what passed for both comedy and suspense in this sequel, in which -- needless to say -- Boris Karloff is not the killer.

A famous criminal attorney is found dead in his hotel room; the house dick (Bud) and a bellboy who is suspected of the crime (Lou) team to sort out the suspects and dodge the corpses that keep turning up wherever Lou goes. The mystery is actually more interesting than the comedy in this one, which isn't saying much, and at nearly an hour and a half, the film goes on much too long. That said, if you don't compare it to the Frankenstein picture and you go in not expecting Karloff (title notwithstanding), this is a passable picture, in a comfortable Bowery Boys-type vein. The supporting cast includes Alan Mowbray, Roland Winters, and Percy Helton, and that helps a lot. I wonder why they didn't just call this thing Abbott & Costello Meet Percy Helton?