12 Movies Starring Boris Karloff

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1931-11-21

Languages:

English, Latin

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

70 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

(44424 Reviews)

Director:

James Whale

Genres:

HorrorSci-Fi

Cast:

Writer:

John L. Balderston (based upon the composition by)

Mary Shelley (from the novel by)

Peggy Webling (adapted from the play by)

Garrett Fort (screen play)

Francis Edward Faragoh (screen play)

Richard Schayer (scenario editor)

Fullplot:

Henry Frankenstein is a doctor who is trying to discover a way to make the dead walk. He succeeds and creates a monster that has to deal with living again.

The Mummy

The Mummy

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1932-12-22

Languages:

English, Arabic, French

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

73 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (14424 Reviews)

Director:

Karl Freund

Genres:

Horror

Cast:

Writer:

Nina Wilcox Putnam (from a story by)

Richard Schayer (from a story by)

John L. Balderston (screen play)

Fullplot:

In 1921 a field expedition in Egypt discovers the mummy of ancient Egyptian prince Im-Ho-Tep, who was condemned and buried alive for sacrilege. Also found in the tomb is the Scroll of Thoth, which can bring the dead back to life. One night a young member of the expedition reads the Scroll out loud, and then goes insane, realizing that he has brought Im-Ho-Tep back to life. Ten years later, disguised as a modern Egyptian, the mummy attempts to reunite with his lost love, an ancient princess who has been reincarnated into a beautiful young woman.

The Black Cat

The Black Cat

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1934-05-07

Languages:

English, Latin, Hungarian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

65 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (5624 Reviews)

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Cast:

Writer:

Edgar Allan Poe (suggested by a story by)

Peter Ruric (screenplay)

Edgar G. Ulmer (story)

Peter Ruric (story)

Fullplot:

Honeymooning in Hungary, Joan and Peter Allison share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Verdegast, a courtly but tragic man who is returning to the remains of the town he defended before becoming a prisoner of war for fifteen years. When their hotel-bound bus crashes in a mountain storm and Joan is injured, the travellers seek refuge in the home, built fortress-like upon the site of a bloody battlefield, of famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig. There, cat-phobic Verdegast learns his wife's fate, grieves for his lost daughter, and must play a game of chess for Allison's life.

The Lost Patrol

The Lost Patrol

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1934-02-16

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

73 min

Rated:

PASSED

IMDB Ratings:

(2011 Reviews)

Director:

John Ford

Genres:

AdventureWar

Cast:

Writer:

Dudley Nichols (screen play)

Garrett Fort (adaptation)

Philip MacDonald (from the story "Patrol" by)

Fullplot:

A World War I British Army patrol is crossing the Mesopotomian desert when their commanding officer, the only one who knows their destination is killed by the bullet of unseen bandits. The patrol's sergeant keeps them heading north on the assumption that they will hit their brigade. They stop for the night at an oasis and awake the next morning to find their horses stolen, their sentry dead, the oasis surrounded and survival difficult.

Bride of Frankenstein

Bride of Frankenstein

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1935-04-22

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

75 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.9 (29528 Reviews)

Director:

James Whale

Genres:

HorrorSci-Fi

Cast:

Writer:

Mary Shelley (suggested by: the original story written in 1816 by)

William Hurlbut (adapted by)

John L. Balderston (adapted by)

William Hurlbut (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature, a woman, to be the companion of the monster.

The Invisible Ray

The Invisible Ray

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1936-01-20

Languages:

English, French

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

80 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (1366 Reviews)

Director:

Lambert Hillyer

Cast:

Writer:

John Colton (screenplay)

Howard Higgin (original story)

Douglas Hodges (original story)

Fullplot:

Visionary scientist Janos Rukh convinces a group of scientists and supporters to mount an expedition to the African continent to locate and study an ancient meteorite of great significance. He exposes himself to the highly toxic radiation of the meteorite, and while an antidote devised by Dr. Benet saves him from death by radiation poisoning, his naked touch causes instant death to others. Back in London, the benefits of the meteorite's controlled radiation offer Dr. Benet an opportunity to restore eyesight to the blind. The antidote's toxicity excites Prof. Rukh into paranoid rages as he seeks revenge against the members of his expedition, who he accuses of stealing his discovery for their own glory.

Black Friday

Black Friday

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1940-04-12

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

70 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

6.3 (1121 Reviews)

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Cast:

Writer:

Curt Siodmak (screenplay)

Eric Taylor (screenplay)

Fullplot:

When his friend Professor Kingsley is at deaths door, brain surgeon Dr. Sovac saves his life by means of an illegal operation that transplants part of injured gangster Red Cannon's brain. Unfortunately, the operation has a disastrous Jeckll and Hyde side effect and under certain conditions the persona of Cannon emerges. Sovac soon learns of the duel personality and of half a million dollars the gangster has hidden away. He attempts to find the money through the manipulation of his friend, an attempt that brings Kingsley closer to madness as he alternates between a meek professor of English and a brutal gangster out for murderous revenge on those who tried to kill him.

The Body Snatcher

The Body Snatcher

Basic Info:

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

77 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (5509 Reviews)

Director:

Robert Wise

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Louis Stevenson (short story)

Philip MacDonald (written for the screen by)

Val Lewton (written for the screen by)

Fullplot:

In Edinburgh in 1831, Dr. Wolfe MacFarlane runs a medical school where Donald Fettes is a student. Fettes is interested in helping a young girl who has lost the use of her legs. He is certain that MacFarlane's surgical skills could be put to great use but he is reluctant to do so. The good Dr. MacFarlane has a secret that soon becomes all too obvious to young Fettes, who has only recently been promoted as his assistant: he has been paying a local cabbie, John Gray, to supply him with dead bodies for anatomical research. Gray constantly harasses MacFarlane and clearly has a hold over him dating to a famous trial many years before where Gray refused to identify the man for whom he was robbing graves. Fettes isn't aware of any of this but soon realizes exactly how Gray obtains the bodies they use in their anatomy classes.

Isle of the Dead

Isle of the Dead

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1945-09-01

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

71 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

6.6 (2642 Reviews)

Director:

Mark Robson

Fullplot:

On a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people are trapped by quarantine for the plague. If that isn't enough worry, one of the people, a superstitious old peasant woman, suspects one young girl of being a vampiric kind of demon called a vorvolaka.

Bedlam

Bedlam

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1946-05-10

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

79 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (2326 Reviews)

Director:

Mark Robson

Cast:

Writer:

William Hogarth (suggested by The William Hogarth painting Bedlam Plate #8 "The Rake's Progress")

Val Lewton (screenplay)

Mark Robson (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Nell Bowen, the spirited protege of rich Lord Mortimer, becomes interested in the conditions of notorious St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Encouraged by the Quaker Hannay, she tries to bring support to reforming Bedlam, but the cruel Master Sims who runs it has her committed there. The inmates, however, have the last say.

The Raven

The Raven

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1963-01-25

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

86 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (7097 Reviews)

Director:

Roger Corman

Cast:

Writer:

Richard Matheson (screenplay)

Edgar Allan Poe (poem)

Fullplot:

In this tongue-in-cheek movie inspired by Poe's poem, Dr. Craven is the son of a great sorcerer (now dead) who was once himself quite skilled at that profession, but has since abandoned it. One evening, a cowardly fool of a magician named Bedlo comes to Craven for help - the evil Scarabus has turned him into a raven and he needs someone to change him back. He also tells the reluctant wizard that Craven's long-lost wife Lenore, whom he loved greatly and thought dead, is living with the despised Scarabus.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1966-12-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

26 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

8.4 (29622 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Dr. Seuss (book)

Irv Spector (additional story)

Bob Ogle (additional story)

Fullplot:

Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of the nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. So disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he raids the village to steal all the Christmas things. The village is sure to have a sad Christmas this year.

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