Tag Archives: Boris Karloff

E. R. Torre Art

Sketchin’ 92

Boris Karloff achieved great fame in 1931 with his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster in the original Frankenstein.  In 1932 he would appear as another monster and the subject of this piece, The Mummy.  Between those two films he would appear in a whopping nine films, including appearances in Scarface (1932), The Old Dark House (1932), and The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932).

Actors back then really pumped ’em out!

The director of the film was Karl Freund.  His direction credits were limited and he would stop directing only a few years later with the visually stunning Mad Love (1935).  However, Mr. Freund likely made his greatest mark, and would continue making this mark, as a cinematographer.  Included in his cinematography resume are such classics as Metropolis (1927), Dracula (1931), and Key Largo (1948).  He would go on to make an even greater mark in television, where he pioneered the three camera system used to shoot TV sitcoms, still used today, and which he did while working on I Love Lucy.

E. R. Torre Art

Sketchin’ 80

Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, though best known for playing Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula respectively, appeared together in several films from 1934 to 1945, the first of which is the subject of my latest piece, 1934’s The Black Cat. Ostensibly based on the Edgar Allan Poe story, the movie involved satanic worship and… a chess game. Great stuff!

Other Karloff/Lugosi team ups include The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1940), Black Friday (1940), You’ll Find Out (1940), and The Body Snatcher (1945).

I can’t help but smile when I see the two together, though, thinking about Martin Landau, playing an elderly drug addled Bela Lugosi, going on a tear about the acting “talent” of Boris Karloff in the film Ed Wood. May have to catch that one again.