103-622: William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff ( / ˈ k ɑːr l ɒ f / ) and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny , was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced
206-612: A scientific principle he discovered. Shelley describes the monster as 8 feet (240 cm) tall and emotional. The monster attempts to fit into human society but is shunned, which leads him to seek revenge against Frankenstein. According to the scholar Joseph Carroll , the monster occupies "a border territory between the characteristics that typically define protagonists and antagonists". Frankenstein's monster became iconic in popular culture, and has been featured in various forms of media, including films, television series, merchandise and video games. The most popularly recognized version
309-583: A "monster" at least once, as did the residents of a hamlet who saw the creature towards the end of the novel. As in Shelley's story, the creature's namelessness became a central part of the stage adaptations in London and Paris during the decades after the novel's first appearance. In 1823, Shelley herself attended a performance of Richard Brinsley Peake 's Presumption , the first successful stage adaptation of her novel. "The play bill amused me extremely, for in
412-458: A comedy at RKO , You'll Find Out (1941), then he went to Columbia for The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1941). An enthusiastic performer, he returned to the Broadway stage in the original production of Arsenic and Old Lace in 1941, in which he played a homicidal gangster enraged to be frequently mistaken for Karloff. Frank Capra cast Raymond Massey in
515-476: A drawing Pierce's daughter (whom Pierce feared to be psychic) had drawn from a dream. Universal Studios , which released the film, was quick to secure ownership of the copyright for the makeup format. Karloff played the monster in two more Universal films, Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein ; Lon Chaney Jr. took over the part from Karloff in The Ghost of Frankenstein ; Bela Lugosi portrayed
618-472: A female mate. He promises, in return, to disappear with his mate and never trouble humankind again, but threatens to destroy everything Frankenstein holds dear should he fail or refuse. Frankenstein agrees, and eventually constructs a female creature on a remote island in Orkney , but aghast at the possibility of creating a race of monsters, destroys the female creature before it is complete. Horrified and enraged,
721-400: A fifth and final Mr Wong film, Doomed to Die (1940). Karloff appeared at a celebrity baseball game as Frankenstein's monster in 1940, hitting a gag home run and making catcher Buster Keaton fall into an acrobatic dead faint as the monster stomped into home plate. Karloff finished a six picture commitment with Monogram with The Ape (1940). He and Lugosi appeared with Peter Lorre in
824-893: A film serial, The Hope Diamond Mystery (1920). He was Indian in Without Benefit of Clergy (1921) and an Arab in Cheated Hearts (1921) and villainous in The Cave Girl (1921). He was a maharajah in The Man from Downing Street (1922), a Nabob in The Infidel (1922) and had roles in The Altar Stairs (1922), Omar the Tentmaker (1922) (as an Imam), The Woman Conquers (1922), The Gentleman from America (1923), The Prisoner (1923) and
927-491: A flat-topped angular head and bolts on his neck to serve as electrical connectors or grotesque electrodes. He wears a dark, usually tattered, suit having shortened coat sleeves and thick, heavy boots, causing him to walk with an awkward, stiff-legged gait (as opposed to the novel, in which he is described as much more flexible than a human). The tone of his skin varies (although shades of green or gray are common), and his body appears stitched together at certain parts (such as around
1030-454: A general image of the 'Negro' body in which repulsive features, brute-like strength and size of limbs featured prominently." Malchow makes it clear that it is difficult to tell if this alleged racial allegory was intentional on Shelley's part or if it was inspired by the society she lived in (or if it exists in the text at all outside of his interpretation), and he states that "There is no clear proof that Mary Shelley consciously set out to create
1133-713: A good support part in Lady Robinhood (1925) starring Evelyn Brent in the titular role. Karloff went on to be in The Greater Glory (1926), Her Honor, the Governor (1926), The Bells (1926) (as a mesmerist), The Nickel-Hopper (1926) with Mabel Normand , The Golden Web (1926), The Eagle of the Sea (1926), Flames (1926), Old Ironsides (1926) with Wallace Beery and Esther Ralston , Flaming Fury (1926), Valencia (1926), The Man in
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#17327796956781236-474: A horror film based on the novel Benighted by J. B. Priestley , in which he finally enjoyed top billing above Melvyn Douglas , Charles Laughton , Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart ; he was billed simply as "KARLOFF", a custom that Universal continued for several years. He was loaned to MGM to play the titular role in The Mask of Fu Manchu (also 1932), for which he had top billing. Back at Universal, he
1339-503: A hunchback and a 'man-beast' that howled in the night. It was too much. Karloff thought it was ridiculous and said so." Berg explained that the actor had "great love and respect for" Lewton, who was "the man who rescued him from the living dead and restored, so to speak, his soul." Horror films experienced a decline in popularity after the war, and Karloff found himself working in other genres. Frankenstein%27s monster Frankenstein's monster , commonly referred to as Frankenstein ,
1442-640: A later film career. Pratt began appearing in theatrical performances in Canada in 1911 and during this period he chose Boris Karloff as his stage name. His presence in Regina, Saskatchewan at the Regina Theatre on the night of the Regina Cyclone in 1912 is a commemorated event. Karloff always said he chose the first name " Boris " simply because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that "Karloff"
1545-463: A lawsuit for which she was represented by attorney Bela G. Lugosi (Bela Lugosi's son), after which Universal replaced Karloff's features with those of Glenn Strange in most of their marketing. In 1969, the New York Times mistakenly ran a photograph of Strange for Karloff's obituary. Since Karloff's portrayal, the creature almost always appears as a towering, undead -like figure, often with
1648-533: A line of sequels, although Karloff would not reprise the iconic 1932 role. Karloff returned to England to star in The Ghoul (1933), then made a non-horror film for John Ford, The Lost Patrol (1934), for which his performance was highly acclaimed. Karloff was third billed in the Twentieth Century Pictures historical film The House of Rothschild (1934) with George Arliss , which
1751-619: A monster which suggested, explicitly, the Jamaican escaped slave or maroon, or that she drew directly from any person knowledge of either planter or abolitionist propaganda." In addition to the previous interpretations, Karen Lynnea Piper argues in her article, "Inuit Diasporas: Frankenstein and the Inuit in England" that the symbolism surrounding Frankenstein's monster could stem from the Inuit of
1854-503: A private education at Uppingham School and Merchant Taylors' School . Following this he attended King's College London , where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, he left university without graduating and drifted, departing England for Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer, truck driver and did various odd jobs until happening upon stage acting, which led to
1957-601: A radio adaptation produced by Screen Guild Theatre in 1946.) In 1944, he underwent a spinal operation to relieve a chronic arthritic condition. Karloff returned to film roles in The Climax (1944), an unsuccessful attempt to repeat the success of Phantom of the Opera (1943). More liked was House of Frankenstein (1944), marking Karloff's "retirement" from playing the Monster, where instead, he comes full circle to play
2060-532: A reanimated zombie-like creature. This version of the creature has stitches on his face where he was shot, strains of brown hair, black pants, a dark hoodie, and a black jacket with a brown fur collar. The 2014 TV series Penny Dreadful also rejects the Karloff design in favour of Shelley's description. This version of the creature has the flowing dark hair described by Shelley, although he departs from her description by having pale grey skin and obvious scars along
2163-603: A science fiction film. Karloff was then cast in a Warner Bros. horror film, The Walking Dead (1936). Because the Motion Picture Production Code (known as the Hays Code) began to be seriously enforced in 1934, horror films declined in the second half of the 1930s. Karloff worked in other genres, making two films in Britain, Juggernaut (1936) and The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936) which
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#17327796956782266-473: A strikingly handsome man who later degenerates into a grotesque monster due to a flaw in the creation process. In the 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein , the creature is played by Robert De Niro and has an appearance closer to that described in the original novel, though this version of the creature possesses balding grey hair and a body covered in bloody stitches. He is, as in the novel, motivated by pain and loneliness. In this version, Frankenstein gives
2369-628: A three-picture deal with Columbia, starting with The Man They Could Not Hang (1939). Karloff returned to Universal to make Tower of London (1939) with Rathbone, playing the murderous henchman of King Richard III . Karloff made a fourth Mr Wong film at Monogram The Fatal Hour (1940). At Warners he was in British Intelligence (1940), then he went to Universal to do Black Friday (1940) with Lugosi. Karloff's second and third films for Columbia were The Man with Nine Lives (1940) and Before I Hang (1940). In between he did
2472-421: A toga, shaded, along with the monster's skin, a pale blue. Throughout the 19th century, the monster's image remained variable according to the artist. The best-known image of Frankenstein's monster in popular culture derives from Boris Karloff 's portrayal in the 1931 movie Frankenstein , in which he wore makeup applied and designed by Jack P. Pierce , who based the monster's face and iconic flat head shape on
2575-596: A while for Karloff's stardom to be established with the public – he had small roles in Behind the Mask (1932), Business and Pleasure (1932) and The Miracle Man (1932). As receipts for Frankenstein and Scarface flooded in, Universal gave Karloff third billing in Night World (1932), with Lew Ayres , Mae Clarke and George Raft . Karloff was reunited with Whale at Universal for The Old Dark House (1932),
2678-414: Is Boris Karloff 's portrayal in the 1930s films Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein . Mary Shelley's original novel does not give the character a specific name. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein variously refers to his creation as the "creature", "fiend", "spectre", "dæmon", "wretch", "devil", "thing", "being", and "ogre". Frankenstein's creation referred to himself as
2781-499: Is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley 's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus as its main antagonist . Shelley's title compares the monster's creator, Victor Frankenstein , to the mythological character Prometheus , who fashioned humans out of clay and gave them fire. In Shelley's Gothic story , Victor Frankenstein builds the creature in his laboratory through an ambiguous method based on
2884-521: Is also referred to as Adam in the 2014 film I, Frankenstein , where the Queen of the Gargoyles Leonore gives him the name after understanding Victor never gave him one. Thumbing through a book of the works of William Shakespeare , the monster chooses "Proteus" from The Two Gentlemen of Verona . It is later revealed that Proteus is actually the second monster Frankenstein has created, with
2987-467: Is denied, he swears revenge on his creator. The creature is a vegetarian. While speaking to Frankenstein, he tells him, "My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment...The picture I present to you is peaceful and human." At the time the novel was written, many writers, including Percy Shelley in A Vindication of Natural Diet , argued that practicing vegetarianism
3090-640: Is hated. Using the information in Frankenstein's notes, the creature resolves to find him. The monster kills Victor's younger brother William upon learning of the boy's relation to his creator and frames Justine Moritz, a young woman who lives with the Frankensteins, as the culprit (causing her execution afterwards). When Frankenstein retreats to the Alps , the monster approaches him at the summit, recounts his experiences, and asks his creator to build him
3193-639: Is listed in the closing credits). However, in the sequel Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the frame narration by a character representing Shelley's friend Lord Byron does refer to the monster as Frankenstein. Nevertheless, the creature soon enough became best known in the popular imagination as "Frankenstein". This usage is sometimes considered erroneous, but some usage commentators regard the monster sense of "Frankenstein" as well-established and not an error. Modern practice varies somewhat. For example, in Dean Koontz's Frankenstein , first published in 2004,
Boris Karloff - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-500: Is often portrayed as being afraid of fire , although he is not afraid of it in the novel, even using fire to destroy himself. Scholars sometimes look for deeper meaning in Shelley's story, and have drawn an analogy between the monster and a motherless child; Shelley's own mother died while giving birth to her. The monster has also been analogized to an oppressed class; Shelley wrote that the monster recognized "the division of property, of immense wealth and squalid poverty". Others see in
3399-405: Is rejected by everyone he meets. He realizes from the moment of his "birth" that even his own creator cannot stand the sight of him; this is obvious when Frankenstein says "…one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped…". Upon seeing his own reflection, he realizes that he too is repulsed by his appearance. His greatest desire is to find love and acceptance; but when that desire
3502-461: Is rooted in common perceptions of race during the 18th century. Three scholars have noted that Shelley's description of the monster seems to be racially coded; one argues that, "Shelley's portrayal of her monster drew upon contemporary attitudes towards non-whites, in particular on fears and hopes of the abolition of slavery in the West Indies." In her article "Frankenstein, Racial Science, and
3605-414: Is the only person who will help him. On his journey, the creature rescues a young girl from a river but is shot in the shoulder by the child's father, believing the creature intended to harm his child. Enraged by this final act of cruelty, the creature swears revenge on humankind for the suffering they have caused him. He seeks revenge against his creator in particular for leaving him alone in a world where he
3708-418: Is the second film adaptation of Harold McGrath 's novel of the same name , and stars Oland as Dr. Boris Karlov. The name of the villain in the novel was originally called Boris Karlov, but when the actor Boris Karloff rose to prominence circa 1923, the character's name was changed to Gregor Karlov in the 1923 silent film adaptation to avoid confusion. It was changed back to Boris again in this 1931 remake of
3811-534: The Los Angeles Times , Karloff discussed his arrangement with RKO, working with Lewton and his reasons for leaving Universal. Karloff left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course; the entries in the series after Son of Frankenstein were B-pictures. Berg wrote that the last installment in which Karloff appeared— House of Frankenstein —was what he called a " 'monster clambake,' with everything thrown in—Frankenstein, Dracula,
3914-494: The 1944 film , which was shot in 1941, while Karloff was still appearing in the role on Broadway. The play's producers allowed the film to be made conditionally: it was not to be released until the production closed. (Karloff reprised his role on television in the anthology series The Best of Broadway (1955), and with Tony Randall and Tom Bosley in a 1962 production on the Hallmark Hall of Fame . He also starred in
4017-486: The Arctic . Piper argues that the monster accounts for the "missing presence" of any indigenous people during Waldon's expedition, and that he represents the fear of the savage, lurking on the outskirts of civilization. The Drums of Jeopardy (1931 film) The Drums of Jeopardy is a 1931 American pre-Code horror film directed by George B. Seitz and starring Warner Oland , June Collyer and Lloyd Hughes . It
4120-508: The B.C. Electric Railway Company , at the rate of $ 2.50 per day. From this gruelling work with the BCER and other employers, Karloff was left with back problems for the rest of his life. Because of his health, he did not serve in World War I . During this period, Karloff worked in various theatrical stock companies across the U.S. to hone his acting skills. Some acting companies mentioned were
4223-655: The Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss ' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award . Aside from his numerous film roles (174 films), Karloff acted in many live stage plays and appeared on dozens of radio and television programs as well. For his contribution to film and television, Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 8 February 1960. William Henry Pratt
Boris Karloff - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-514: The Reiwa era film The Great Yokai War: Guardians . As depicted by Shelley, the creature is a sensitive, emotional person whose only aim is to share his life with another sentient being like himself. The novel portrayed him as versed in Paradise Lost , Plutarch's Lives , and The Sorrows of Young Werther , books he finds after having learnt language. From the beginning, the creature
4429-567: The Yellow Peril , John Malchow in his article "Frankenstein's Monster and Images of Race in Nineteenth-Century Britain" explores the possibility of the monster either being intentionally or unintentionally coded as black. Malchow argues that the monster's depiction is based in an 18th-century understanding of "popular racial discourse [which] managed to conflate such descriptions of particular ethnic characteristics into
4532-549: The Alchemist's Daughter , the 2017 novel by Theodora Goss , the creature is named Adam. Victor Frankenstein builds the creature over a two-year period in the attic of his boarding house in Ingolstadt after discovering a scientific principle which allows him to create life from non-living matter. Frankenstein is disgusted by his creation, however, and flees from it in horror. Frightened, and unaware of his own identity,
4635-551: The Gargantuas would see cell samples of the monster regenerate into the titular Gargantuas, two hairy giants consisting of the malicious green sea monster Gaira and the friendly brown mountain monster Sanda. Gaira and Sanda later appear in the IDW Publishing comic Godzilla: Rulers of Earth . In the 1973 TV miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story , in which the creature is played by Michael Sarrazin , he appears as
4738-1046: The Harry St. Clair Players and the Billie Bennett Touring Company. By early 1918 he was working with the Maud Amber Players in Vallejo, California , but because of the Spanish flu outbreak in the San Francisco area and the fear of infection, the troupe was disbanded. He was able to find work with the Haggerty Repertory for a while (according to the 1973 obituary of Joseph Paul Haggerty, he and Boris Karloff remained lifelong friends). Once Karloff arrived in Hollywood, he appeared in small roles in dozens of silent films , but
4841-613: The King of Siam . Pratt was bow-legged , had a lisp , and stuttered as a young boy. He learned how to manage his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry. Pratt spent his childhood years in Enfield , in the County of Middlesex . He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder siblings. After first attending Enfield Grammar School , he received
4944-841: The Petroff family, Karlov vows revenge against them. Dr. Karlov develops a poison gas to kill the Petroffs. After the Russian Revolution , Karlov joins the Bolsheviks and kills a general from the family. The rest of the family is evacuated to New York City by the U.S. Secret Service . Karlov follows the Petroffs to America and corners them at a safe house in New Jersey . Although Gregor blames Nicholas, Karlov kills him and tries to take revenge by forcing Nicholas to murder his love interest Kitty Conover. They are rescued by
5047-707: The Regina Theatre, and other performers helped with clean-up efforts. He later took a job as a railway baggage handler and joined the Harry St. Clair Company that performed in Minot, North Dakota , for a year in an opera house above a hardware store. While he was trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of manual labour in Canada and the U.S. in order to make ends meet. Among this work, he spent one year laying track, digging ditches, shoveling coal, clearing land, and working with surveying parties for
5150-612: The Saddle (1926) with Hoot Gibson , Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927) (as an African), Let It Rain (1927), The Meddlin' Stranger (1927), The Princess from Hoboken (1927), The Phantom Buster (1927) with Buddy Roosevelt , and Soft Cushions (1927). Karloff had roles in Two Arabian Knights (1927), The Love Mart (1927) with Noah Beery Sr. , The Vanishing Rider (1928) (a serial), Burning
5253-587: The Wild (1931), then had support parts in Cracked Nuts (1931) with Wheeler and Woolsey , Young Donovan's Kid (1931) with Jackie Cooper , Smart Money (1931) with Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney in their only film together, The Public Defender (1931) with Richard Dix , I Like Your Nerve (1931) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Loretta Young , and Graft (1931) with Regis Toomey and future agent Sue Carol . Another significant role in
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#17327796956785356-686: The Wind (1928), Vultures of the Sea (1928), and The Little Wild Girl (1928). He was in The Devil's Chaplain (1929), The Fatal Warning (1929) for Richard Thorpe, The Phantom of the North (1929), Two Sisters (1929), Anne Against the World (1929), Behind That Curtain (1929) with Warner Baxter , and The King of the Kongo (1929), a serial directed by Thorpe. While one day sitting at
5459-777: The Yellow Peril", Anne Mellor claims that the monster's features share a lot in common with the Mongoloid race. This term, now out of fashion and carrying some negative connotations, is used to describe the "yellow" races of Asia as distinct from the Caucasian or white races. To support her claim, Mellor points out that both Mary and Percy Shelley were friends with William Lawrence , an early proponent of racial science and someone whom Mary "continued to consult on medical matters and [met with] socially until his death in 1830." While Mellor points out to allusions to Orientalism and
5562-969: The autumn of 1931 saw Karloff play a key supporting part as an unethical newspaper reporter in Five Star Final with Edward G. Robinson, a film about tabloid journalism which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture . He could also be seen in The Yellow Ticket (1931) with Elissa Landi , Lionel Barrymore and Laurence Olivier during Olivier's memorable first round in Hollywood, The Mad Genius (1931) with John Barrymore , The Guilty Generation (1931) with Robert Young and Tonight or Never (1931) with Gloria Swanson . Karloff acted in eighty-one films before being discovered by James Whale and cast in Frankenstein (1931). Karloff's role as Frankenstein's monster
5665-623: The bus stop in the pouring rain, Lon Chaney Sr., 'The Man of a Thousand Faces', spotted Karloff and offered him a ride. Chaney told him "to find something different that will set you apart and is different from anything someone else has done or is willing to do and do it better". Karloff had an uncredited bit part in The Unholy Night (1930) directed by Lionel Barrymore , and bigger parts in The Bad One (1930), The Sea Bat (1930) starring Charles Bickford and directed by Lionel Barrymore and Wesley Ruggles , and The Utah Kid (1930) directed by Thorpe. A film which brought Karloff recognition
5768-400: The character have similar personalities to the literary original, although the latter version is the only one to retain the character's violent reactions to rejection. In the 1931 film adaptation , the creature is depicted as mute and bestial; it is implied that this is because he is accidentally implanted with a criminal's "abnormal" brain. In the subsequent sequel, Bride of Frankenstein ,
5871-463: The city after being agitated by news reporters using flash photography on him, and goes to fend for himself in the countryside, only to be accused of attacking villages and killing people, actually the victims of the underground monster Baragon . The two monsters face off in a showdown that ends with Frankenstein's monster victorious, though he falls into the depths of the Earth after the ground collapses beneath his feet. The film's sequel The War of
5974-426: The creature Lee played him as a loose-limbed and childlike, fearful and lonely, with a suggestion of being in pain. Author Paul Leggett describes the creature as being like an abused child; afraid but also violently angry. Christopher Lee was annoyed on getting the script and discovering that the monster had no dialogue, for this creature was totally mute. According to Marcus K. Harmes in contrasting Lee's creature with
6077-419: The creature goads him into pursuing him north, through Scandinavia and into Russia, staying ahead of him the entire way. As they reach the Arctic Circle and travel over the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean, Frankenstein, suffering from severe exhaustion and hypothermia , comes within a mile of the creature, but is separated from him when the ice he is traveling over splits. A ship exploring the region encounters
6180-410: The creature his name. However, the creature has no name in the Universal film series starring Boris Karloff during the 1930s, which was largely based upon Webling's play. The 1931 Universal film treated the creature's identity in a similar way as Shelley's novel: in the opening credits, the character is referred to merely as "The Monster" (the actor's name is replaced by a question mark, but Karloff
6283-447: The creature immediately appears, and gives Frankenstein a final threat: "I will be with you on your wedding night." After leaving his creator, the creature goes on to kill Victor's best friend, Henry Clerval, and later kills Frankenstein's bride, Elizabeth Lavenza , on their wedding night, whereupon Frankenstein's father dies of grief. With nothing left to live for but revenge, Frankenstein dedicates himself to destroying his creation, and
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#17327796956786386-518: The creature is again rendered inarticulate. Following a brain transplant in the third sequel, The Ghost of Frankenstein , the creature speaks with the voice and personality of the brain donor. This was continued after a fashion in the scripting for the fourth sequel, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man , but the dialogue was excised before release. The creature was effectively mute in later sequels, although he refers to Count Dracula as his "master" in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . The creature
6489-426: The creature is emphasized with one electrified dome in the back of his head and another over his heart, and he also has hydraulic pistons in his legs, with the design being similar to that of a steam-punk cyborg. Although not as eloquent as in the novel, this version of the creature is intelligent and relatively nonviolent. In 2004, a TV miniseries adaptation of Frankenstein was made by Hallmark . Luke Goss plays
6592-402: The creature is named "Deucalion", after the character from Greek mythology , who is the son of the Titan Prometheus , a reference to the original novel's title . Another example is the second episode of Showtime 's Penny Dreadful , which first aired in 2014. Victor Frankenstein briefly considers naming his creation "Adam", before deciding instead to let the monster "pick his own name". He
6695-434: The creature learns to speak, albeit in short, stunted sentences. However, his intelligence is implied to be fairly developed, since what little dialogue he speaks suggests he has a world-weary attitude to life, and a deep understanding of his unnatural state. When rejected by his bride, he briefly goes through a suicidal state and attempts suicide, blowing up the laboratory he is in. In the second sequel, Son of Frankenstein ,
6798-408: The creature. This adaptation more closely resembles the monster as described in the novel: intelligent and articulate, with flowing, dark hair and watery eyes. The 2005 film Frankenstein Reborn portrays the creature as a paraplegic man who tries to regain the ability to walk by having a nanobots surging through his body but has side effects. Instead, the surgeon kills him and resurrects his corpse as
6901-535: The dying Frankenstein, who relates his story to the ship's captain, Robert Walton. Later, the monster boards the ship, but upon finding Frankenstein dead, is overcome by grief and pledges to incinerate himself at "the Northernmost extremity of the globe". He then departs, never to be seen again. Shelley described Frankenstein's monster as an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) creature of hideous contrasts: His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered
7004-412: The film. The film's was produced by Tiffany Pictures , one of the leading independent studios in Hollywood . The sets were designed by the art director Fay Babcock . In the Russian Empire , the nobleman Prince Gregor Petroff seduces chemist Boris Karlov's daughter Anya, who then commits suicide after becoming pregnant. After discovering Anya's body with the Drums of Jeopardy, a necklace owned by
7107-439: The first, abandoned creation having been named "Caliban", from The Tempest , by the theatre actor who took him in and later, after leaving the theatre, named himself after the English poet John Clare . Another example is an attempt by Randall Munroe of webcomic xkcd to make "Frankenstein" the canonical name of the monster, by publishing a short derivative version which directly states that it is. In The Strange Case of
7210-409: The heart of Frankenstein's monster was transported from Germany to Hiroshima as World War II neared its end, only to be irradiated during the atomic bombing of the city , granting it miraculous regenerative capabilities. Over the ensuing 20 years, it grows into a complete human child, who then rapidly matures into a giant, 20-metre-tall man after he is rediscovered. Frankenstein escapes a laboratory in
7313-442: The list of dramatis personae came, -------- by Mr T. Cooke," she wrote to her friend Leigh Hunt . "This nameless mode of naming the unnameable is rather good." Within a decade of publication, the name of the creator, "Frankenstein", was used to refer to the creature, but it did not become firmly established until much later. The story was adapted for the stage in 1927 by Peggy Webling , and Webling's Victor Frankenstein does give
7416-452: The monster are in contrast with that of the murdered Professor Bernstein, once the "finest brain in Europe", from whom the creature's now damaged brain was taken. The sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein would feature Victor Frankenstein creating various different Frankenstein monsters, none of which would be played by Christopher Lee: In the 1965 Toho film Frankenstein vs. Baragon ,
7519-480: The monster the brain of his mentor, Doctor Waldman , while his body is made from a man who killed Waldman while resisting a vaccination. The monster retains Waldman's "trace memories" that apparently help him quickly learn to speak and read. In the 2004 film Van Helsing , the monster is shown in a modernized version of the Karloff design. He is 8 to 9 feet (240–270 cm) tall, has a square bald head, gruesome scars, and pale green skin. The electrical origin of
7622-468: The monster the dangers of uncontrolled scientific progress, especially as at the time of publishing; Galvanism had convinced many scientists that raising the dead through use of electrical currents was a scientific possibility. Another proposal is that Victor Frankenstein was based on a real scientist who had a similar name, and who had been called a modern Prometheus – Benjamin Franklin . Accordingly,
7725-429: The monster wanders through the wilderness. He finds solace beside a remote cottage inhabited by an older, blind man and his two children. Eavesdropping, the creature familiarizes himself with their lives and learns to speak, whereby he becomes an eloquent, educated, and well-mannered individual. During this time, he also finds Frankenstein's journal in the pocket of the jacket he found in the laboratory and learns how he
7828-408: The monster would represent the new nation that Franklin helped to create out of remnants left by England. Victor Frankenstein's father "made also a kite, with a wire and string, which drew down that fluid from the clouds," wrote Shelley, similar to Franklin's famous kite experiment . In discussing the physical description of the monster, there has been some speculation about the potential his design
7931-741: The name change was to prevent embarrassment to the Pratt family. Whether or not his brothers (all dignified members of the British Foreign Service ) actually considered young William the "black sheep of the family" for having become an actor, Karloff apparently worried they felt that way. He did not reunite with his family until he returned to Britain to make The Ghoul (1933), extremely worried that his siblings would disapprove of his new, macabre claim to world fame. Instead, his brothers jostled for position around him and happily posed for publicity photographs upon their reunion with him. After
8034-501: The name on stage and in films. ( Warner Oland played "Boris Karlov" in a film version in 1931 .) Another possible influence was thought to be a character in the Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy novel The Rider which features a "Prince Boris of Karlova", but as the novel was not published until 1915, the influence may be backward, that Burroughs saw Karloff in a play and adapted the name for the character. One reason for
8137-583: The neck and joints). This image has influenced the creation of other fictional characters, such as the Hulk . In the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein , Christopher Lee was cast as the creature. The producers Hammer Film Productions refrained from duplicating aspects of Universal's 1931 film , and so Phil Leakey designed a new look for the creature bearing no resemblance to the Boris Karloff design created by Jack Pierce . For his performance as
8240-411: The one played by Karloff, "Lee's actions as the monster seem more directly evil, to judge from the expression on his face when he bears down on the helpless old blind man but these are explained in the film as psychopathic impulses caused by brain damage, not the cunning of the literary monster. Lee also evokes considerable pathos in his performance." In this film the aggressive and childish demeanour of
8343-551: The photo was taken, Karloff's brothers immediately started asking about getting a copy of their own. The story of the photo became one of Karloff's favorites. Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company in 1911 and performed in towns including Kamloops ( British Columbia ) and Prince Albert ( Saskatchewan ). After the devastating tornado in Regina on 30 June 1912, Karloff, who was in the midst of an engagement at
8446-465: The police, and Dr. Karlov is killed by his own gas. The film was first released on DVD on August 31, 2004. On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings , Dave Sindelar called it, "a very interesting variation on the typical horror revenge plot". Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews awarded the film an "A−". In his review he wrote, "Despite the poor quality of its print, this PRC film reaches greatness in its portrayal of villainy and
8549-471: The right side of his face. Additionally, he is of average height, being even shorter than other characters in the series. In this series, the monster names himself " Caliban ", after the character in William Shakespeare 's The Tempest . In the series, Victor Frankenstein makes a second and third creature, each more indistinguishable from normal human beings. Frankenstein's monster appears in
8652-587: The role in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ; and Glenn Strange played the monster in the last three Universal Studios films to feature the character – House of Frankenstein , House of Dracula , and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . However, the makeup worn by subsequent actors replicated the iconic look first worn by Karloff. The image of Karloff's face is currently owned by his daughter's company, Karloff Enterprises, secured for her in
8755-560: The role of Frankenstein's monster in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) for James Whale. Then he and Lugosi were reunited for The Raven (1935). Billed only by his last name during this period, Karloff had top billing above Lugosi in all their films together despite Lugosi having the larger role in The Raven . For Columbia , Karloff made The Black Room (1935) then he returned to Universal for The Invisible Ray (1936) with Lugosi, more
8858-637: The serial Riders of the Plains (1923). Karloff did a Western, The Hellion (1923), and a drama, Dynamite Dan (1924). He could be seen in Parisian Nights (1925), Forbidden Cargo (1925), The Prairie Wife (1925) and the serial Perils of the Wild (1925). Karloff went back to bit part status in Never the Twain Shall Meet (1925), directed by Maurice Tourneur , but he had
8961-703: The title role of a Chinese detective in Mr. Wong, Detective (1938), which led to a series. Karloff's portrayal of the character is an example of Hollywood's use of yellowface and its portrayal of East Asians in the earlier half of the 20th century. He had another heroic role in Devil's Island (1939). Universal found reissuing Dracula and Frankenstein led to success at the box-office and began to produce horror films again starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939). Karloff reprised his role, with Lugosi also starring as Ygor and top-billed Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein. This
9064-458: The villainous Dr. Niemann, a mad scientist fixated on life-experiments much like Henry Frankenstein, and pass the torch to actor Glenn Strange , who would play the Monster in subsequent films. Karloff made three films for producer Val Lewton at RKO: The Body Snatcher (1945), his last teaming with Lugosi, Isle of the Dead (1945) and Bedlam (1946). In a 1946 interview with Louis Berg of
9167-433: The work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. A picture of the creature appeared in the 1831 edition. Early stage portrayals dressed him in
9270-424: The work was sporadic, and he often had to take up manual labour such as digging ditches or delivering construction plaster to make ends meet. (According to Karloff, his first film was a Frank Borzage picture at Universal for which he received $ 5 as an extra; the title of this film has never been traced.) His first confirmed on-screen role was in a film serial, The Lightning Raider (1919) with Pearl White . He
9373-458: Was The Criminal Code (1931), a prison drama directed by Howard Hawks in which he reprised a dramatic part he had played on stage. In the same period, Karloff had a supporting role as a mob boss in Hawks' gangster film Scarface starring Paul Muni and George Raft , but the film was not released until 1932 because of difficult censorship issues. He did another serial for Thorpe, King of
9476-409: Was Anglo-Indian , with a British father and Indian mother, meaning that Karloff was at least a quarter Indian, while Karloff's mother also had some Indian ancestry; thus Karloff had a relatively dark complexion that differed from his peers at the time. His mother's maternal aunt was Anna Leonowens , whose tales about life in the royal court of Siam (now Thailand ) were the basis of the novel Anna and
9579-413: Was Karloff's first Universal film since the original Frankenstein in which Karloff was not top billed as "KARLOFF", a custom that the studio had used for eight films in a row while Karloff was at the height of his career. Basil Rathbone held top billing for Son of Frankenstein , and since Rathbone, Karloff and Lugosi were all billed above the title, billing Basil, Boris and Bela was hard to resist. Karloff
9682-405: Was a family name. Karloff's daughter, Sara, publicly denied any knowledge of Slavic forebears, "Karloff" or otherwise. It has been speculated by film historians that he took the stage name from a mad scientist character named "Boris Karlov" in the novel The Drums of Jeopardy by Harold MacGrath . However, the novel was not published until 1920, at least eight years after Karloff had been using
9785-513: Was born on 23 November 1887, at 36 Forest Hill Road, Peckham . His parents were Edward John Pratt (1826/7–1897), of the Indian Civil Service , where he worked for the salt revenue service, and Eliza Sara (born 1848), née Millard. Both his parents died when Karloff was young, and he was primarily raised by a half-sister and his elder siblings. His brother, Sir John Thomas Pratt, was a British diplomat. Karloff's father Edward John Pratt
9888-567: Was cast as Imhotep who is revived in The Mummy (1932), an original story inspired by the unsealing of Tutankhamun's tomb—though essentially narratively a remake of Dracula set in Egypt—conceived to continue the success of the Dracula and Frankenstein adaptations. The Mummy was as successful at the box-office as his other two films and Karloff was now established as a star of horror films. Like Frankenstein , The Mummy would spawn
9991-412: Was created. The creature eventually introduces himself to the family's blind father, De Lacey, who treats him with kindness. When the rest of the family returns, however, they are frightened of him and drive him away. Enraged, the creature feels that humankind is his enemy and begins to hate his creator for abandoning him. However, although he despises Frankenstein, he sets out to find him, believing that he
10094-632: Was highly popular. Horror, however, had now become Karloff's primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in Universal's horror films , including several with Bela Lugosi , his main rival as heir to Lon Chaney 's status as the leading horror film star. While the long-standing, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat (1934) and continuing with Gift of Gab (1934), in which both had cameos. Karloff reprised
10197-754: Was in another serial that same year, The Masked Rider (1919), the earliest of his film appearances that has survived. Karloff could also be seen in His Majesty, the American (1919) with Douglas Fairbanks , The Prince and Betty (1919), The Deadlier Sex (1920) with Blanche Sweet , and The Courage of Marge O'Doone (1920). He played an Indian in The Last of the Mohicans (1920) with Wallace Beery and he would often be cast as an Arab or Indian in his early films. Karloff's first major role came in
10300-528: Was never billed by simply his last name again. Regarding Son of Frankenstein , the film's director Rowland V. Lee said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected ... when we finished shooting, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole the show. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison." After The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) and Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) he signed
10403-425: Was physically demanding – it necessitated a bulky costume with four-inch platform boots – but the costume and extensive makeup produced an iconic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing 11 pounds (5.0 kg) each, which further aggravated his back problems. Universal Studios quickly copyrighted the makeup design for the Frankenstein monster that Jack P. Pierce had created. It took
10506-579: Was released in the U.S. as The Man Who Lived Again . He returned to Hollywood to play a supporting role in Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936), then starred in a crime drama, Night Key (1937). At Warners, he did two films with John Farrow , playing a Chinese warlord in West of Shanghai (1937) and a murder suspect in The Invisible Menace (1938). Karloff went to Monogram to play
10609-403: Was the morally right thing to do. Contrary to many film versions, the creature in the novel is very articulate and eloquent in his speech. Almost immediately after his creation, he dresses himself; and within 11 months, he can speak and read German and French. By the end of the novel, the creature is able to speak English fluently as well. The Van Helsing and Penny Dreadful interpretations of
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