BORIS KARLOFF DOCUMENTARY NOW STREAMING

“There is not a single movie I’ve ever done that is not under the shadow this man casts.”

- Guillermo del toro

The recently released documentary, BORIS KARLOFF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER, is now being offered as a streaming option. The two articles below were published when the film was finishing up production last year, but will give you a taste of this important entry in the legacy of Karloff and horror film history in general.

Boris Karloff Documentary ‘Man Behind The Monster’ to Mark ‘Frankenstein’ Anniversary (EXCLUSIVE)

By Lynsey Ford | January 22, 2021 | variety.com

A new documentary about “Frankenstein” actor Boris Karloff is in the works.

Voltage Films is currently in production on the feature documentary “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster.” Co-produced and co-written by Ron MacCloskey and Thomas Hamilton with Hamilton directing and Tracy Jenkins producing, the film offers a fascinating portrait of Karloff, examining his illustrious 60-year career in the entertainment industry and his enduring legacy as one of the icons of 20th century popular culture.

The film follows on from the acclaimed 2010 biography “Boris Karloff: More Than A Monster,” written by Karloff’s official biographer Stephen Jacobs, who serves as the film’s historical consultant.

MacCloskey dedicated 23 years to the project, travelling the world to conduct extensive research. Since 2018, the team has filmed 50 interviews in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and London. Contributors include Peter Bogdanovich, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Plummer, John Landis, Roger Corman and Kevin Brownlow.

The doc is scheduled for release in October to coincide with the 90th anniversary of Universal’s “Frankenstein” in November 2021.

Hamilton produced and directed the 2016 documentary “Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave A Damn.” With two well-received screenings at the Cannes Film Festival, the documentary won first prize in its category at The San Francisco British Awards, and made its television debut on Talking Pictures UK and Turner Classic Movies.

Hamilton and Jenkins are also developing “Horror Icon,” a new documentary series looking at the life and career of horror stars including Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, whilst Jenkins has penned the multi-award-winning screenplay “The Spirit Bead,” chronicling the mental breakdown of a war photographer gone rogue on a Canadian cross-country road trip.

“Boris Karloff was the ultimate professional. He demonstrated incredible work ethic and gave everything to his roles,” explains Hamilton. “He brings humanity and vulnerability to all his performances, especially in his portrayal as Frankenstein’s monster. Karloff communicates a powerful sense of yearning in the creature, hoping for a gesture of human warmth from his creator, and he conveys its forlorn sense of confusion through his extraordinary eyes.”

Born William Henry Pratt in Camberwell, South London, Karloff came from a distinguished family of Anglo-Indian civil servants. He began his career in the film industry as a character actor in silent movies, making his screen debut in George B. Seitz’s action serial “The Lightning Raider” in 1918.

After appearing in 80 films, he was “discovered” at the age of 43 by the British director James Whale, who cast him as the monster in “Frankenstein” (1931), “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) and “Son of Frankenstein” (1939).

He made his Broadway debut in 1941 as Jonathan Brewster in the black comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and performed the role on Broadway for the next three years, while retaining a share of the profits. Collaborating on three pictures with RKO producer Val Lewton, he carved out a niche in historical period dramas, excelling as the monster and madman in “The Body Snatcher” (1945), “Isle of The Dead” (1945) and “Bedlam” (1946).

Karloff won a Tony nomination in 1955 for his role on Broadway as Bishop Pierre Cauchon in Jean Anouilh’s “The Lark,” opposite Julie Harris as Joan of Arc. Moving to New York, he embraced the medium of ‘live’ television, starring as Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” opposite Roddy McDowell and as King Arthur in “A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court.”

In later years, Karloff lent his voice to the role of the narrator and the Grinch in Chuck Jones’s animated CBS-TV special “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” (1966), which won him the Grammy for Best Children’s recording. Karloff died in 1969 at the age of 81, but still captivated audiences with five posthumous screen appearances in “Fear Chamber” (1968), “House of Evil” (1968), “Cauldron of Blood” (1971), “The Invisible Invasion” (1971) and “Isle of The Snake People” (1971).

A founding member of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933, Karloff is also remembered for his strong commitment to protecting the rights of up-and-coming actors, who were afraid to speak out against the studio heads.

“He cared so much about the working actor,” says Ron MacCloskey. “He didn’t have to do it; he had fame and money and it posed a serious risk to his career, but he knew how bit-part actors were treated.”

Voltage Films are currently in discussion with Shout Factory in America and European broadcaster ARTE, who have both expressed an interest in airing the film. Hamilton will also liaise with Universal, Sky, Talking Pictures UK and Turner Classic Movies in the lead up to the 90th anniversary of “Frankenstein,” and will consult with leading U.K. organizations, including London’s National Film Theatre.

Classic horror superstar Boris Karloff is subject of new ‘Man Behind the Monster’ doc

By Sara Stewart | September 16, 2021 | nypost.com

Actor Boris Karloff shot to fame when he played Frankenstein’s undead monster in James Whale’s 1931 classic “Frankenstein” film. Karloff went on to become the enduring and iconic face of the on-screen monster in popular culture.

Karloff, who was a struggling actor before that, liked to tell the story of the encounter that changed his life. While waiting in the rain for a bus in Hollywood, he was offered a ride home by a fellow actor — Lon Chaney, celebrated for chilling performances in silent films like “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925). Chaney offered a piece of advice: Find a role nobody wants to play, and do it better than anyone else could.

Karloff, who went on to become a horror movie superstar, and died in 1969, took it to heart. The new documentary “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster,” in theaters Friday, dishes on some of his best-known parts and wildest films. 

The Last of the Mohicans (1920)

Karloff played so many bit parts in silent films, he told an interviewer, who suspected he’d played a Native American, that he didn’t remember. “But I must have been in it!” he said. 

The Bells (1926)

Little-known Karloff played a hypnotist in this movie, which featured movie star Lionel Barrymore as the lead. When they were shooting a scene together, the director instructed that Karloff have his back to camera, until Barrymore stopped him and insisted Karloff’s face be included. “There are two actors in this scene,” he told the director, earning Karloff’s gratitude.

The Criminal Code (1931)

This Howard Hawks-directed drama featured Karloff as a prison inmate. Though it wasn’t a leading role, his unique presence and intensity made Hollywood take notice, according to several experts in the documentary.

Frankenstein (1931) 

The movie, the first in a series, made Karloff a star. He loved the role, but dreaded filming one scene in which the monster meets a little girl (Marilyn Harris) who gives him flowers — and whom he ends up accidentally killing. They shot footage of him playfully throwing her in the water, where she then drowns. But some critics found the scene too brutal, so versions of the film cut straight from his lurching forward to embrace her, to a shot of her father carrying her dead body later. It was a move that arguably made the murder seem worse. The scene haunted Karloff for the rest of his life, and caused strife between him and director James Whale for the remainder of the shoot.

The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)

Karloff plays the evil Fu Manchu in this famously creepy horror film, which had him wearing caricatured Asian makeup. As he noted with a laugh in an interview later, the movie had no Chinese consultants whatsoever.

The Mummy (1932)

Karloff’s next iconic monster role was as the Mummy. His face was so expressive that the scene in which his bandage-wrapped character merely opens his eyes for the first time sent chills down the spines of viewers. Critic Leonard Maltin, interviewed in the documentary, attests to the scene’s power even when seen on a small, black-and-white TV.

The Black Cat (1934)

In this nightmarish pre-Code horror film, Karloff plays a Satan-worshipping priest who keeps dead women in glass display cases. His co-star was fellow horror icon Bela Lugosi, to the delight of their fans.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The sequel, also directed by Whale, took Karloff’s monster to new dramatic heights, at one point using imagery that compares him to Christ. But “he makes it believable,” says director Guillermo del Toro in the documentary.

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

The third movie in this series was shot while Karloff’s wife was expecting. On his birthday, they filmed a scene which features the monster climbing out of a pit. Karloff made his entrance thinking the cameras were running — and was surprised by the crew and cast presenting him with a birthday cake and baby booties. 

The Body Snatcher (1945)

This horror film saw Karloff out of his monster makeup, playing a menacing graverobber. Viewers found the role to be one of his most terrifying, attesting to his talent as an actor beyond the makeup chair.

The Incredible Doktor Markesan (1962)

From 1960 to 1962, Karloff hosted a series called “Thriller” that mined the style of “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” for a series of short horror stories, many of which featured Karloff. This one sees him playing the reverse of Frankenstein’s monster — as a man who’s reanimating the dead. 

Arsenic and Old Lace (1962)

This darkly comic stage play saw Karloff originate a role on Broadway that featured his character saying, of his unfortunate plastic surgery, “They said I look like Boris Karloff!” He reprised the part in a televised performance of the play for NBC’s “Hallmark Hall of Fame.”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Though Karloff found fame as Frankenstein’s monster, his narration of this special became even more iconic. His sonorous voice as the Grinch was a perfect match for the animated stylings of Chuck Jones, cementing it as one of the most beloved Christmas specials ever.

Targets (1968)

This crime thriller, directed by a young Peter Bogdanovich, saw the elderly Karloff playing an iconic horror actor who’s questioning his legacy and thinking about retiring; the film juxtaposes his old-school scares with the story of a young man who goes on a shooting rampage.

Visit the official website HERE.