Compare Prices on The Boris Karloff Collection
Not to be confused with the other Karloff collection this is the one to catch. All the films here watch extremely superb. Occasionally specks and dirt appear but it’s rare . Of all the films here “The Unlit Castle” looks a bit inconsistent but overall looks quite top-notch. “The Climax” has deep rich color capturing the recent Technicolor hues although flesh tones appear to be off a tad and probably should have been color corrected. Audio goods valid with no distortion and dialogue is positive on all the films. Extras include the modern theatrical trailers and nothing else.
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“Tower of London” features Karloff in top construct with Vincent Designate appearing in one of his earliest film roles. Using the sets for “Son of Frankenstein” director Roland V. Lee tells the nefarious yarn of King Richard III. Karloff plays Mort his club footed assistant and the executioner who kills those in the line of succession so that Richard can near the throne. This features one of Karloff’s finest performances from the 30’s as Mort the Executioner. Rathbone and Impress are also both terrific in their performances as well. This film certainly deserved an audio commentary but doesn’t glean one.
“The Sad Castle” features Karloff with Lon Chaney Jr. with the staunch heavy being played by Stephen McNally. Sir Richard Burton (Richard Greene) investigates the disappearence of two of his friends. He suspects that Count Von Bruno (McNally) has murdered them. Karloff plays the court physician with Chaney playing a giant soundless named Gargon. Director Nathan Juran (”The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”) gets the most atmosphere out of this b-movie minor classic. Writer Jerry Sackheim creates an piquant script with witty dialogue (as he did on “The Queer Door”) borrowing liberally from other films. Karloff’s role in the film is diminutive but memorable and sympathetic.
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In “The Climax” Dr. Hohner (Karloff) plays a theater physician with a mysterious past. It seems he murdered his mistress who was the star soprano years before. When a young gorgeous rising opera star appears she reminds Hohner of his mistress and he becomes obsessed with making her his maintain private songbird if not that he’s prepared to abolish her. Directed by George Waggner (”The Wolf Man”, “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man”) it’s a period part that will appeal to some Karloff fans. It’s more melodrama than scare.
Originally “The Climax” was opinion of as a thriller to follow up the Claude Rains version of “Phantom of the Opera” by its producer/director George Waggner (”The Wolf Man”) . Using the same standing sets as “Phantom” the film has mighty larger production values than the budget for the film and looks terrific in this transfer. Fans should be aware that like “Phantom” there’s a lot of singing (it is, after all, area in the world of opera) . “The Climax” will be an acquired taste for Karloff fans as he’s not front and center.
“The Odd Door” was fragment of a package of two films that Karloff made in the 50’s along with “The Shaded Castle” which utilize the same sets. Of the two “The Peculiar Door” is a very well-behaved gothic alarm thrillerthat benefits from strong performances by Karloff and Charles Laughton. Filled with witty, comical dialogue and moving direction by TV and film vet Joseph Pevney (”The Wild Wild West”, “Star Amble”) the film is a sincere winner. Dennis de Beaulieu (Richard Wyler) is kept hostage and forced to marry the niece (Sally Forest) of Sire de Maletroit (Charles Laughton ably chewing the scenery) as allotment of a bizarre location of revenge against Maletroit’s brother (Paul Cavanagh) . With the wait on of Voltan (Karloff) a servant Dennis and Blanche hope to rush the wrathful Maletroit.
“Night Key” is one of the few films here I don’t hold seeing before. Karloff plays an inventor who has a special anxiety system. His ideas stolen he plots revenage with the succor of crooks using his special night key that will circumvent older wire apprehension systems he designed. Featuring nice performances “Night Key” provides a mammoth vehicle for Karloff as an actor but it’s not really a panic film. It’s a solid B-movie that fans of Karloff and the crime genre will bask in.
Karloff fans can rejoice even the least of these films have solid performances from Karloff and the other actors. Now if we can unbiased have a DVD space with his TV performances and the classic series “Thriller” Karloff fans will be completely glad.
With this collection of five films on three discs, Universal has comely distinguished cleaned its vault of Boris Karloff films waiting to be issued on DVD. What fans are given here, in a nutshell, are two of Karloff’s lesser starring vehicles plus three of varying quality in which the panic icon is featured in supporting roles.
“Night Key” (Movie: **** _ DVD Transfer: ****), released in 1937, is the oldest film in the package, as well as the only one region in recent dress. Boris stars as one of his trademarked elderly inventors who falls victim to spoiled forces that thwart his modern benevolent intent, in this case an unscrupulous rival (Samuel S. Hinds) and a hardened crime boss (Alan Baxter, in a performance that brings recent meaning to the term “underplaying”) . Jean Rogers makes an gripping enough heroine as Karloff’s loving daughter, and at 67 minutes, the film fairly whizzes through to its predictable conclusion. It’s hokey fun, and includes the theatrical trailer as a bonus feature.
“Tower of London” (Movie: **** _ DVD Transfer: ****), an historical thriller with Karloff in a meaty supporting role as Mord the Executioner, in service to the treacherous Richard III of England (top-billed Basil Rathbone), is definitely a mixed bag. Released in 1939, the film boasts an impressive supporting cast (including Ian Hunter, John Sutton, and Vincent Sign), amazing sets and costumes, and gracious cinematography. Unfortunately, the film is ultimately done in by a wildly uneven script, some terrible editorial choices, and a laughably awful performance from the usually suitable Barbara O’Neil who scored a triumph that same year as Scarlett O’Hara’s mother in “Gone With the Wind”. Despite its flaws, this is probably the most eagerly-awaited film in the collection, and is tranquil worth a recognize for Rathbone’s and Karloff’s expedient performances.
Despite being filmed in Technicolor, 1944’s “The Climax” (Movie: ** _ DVD Transfer: **) is undoubtedly the worst film of the lot. Although Karloff is advantageous as a enraged doctor obsessed with the memory of the opera diva he murdered years before, too noteworthy mask time is devoted to Susanna Foster as the vocal reincarnation of Karloff’s customary lover. Foster’s train has an impressive range, but her on-screen charisma is nil, and her acting abilities negligible. The worst performance in the film is turned in by Turhan Bey as the romantic lead; his simpering adoration of Foster rapidly grows embarrassing, and the long sequence in which he unconsciously eats his theatre program with a rapturous expression while watching her onstage is almost unbearably trite. Gale Sondergaard is wasted in a supporting role as Karloff’s housekeeper. The film-to-video transfer on this one is poor, with the actors’ fleshtones appearing too orangey. This is the only other feature in the collection besides “Night Key” to be accompanied by its theatrical trailer.
Your enjoyment of “The Weird Door” (Movie: *** _ DVD Transfer: ****1/2) will most likely be predicated upon your reaction to Charles Laughton’s hammy performance as the dismal ruler of an isolated estate whose life has been devoted to ruining the life of his estranged brother’s glowing daughter (Sally Forrest) . Released in 1951, this costume melodrama - based on a chronicle by Robert Louis Stevenson - wastes Karloff in the thankless role of a doctor who lives under Laughton’s roof. The film is largely an unmemorable affair, but the DVD transfer is exemplary, featuring satisfactory incompatibility and a positive, inviting report.
“The Sunless Castle” (Movie: **1/2 _ DVD Transfer: ****), relased a year later, is slit from the same cloth as “The Outlandish Door”; it’s another gothic melodrama featuring another castle inhabited by yet another ruthless ruler (Stephen McNally) whose heart is state on vengeance. Once again Karloff receives co-starring billing for what is a little supporting role unworthy of his talents; the major roles are played by McNally, and top-billed Richard Greene as the dashing hero who rescues the damsel in damage (Paula Corday as McNally’s endangered wife) . Lon Chaney Jr. has a couple of scenes as a mutilated servant, but neither he nor Karloff are onscreen long enough to assign the film from mediocrity. If only the film were as commendable as the DVD transfer, which is dazzling indeed.
One other comment about this DVD release, a criticism regarding its packaging. The three discs are housed in one of those hard plastic gatefold “clamshell” cases that Universal is so fond of, with Disc One on one side of the case, and the other two discs packed one on top of the other on the opposite side. It is irritatingly difficult to capture the discs from these cases without damaging them or breaking the tabs on the cases. Surely Universal could follow the lead of Columbia/Sony and Warner Home Video and package their sets in the ultra-slim preserve cases! Universal, are you listening?
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