DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I => Topic started by: Mysterious Benefactor on January 27, 2022, 09:19:17 PM
-
WORTH WATCHING: ...Remembering Boris Karloff, ... (https://www.tvinsider.com/1030183/grown-ish-gambino-gomorrah-boris-karloff-kat/)
"Shudder offers a profile of horror-movie icon Boris Karloff."
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE Shudder
A new documentary, timed to celebrate Frankenstein’s 90th anniversary last November, profiles the British actor (born William Pratt) who became an international cinema icon when he transformed into the Monster in James Whale’s 1931 masterpiece. Karloff was also the first Mummy for Universal in 1932, and decades later would create another indelible role as the narrator and voice of the Grinch in the animated 1966 perennial How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Karloff laced his menacing persona with an unusual dignity, and his influence is still felt by the likes of Guillermo del Toro, Roger Corman and John Landis, among the many interviewed for the film.
-
MB,
I remember the film, “Gods and Monsters,” a biography of British director James Whale, who directed the great Boris Karloff in “Frankenstein” and “The Bride of Frankenstein.” Sir Ian McKellen, who portrays James Whale, tells one of his friends in the film that the gentlemanly Mr. Karloff was one of the most boring men he ever met.
It’s interesting that Mr. Karloff was very successful in making tv commercials, guest appearances on comedy shows, etc., while Bela Lugosi, with his thick Hungarian accent, never got the financial opportunities that Boris Karloff enjoyed. Apparently, Mr. Karloff’s mastery of the King’s English made him a natural for other gigs in the US. [3843]
-
I just happened to purchase a set of The Red Skelton Hour episodes in color recently and one had Boris Karloff and Vincent Price from Sept 68 - just a few months before he passed. In the skit, he played an inventor who thought he developed a real working robot .. but it turned out to be Clem Kadiddlehopper. Boris got some laughs and he also did a song later with Vincent Price. He seemed pretty energetic and able to deal with Skelton and his ad libbing.
-
Around Halloween, I stumbled across a 1950's clip from the Dinah Shore Show. It's a Halloween episode with Dinah, Boris, Art Carney and Betty Hutton. The ladies are dressed as Vampira (!!!) and they do a pretty hilarious version of the classic song by The Diamonds, Little Darling. The clip is on YouTube and it's definitely worth a look
-
[pointing-up] That clip is a HUGE hoot!! Art Carney is almost unrecognizable. And they're all so into it, even if Dinah breaks near the end. But hey, if Carol Burnett could occasionally break and get away with it, so should Dinah...
Thanks so much for posting about it, Uncle Roger. [snow_smiley]
-
I just noticed the Skelton show with Karloff is also on youtube.
-
Regarding the filming of “The Bride of Frankenstein,” there’s a great photograph of actors Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger and director James Whale, sitting around the film set of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory. Mr. Karloff is made up in his Frankenstein monster makeup; Ms. Lanchester is made up as the monster’s “bride,” with her distinctive white “wings” (long before Paulie Walnuts sported his striking white sideburn “wings” on “The Sopranos”) and Ernest Thesiger, attired as the flamboyant mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius. They’re all enjoying the traditional British cup of afternoon tea.
That’s kind of like Barnabas, Dr. Hoffman, Adam, Eve, Dr. Lang and Willie Loomis all enjoying a cup of coffee around the operating table in the Old House basement! [xmas-snowball]
-
That’s kind of like Barnabas, Dr. Hoffman, Adam, Eve, Dr. Lang and Willie Loomis all enjoying a cup of coffee around the operating table in the Old House basement! [xmas-snowball]
Now THAT would have been a hoot!! [snow_laugh]
-
This discussion of the late, great Boris Karloff reminded me of seeing Mr. Karloff as a very young kid in the 1963 horror/comedy film, “The Raven,” along with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, horror queen Hazel Court and a very young Jack Nicholson (the pride of Neptune, NJ).
I remember my father drove my younger brother and I, along with a bunch of our friends, to see the movie at a local theater on a January 1964 Saturday morning. The theater was packed with kids, mostly loud and eager boys.
The film, a parody of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “The Raven,” starts with a good 16th century sorcerer, Dr. Erasmus Craven (the great Vincent Price) lamenting the apparent death of his beautiful wife, Lenore (Hazel Court). A small raven flies into Dr. Craven’s room and the doctor, believing that ravens can sometimes predict the future, begs the raven to tell him if he will ever see his beloved wife again. “How the hell should I know!?”replies the testy raven (voiced by former Mr. Moto veteran actor, Peter Lorre). When Peter Lorre exclaimed the word, hell, all of the kids in the theater screamed out in shock and amusement! I mean, that was an offensive word way back in 1964. (my mother told me that everyone shouted out in surprise, when Clark Gable told Vivien Leigh in the conclusion of “Gone With The Wind,” in 1939, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
The raven is actually another wizard, named Dr. Aldolphus Bedlo, who had been transformed into a raven by the evil sorcerer, Dr. Scarabus, portrayed by Boris Karloff. (Sort of like how Angelique changed Joshua Collins into a cat; I wonder if Dan Curtis later “borrowed” that idea from “The Raven”?)
Anyway, in order to try and transform Dr. Bedlo back into his human form, Dr. Craven goes down into the family basement crypt (sort of like the Collins Family Mausoleum) to cut a needed lock of his long-deceased father’s hair to use in the attempt to transform the raven back into Dr. Bedlo.
When Dr. Craven opens the coffin to cut his dead father’s hair, his father opens his eyes, reaches up to grab his son’s arm and says, “Beware!” before closing his eyes for good. Let me tell you, the kids in the theater all screamed out when that dead father reached up and grabbed Vincent Price’s arm! Twelve years later, when Sissy Spacek’s bloody arm reached out of her grave to grab Amy Irving’s arm in Stephen King’s film adaptation, “Carrie,” with everyone screaming in that movie theater, I immediately remembered that shocking scene in “The Raven.”
Eventually, after Dr. Craven discovers that his wife, Lenore, is still alive and has been two-timing him with the evil Dr. Scarbarys, the two sorcerers engage in a battle of spells, incantations and psychic projections which was very cool then, but later seemed quite formulaic when Barnabas and Angelique engaged in a similar supernatural battle in Tim Burton’s mezza-mezza 2012 DS film. Thankfully, Dr. Craven prevails and Dr. Scarbarus and the philandering Mrs. Lenore Craven are crushed to death when Scarbarus’ castle collapsed down on them. Fine!
You know, I wonder if “The Raven,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” starring Vincent Price and a very young and beautiful Barbara Steele, along with all of the other wonderfully campy Roger Corman “Quicky” horror films of the early to mid-1960s, helped to set the stage for the eventual coming of the beloved “Dark Shadows” in
1966?
Anyway, I hope that Annie up in upstate New York, Uncle Roger in Connecticut, MB and the long-too-absent Gothick up in Massachusetts, are all well-stocked and prepared for tonight’s/Saturday’s blizzard, set to hit the North-East states in a few hours. Personally, I’m well-stocked and prepared to watch my old Sci-Fi Channel vhs tapes of DS until the storm subsides.
Bob, who’s getting way-too-old, like the venerable Ezra Braithwaite, to shovel any more God-d@mned snow at
this point in life. [snowball-fight]
-
I just returned from the local Stop & Shop. I got two bags of essentials, as well as some delicious non-essentials. I'm inside for the duration. It's already started snowing here. Nothing too heavy and it's not sticking yet. The forecast has changed several times and will probably change a times more before it's over.
Stay inside. Stay safe. And good luck all!!!
[evil-snowman] [evil-snowman] [evil-snowman]
-
Yeah, I hit the local Shop-Rite this morning and bought more milk, bread, Healthy Choice frozen dinners, apples and bananas and, regretfully, Grade-A American junk food: Cheezitz, pretzels, chips, etc., all the stuff that Sam Evans and Professor Stokes undoubtedly liked to nosh on during cold Maine winter nights.
Incidentally, I wonder if Mrs. Stoddard and Barnabas shelled out to buy decent snow-blowers for Willie and David (?) to clear all of the snow in front of the Old House and Collinwood? No doubt, Bob Rooney would be cursing out the approaching snow storm, in that it would severely cut down on weekend business at the Blue Whale.
Finally, I hope the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker still has enough sense to stay indoors and NOT venture out in the cemetery during the white out. [ibkR4ZH]
-
When I was a wee, widdo kid, the one show that absolutely terrified me, more so than The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits (and both gave me nightmares which is why my mom forbade their viewing, even though I found ways around her prohibition), was Boris Karloff's Thriller. It was so terrifying (at least to a kid), that if I accidentally came across it during the opening credits, I'd shriek and turn the channel (when TVs had knobs) before I ever glimpsed anything.
And you all Nord-ners enjoy your snow storm! I live in eastern Wisconsin along Lake Michigan, and so far this winter we haven't had enough snow to even bother a field mouse. Outside my window is more brown lawn than white fluff.
Gerard
-
Oh, yeah, Gerard, I remember watching the late Brandon deWilde in a “Thriller” episode, entitled, “Pigeons From Hell,” with my younger brother. It scared the heck out of us, even more than watching Norman Bates in “Psycho.”
Many of those “Thriller” episodes are on You Tube. I watched “Pigeons From Hell” with commentary by a writer and it still freaked me out. What was the witch’s name? Oh, yeah, Eula Lee! Think of Angelique at about age 200. [snow_mad]
-
For a while MeTV was showing "Thriller," so I must have seen them all at least 3 times. They stopped it and more recently have been doing Hitchcock, but quite likely could bring it back. If they do, I'll post it. I remember the one you're referring to. It was good, but overall I wasn't wild about it - liked a lot of the others more.
-
I just returned from the local Stop & Shop. I got two bags of essentials, as well as some delicious non-essentials. I'm inside for the duration.
Half the fun of these storms is battening down and eating "non-essentials". [snow_wink] [snow_cheesy]
It's already started snowing here. Nothing too heavy and it's not sticking yet.
It's funny because when I went to bed early this morning the snow had already been falling for about 5 hours but it was only sticking to the sidewalks and cars but not the road or grass. Supposedly, according to the weather people, we have 9 inches so far. And I say "supposedly" because all my windows are covered with snow and I can't even see outside. Though later on I may actually open the outside door and look outside...
-
No doubt, Bob Rooney would be cursing out the approaching snow storm, in that it would severely cut down on weekend business at the Blue Whale.
I'm sure he would be cursing! [snow_laugh]
Finally, I hope the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker still has enough sense to stay indoors and NOT venture out in the cemetery during the white out. [ibkR4ZH]
That man has no sense when it comes to prowling the cememtery! [snow_rolleyes] [snow_silly]
-
MeTV was showing "Thriller,"
Yeah, I recorded all the eps back then and enjoyed all of them. However, I wasn't scared by any of them. It takes a lot to get me scared by a show/movie. I have to be alone in the house in the dark in the middle of the night/early morning for there to be any chance...
-
One thing I found out about Boris Karloff is that he lived in Cadogan Square in London as did the late, great Sir Christopher Lee. Isn’t it ironic that two such great horror film icons actually lived in the same section of London where Barnabas would tell nosy people where he hailed from in England? I wonder if Mr. Karloff or Sir Christopher ever ran into Barnabas’ cousin, Niall Bradford? [snow_huh] [snow_wink]
Oh yeah, apparently Cadogan Square is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in London, with flats going for several million pounds each. I suppose only Sir Richard Brandon, Elon Musk and Burke Devlin can afford to live there. [snow_greedy]
-
For a while MeTV was showing "Thriller," so I must have seen them all at least 3 times. They stopped it and more recently have been doing Hitchcock, but quite likely could bring it back. If they do, I'll post it. I remember the one you're referring to. It was good, but overall I wasn't wild about it - liked a lot of the others more.
Another “Thriller” episode I enjoyed was “The Grim Reaper,” starring Natalie Schaffer, the beloved “Lovie” Howell of “Gilligan’s Island,” and William Shatner before his role as the unfailingly self-effacing Captain James T. Kirk on the classic sci-fi tv series, “Star Trek.”
The plot involves a woman, who buys a painting of the Grim Reaper, holding his famous scythe. William
Shatner, as the lady’s nephew, tries to warn her about the painting’s evil past, with many of the painting’s former owners having met violent deaths. This program first aired in 1961, “only” 61-years-ago! [snow_rolleyes] [snow_ghost]
-
Yes, Bob, that was a good one - interesting twists in how it developed and certainly the ending!
-
And, Josette, how about William Shatner’s last scene in that “Thriller” episode, where we see Bill Shatner backing up in that locked room with that look of absolute terror on his face and we hear the sound of that scythe being whipped back and forth through the air? [snow_wow]
You know, I’m surprised that the late, great Dan Curtis did not “borrow” that Grim Reaper idea for DS. I mean, I thought it was great when DC and the DS writers had Vicky buying that 18th century portrait of a beautiful blond woman and the trouble that painting caused at Collinwood, especially for Barnabas and Roger.
Well, it might have been cool to have seen Phillip and Megan Todd, acquiring that infamous Grim Reaper portrait at an estate sale or at a local flea market and then displaying it prominently in their Collinsport antique shop for sale. Heck, in addition to Jeb Hawkes, “sliming” people to death (Paul Stoddard, Sheriff Davenport and Inspector Guthrie), we could have also seen the Grim Reaper “slicing and dicing” numerous Collinsport residents , much to the Collinsport Police Department’s great consternation and embarrassment.
By the way, we never found out why longtime Collinsport sheriff George Patterson was no longer the top lawman in town. Was he voted out of office or did he just take early retirement and head south to either Myrtle Beach or Key West? And, after Sheriff Davenport was “slimed” (just like Bill Murray in “Ghostbusters”), who replaced him? Did the Collinsport council members conduct a nationwide search for a new police chief, like possibly, Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, NC or Steve McGarrett, head of the elite Hawaii 5-0 squad of The Aloha State?
The only Collinsport police chief we ever saw after Sheriff Davenport, was that unnamed sheriff in 1995, and he sounded like the Collinsport town fathers had recruited him from possibly either Birmingham, Alabama or Macon, Georgia. Oh well, like whatever happened to Adam and Tony Peterson, we’ll never know what
happened with the head of Collinsport’s men and women in green (jackets) and tan (pants). [snow_huh]
-
Bob, you always have such original takes on things and suggestions for the show! I never would have thought of any of those. And, I never particularly realized about the sheriff. I guess I just kind of took him for granted when he was there and didn't think about him otherwise!!
-
One of the oddest credits in Karloff's long career is his guest shot on The Girl From UNCLE in an episode entitled The Mother Muffin Affair. What's so odd about it? Karloff plays Agnes Tewksbury, alias Mother Muffin. The part was originally intended for Dame Judith Anderson (!) but a character description of the character stating that Mother Muffin looked like Boris Karloff in drag led the producers to offer the part to Boris. Boris relished the challenge and had a pretty good sense of humor about it, though when he first saw himself in the Mother Muffin makeup and wardrobe said he looked like a two dollar whore.
The plot, such as it is, has the villainous Mother Muffin trying to capture the plucky April Dancer so that she can become the Lady Macbeth figure in Muffin's wax museum. It's all played very straight. Well, as straight as The Girl From UNCLE ever got. And the episode's notoriety transcends the series itself.
-
I was a big fan of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. back in the day when it first went into syndication (to this day I watch everything Stefanie Powers does) and still remember that ep well. Boris was a real hoot! [snow_laugh]
Of course, my biggest thrill when it comes to that show is when Grayson Hall guest starred, particularly because DS was still on when I saw her ep in syndication - in fact, the show aired in the late afternoon on the same station as DS...
-
I met Stefanie at Chiller Theater a few years ago and we spoke at some length about The Girl From UNCLE, especially the episode where the villain of the week tried to dispose of April and Stan Freberg by putting them into a giant pop up toaster. She also mentioned that she had maintained a friendship with Tallulah Bankhead, who spent most of Die Die My Darling trying to kill her. But Tallulah would never call her Stefanie. She would always call her Patricia, the name of her character in the movie. I asked if that bothered her. She said it did at first but she realized that it was a lot easier all the way around to let Tallulah do what she wanted to do.