Most people, even some of his fans, don’t know that Boris Karloff (1887-1969), the so-called “King of the Monsters”, was born William Henry Pratt. His parents were Anglo-Indian and Karloff had a dark complexion which was covered by make-up in his movies. He left England in 1909 for Canada where he began appearing on stage under the name of “Boris Karloff”. How he came up with the name is unclear. He arrived in Hollywood in 1919 and began his career in small, bit parts in silent movies. He received billing as a Caligari-like hypnotist in Lionel Barrymore’s THE BELLS in 1926. Once sound arrived, his distinctive British accent (with just a touch of a lisp) kept him employed in such high profile movies as THE CRIMINAL CODE (1931), FIVE STAR FINAL (1931), and SCARFACE (1932). Then came FRANKENSTEIN which made him a major star and a horror icon.
In 1933 he returned to England for the first time in 14 years to make THE GHOUL. He was worried about how he would be received by his family who were distinguished British diplomats but they welcomed him with open arms. The movie had a supporting cast of distinguished British actors including Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, and Ralph Richardson. The plot was reminiscent of THE MUMMY which Karloff had made the year before. He plays a dying Egyptologist who believes a sacred jewel called the “Eternal Light”, if buried with him, will grant him eternal life. When a servant steals the jewel, Karloff comes back from the dead to try and reclaim it. The film was a big hit in England when released there but did not do well in America. By 1935 when the British ban on horror movies took effect, it disappeared and was considered a lost film.
In 1969, film historian William K. Everson located a battered copy in the Czechoslovakian film archives. It was missing footage and it contained Czech subtitles. The picture quality was murky and the sound was even worse but it was all there was until the 1980s. At that time a beautiful, original nitrate negative was discovered in a neglected film vault which was turned over to the British Film Institute who made brand new prints. One of these prints became the source for home video copies which first appeared on DVD in 2003. It’s now available on Blu-Ray as well. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric , old school classic that Karloff made in his prime and as such is required viewing by fans of the actor and of 1930s horror movies. Be advised that it is British so it is some what different in style and tone from American horror films of the same period.
The Capsule Critic 