Boris Karloff: The Gentle Monster | Frankenstein Documentary | Classic Monsters

Go behind the scenes of some of Boris Karloff's most famous roles, including Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and The Mummy in this insightful documentary about the iconic actor.
Watch the classic horror Frankenstein in full here: www.uphe.com/movies/frankenstein
Welcome to Fear. KZbin’s greatest home of Horror! Featuring a bloodcurdling collection of clips from some of the most terrifying titles! From the classics to the contemporaries, Fear also showcases some frightful features - taking you behind the screams of some of your favorite horror movies!
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Also available on digital stores: House of Frankenstein (1944), The Raven (1935), The Black Cat (1934), The Mummy (1932), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Climax (1944), Scarface (1932), Tower of London (1939)
© 1931 Universal Studios. Renewed 1959 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
#Frankenstein #BorisKarloff #ClassicMovies #JamesWhale #MaryShelly #Monster #ClassicMonsters #TheMummy #Documentary

[@Dorelaxen]

Karloff was truly an icon. A good man who gave selflessly to children in need. Someone who understood both hard work and hard times. He IS Frankenstein. He IS The Mummy. His understated, whisper quiet performance in The Mummy is still amazing a full 90 years later. Absolute menace wrapped in quiet talk, menacing gazes, and a polite demeanor. Not many could have pulled that off quite like he did.

[@jeffisaacson3804]

He and Vincent Price had that distinctive voice which made their characters in the horror movie genre even better.

[@yvettemoore1228]

And they were so good together

[@maxbeale8186]

Boris was truly one of the all time greatest actors; he had such amazing charisma

[@Truegho]

Karloff was the greatest Frankenstein Monster ever! Wish the great man was still alive today making more horror movies.

[@Soundofsilver2007]

Karloff IS FRANKENSTEIN FRANKENSTEIN IS KARLOFF

[@crowhaven200]

What a great documentary. Boris was a great actor. Thanks to his acting and the great work of Jack Pierce in Frankenstein, the monster became iconic. Was it just the makeup, was it only Karloff? No it was both. I don't think we would still be talking about that film, or the Monster if it weren't for Karloff and Jack Pierce's work. . Every single "monster" since has faded... Karloff is Frankenstein. As a kid I had had every issue of Famous monsters of Filmland, all the Aurora monster model kits . I was obsessed. And Frankenstein stood above them all. This Doc put his career together in a way I hadn't seen. Wonderful. Thank you!

[@norahnewman7600]

Mr. William Henry Pratt aka Boris Karloff was truly one of the greatest onscreen performers of the twentieth century and beyond. His name and his movies shall forever draw huge crowds and newer horror fans of all walks of life.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@DanCookMovieReviews]

I just love that final montage of Karloff.

[@speedracer1945]

Karloff was a sharp looking Dude when he was young. Frankenstein and the Mummy , he brought his own character to these roles that others followed after him .

[@lauradauria246]

He is a true Iconic Actor

[@johngurnhill8743]

Today is the day we lost the legend sadly missed by millions

[@garycarpenter2980]

He was a very good actor and his style was really great and the voice was amazing and he had great talent. He's the epitome of Frankenstein and the Mummy. The movie, The Terror was really great. He did the Grinch 100%.if I was blind folded, I could pick his voice from any of his movies

[@mattlawrence1932]

It only makes perfect sense for the greatest horror icon of all time to be completely humble & kind & gentle & completely different in real life than he actually portrays as all of his evil iconic monstrous characters!!!! Just like your favorite good guy actor that finally get a bad guy role & that one role becomes his one academy award winning or at minimum academy award nominated character of all his great roles in his career !!!!! It's like opposites always attract no matter what the situation may be , even in the case of a actor & his normal types of characters that he's known best for & remembered best for!!!!!

[@kathywhitaker11]

Totally my favourite actor of all time! Karloff was and still is a myth to many. So many fantastic characters created by this great man. The sight of him glowing and running amok in Die monster die will live in my nightmares forever! I am not worthy 🧟‍♂️

[@yaffayafo82]

I need to see his Fu Manchu film. Or Tower of London!

[@peterrhodes4796]

Good

[@bradshorts8593]

Proud to be his great-great-great-great nephew. He was a really good horror icon.

[@MrGean83]

Happy 90th anniversary Frankenstein!! :)

[@jabo6479]

I wasn't born til 1979 and he's still my favorite actor.

[@stevefranks6541]

Greetings, As a child I loved the early Frankenstein monster films. I came to instantly recognize their being classics before I knew what a classic meant. But not until I became an adult did I feel such sorrow and empathy for the monster. Karloff played him so beautifully as the tragic soul, thrust onto a world totally ill-equipped. So afraid and misunderstood, just wanting a friend. I came to feel so sad for the monster as Karloff so wonderfully portrayed him. He could have just gone about the set just lumbering along like some goon., but Karloff put so much of himself into the role that he and his monster will live forever in the art of film. Praise too must go to James Whale who allowed Karloff's monster to possess a soul. May all three live forever. As an aside, I invite everyone to watch the incredible film, Gods and Monsters. About the last months of James Whale's life. The father of Frankenstein.

[@stevefranks6541]

Greetings, Am watching this documentary a second time for research purposes, and I must highly commend whomever put the documentary together. Each critic in the documentary bring together such an enthusiasm, if not love, for Boris Karloff that at times they brought tears to my eyes. For not only Karloff, but for his [Frankenstein] monster as well. Boris Karloff's characterization was indeed world-class with all the pathos the monster's character rightly deserves. Bravo to all!

[@bigoldinosaur]

They give it a quick mention but I wish Boris's role as the Grinch was talked about more because I truly believe that his how he is introduced to most kids/people growing up.

[@Howlingburd19]

Literally Boris Karloff is so incredible in as the Monster!!!

[@Soundofsilver2007]

Should have been nominated and won an Academy Award for his role in the first Frankenstein.

[@paulbrookes413]

Extraordinary Performance !!

[@kevinballenger1211]

No One Played The Frankenstein Monster Like Karloff Did! He Put The Passion Into The Character! Glen Strange, Bela Lugosi, And Lon Chaney Jr Were Too Stiff In Their Portrayals, And Gave The Monster No Personality!

[@airfoilengine3799]

I lost 50% of my skin to chemical burns at work. Cadaver skin was used to patch me up for a while. Plus I look like Boris Karloff, so this story has become more personal.

[@GradKat]

Boris Karloff gave a sensitivity to The Creature, as is implied in Mary Shelley’s original story.

[@stevefranks6541]

Greetings, I read Mary Shelly's Frankenstein shortly after seeing the films. Probably like 56 years ago. But didn't Doctor Frankenstein's monster [in the original story] actually look very beautiful when he was brought to life? Didn't he become ugly as his flesh began to atrophy and rot over time? His being a monster was due to his being ungodly and unnatural. Only later did he become a monster on the outside, to match the abomination he was on the inside.

[@bernayhansondescendantofth9969]

Since I have a poster of Mr. Karloff as Frankenstein, I see a gentle monster when I look at the image that is on the wall in my bedroom.

[@normanhaase9400]

My distant cousin (real name, William Pratt, from my maternal grandmother's family). Yes, I know about the familial resemblance -- especially with Frankenstein's monster and the Mummy. 😉

[@AAZEDLARC]

Yep, seconded on "silent film performance." Well put, Sir Frayling

[@rociomiranda5684]

I adore my man Boris.

[@ANTONIORODRIGUES-jv1mn]

I LOVE BORIS KARLOFF

[@jamesauber8622]

Boris Karloff was the great horror movie actor. So was Bela Lugosi. They were. To the best of all time

[@mr.mirchenstein6549]

The Raven (from the 1930s) with Boris & Lugosi is one of my favorites. Super underrated in my opinion. The one he did 30 years later with Vincent Price is a classic too. So many great movies.

[@AAZEDLARC]

A terrific docu! Let's not forget that Mr. Karloff was of Anglo-Indian background, which could have contributed to his superb depictions of "outsiders." Did not know this as a baby film historian in the 70s

[@kathymetzger5862]

My dad told me about Boris Karloff that he portrayed the Frankenstein monster. We had an old fashion TV and we used to watch the lot in one night Frankenstein was on and after I saw that movie I became a big Boris Karloff fan

[@myname7056]

This was the second film I cried when watching.

[@nickmorrell3559]

First horror legend and probably the best .very varied career ..

[@ghostskolpodon4349]

Personal favorite movie is "a comedy of terrors" Amazing cast, phenomenal jokes. I loved every second. Boris as the aloof old man is hilarious. He was so diverse and talented.

[@erincrossley2686]

Boris Karloff was a distant cousin of my Dad…explains my Dads love of the weird

[@geraldinekearney542]

I also loved watching Boris Karloff as Wong the Chinese detective in the Wong movie series

[@aspjake123]

The true golden era of Horror films. NO CGI.

[@tambian9130]

For 52 years Boris Karloff is the reason why i cannot sleep with the light off..

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

Legend.

[@Rickhorse1]

Very much enjoyed this doc. But it always surprises me that of the numerous tributes to Karloff's career which I've seen, not one has mentioned "The Black Room", in which he plays twin brothers. One good, one evil. Also surprising that in this doc there was no mention of one of his better Val Lewton pics, "Bedlam".

[@johnathonhaney8291]

Bedlam is my favorite Karloff film, hands down. It was more than just him: Anna Lee's journey from self-centered courtier to caring advocate, the surprises of the asylum's inmates' true character and a grasp of mental health issues lightyears ahead of its time.

[@SonofFrenzi]

I guess 38 minutes just isn't long enough. We recently completed Boris Karloff The Man Behind the Monster (running 99 minutes) and we still found ourselves having to leave out some gems, such as Grip of the Strangler, Corridors of Blood & The Comedy of Terrors - we did cover The Black Room however and Bedlam (though only with stills)

[@towerburkindine]

Does anyone know the background music employed at one point? Not used in the films? When they’re talking about Frankenstein.

[@allanpollock2604]

I absolutly love Frankenstein It Is My all time favorite and Boris Karloff did a poynint as the Monster

[@Soundofsilver2007]

The word “iconic” is often overused… Boris as Frankenstein is among the 10 most iconic movie characters in the history of cinema

[@susieaxym]

Love Karloff

[@leontindle7225]

i love this stuff so cool

[@donovandelaney3171]

These movies look better in color.

[@bretttroutman9268]

Boris koloff was born in 1887 and my great grandfather born in 1887 same year small word together

[@marcdelente2456]

Acteur phénoménal de la Universal Boris Karloff est un monument du cinéma d épouvante et avec Bela Lugosi ils y a eux des films incroyables . Il est éternel et intemporel pour des siecles.

[@davidgraber2955]

I really disliked the nonstop commentaries by screenwriters, Hollywood historians, etc. who never knew Boris Karloff. Really would have been much better with actual interviews with Karloff and his contemporaries who actually knew him...

[@warmonger8799]

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻😇🙏

[@donovandelaney3171]

Smoke, bad.😂🤣.

[@calvinbaptist9356]

Whats the end music during the end credits

[@shaunwilson2537]

Pyrr Gynt. Hall of the Mountain King, by Grieg I think

[@johnathonhaney8291]

@@shaunwilson2537 Which was also Peter Lorre's hunting song in Fritz Lang's serial killer drama M.

[@anneroy4560]

His birth certificate name was William Henry Pratt. He changed when playing in rep theatrical company in Canada ... he is not Frankenstein ... he is Frankenstein's monster.

[@anthonyperno1348]

Is this the original 1931 trailer? Or is it the 1931 trailer re-edited for release after 1935, after the influence of the National Board of Review. The "I know what is feels like to be Gid" is smothered by added thunder. This editing took place for all the re-releases post 1935, and it looks like this trailer was censored as well.

[@frankfacts6207]

Bela's greatest character is Igor not Drac

[@LogiChips]

Lástima que no este doblada al castellano 😥

[@ImStayGold42]

What happened to streaming the film on Halloween as promised? Lame.

[@zairaorquiz1960]

@Witch's Brew Views ii

[@mariopiernes2773]

Karloff, as a human being, was an angel, he was quite handsome, but he chose to be a monster, to highlight that physical ugliness so

[@rjpx947]

32 people out there clearly have no sense of anything good.

[@MediaBuster]

This would be much better if they actually showed clips from Boris speaking instead of a bunch of film nerds telling us how they feel.

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

That involves buying the rights to the clips of the interviews, which is very expensive.

[@MediaBuster]

@@QueenOfTheNorth65 Incorrect. You can use them under fair use if it is commentary/documentary.

[@jbarron4596]

It’s always cringe worthy to hear these Hollywood types go on and on with their smarmy praises of actors, directors, producers, etc. the Hollywood film industry just has an over-inflated sense of self-importance.

[@dangale123]

Would it make much of a celebration of an actor if everyone they interviewed said “Meh, he was ok I guess.”?

[@jaybarragan7582]

I missed my night light of thr man the villager called the monster I'd like another the dark is no place for the sighted can you send one your patron Jay

[@jessemccombs919]

He was a true classic icon with all the horror men and actors in n the horror era all to horror movies

[@JeffSmith-pl2pj]

What bout the Mexican films?

[@gerdakrosman4471]

Alle ambtenaren en amtenaren in opleiding hebben allemaal ?????????????

[@MatsThyWit]

There is absolutely no way whatsoever to logically claim that Frankenstein was the first time someone set out to deliberately make a horror films. That's a stupid statement.

[@MatsThyWit]

@Eric Graff no. I just thought it was a very hyperbolic statement.

[@jessemccombs919]

The dark room where he played twins on it a evil one and good one and he had that charisma and voice to do it

[@jessemccombs919]

And his voice as the Grinch who stole Christmas the original one

[@jessemccombs919]

The man who wouldn't di we as a doctor who discovered a formula for youth