Author Archives: chipkaufmann

Between 1933 and 1936, Boris Karloff returned to his native England to make three movies. For many years these three films were out of circulation and some were considered lost. They resurfaced around the turn of the century. The first two THE GHOUL and THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND are available in excellent printsContinue reading “JUGGERNAUT aka THE DEMON DOCTOR (1936)”

From 1931-1946 Boris Karloff was the undisputed “King of Horror” in American movies. However outside of the Universal horrors, his Val Lewton pictures and the Columbia “Mad Doctor” series, Karloff made 3 movies in England between 1933 and 1936. Two of these films are remarkable while the third, JUGGERNAUT, is best forgotten. The first one,Continue reading “THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND (1936): Boris’ 2nd Brit Horror Film”

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 stageContinue reading “THE GHOUL (1933): Boris Karloff’s Homecoming Movie Is A Gem About A Gem”

I have been a fan of John Bunny since I first saw A CURE FOR POKERITIS (1912) back in 1998 as part of the SLAPSTICK ENCYCLOPEDIA box set. I had never heard of him which is saying something as I have been a silent film enthusiast since 1962 when I first saw a Harold LloydContinue reading “JOHN BUNNY: Much Needed Documentary On America’s First Comedy Superstar”

The Man Who Invented Christmas purports to tell the story of how Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol. At the time (1843) the celebration of Christmas had been in decline, and it wasn’t even considered a major holiday. At this time in his career, Charles Dickens was 31, internationally famous thanks to Oliver Twist, and sufferingContinue reading “THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS: A Worthy Successor To A CHRISTMAS CAROL”

Of the countless versions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL that are out there from Reginald Owen to Bill Murray to Jim Carrey, this version from 1984 remains my personal favorite although I concede that the 1951 Alastair Sim movie is the best of the lot, I had just come through a rough patch when this versionContinue reading “A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984): The Foremost Film Version From My Perspective”

Following in the footsteps of Boris Karloff and his resurrected dead man films (THE WALKING DEAD, THEY MAN THE COULD NOT HANG, BEFORE I HANG), Paramount decided to try their hand at the gangster/horror genre with 1941’s THE MONSTER & THE GIRL. This time rather than bringing a corpse back to life, a doctor transplantsContinue reading “THE MONSTER & THE GIRL (1941): Oddball Movie Is Both A Gangster And A Horror Film”

After his career as a director ended in 1933 with the re-shot and heavily re-edited HELLO SISTER, Erich von Stroheim turned exclusively to acting where he was still much in demand. He had some good roles in the 1930s most notably in Jean Renoir’s GRAND ILLUSION but by the early 1940s he was typecast asContinue reading “THE LADY AND THE MONSTER (1944): Earlier Version Of DONOVAN’S BRAIN Is Just As Engaging”

Doing the Mid-1930s, producer Merian C. Cooper was involved in a number of big budget spectaculars for RKO Radio Pictures featuring then state-of-the-art special effects. The first and best known is the legendary, original KING KONG (1933) which allegedly saved the studio from bankruptcy during the Depression. This was followed by a quick sequel theContinue reading “LAST DAYS OF POMPEII: One Of Two 1935 RKO Spectaculars And A Precursor to GLADIATOR”

I realize that as far as film restoration priorities go, THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN is probably 10 to the power 4 on that list but I still have hopes of seeing it again looking the way it did when it was first broadcast on TV back in 1957 while I’m still around to appreciateContinue reading “PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN (1957): Still Waiting For The Restored Version”