Karloff is awesome in the Mummy this movie really scAred me as a kid, Lugosi in Dracula was excellent, and that movie about Zombies, the name escapes me but I think it would be a photo finish with Lugosi coming out just ahead,.

Do you mean White Zombie?

Bela Lugosi...hands down..did you know he was also credited as Olt Arisztid and Arisztid Olt in his early 1900 movies..
I love him in: Naszdal 1917, Lili 1918, Tanz auf dem Vulkan 1920, Der Januskopf 1920, Fluch der Menschheit 1920, The Devil Bat 1940, Black Dragons 1942, Zombie on Broadway 1945, The Phantom Creeps 1949, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire 1952, Bride of the Monster 1955, The Black Sleep 1956, Innocent Blood 1992....Innocent Blood wasent that bad..could have been better though.

Its hard to say they've both been so influential in how we view monsters.

Personally i have to say Karloff, I love frankenstien, i also love the original dracula such a hard choice. Good thread

They are both great but something about a blood sucker appeals more to me then a creature peiced together of used parts. Dont know...:)

lugosi hands down!
 

no one can dout that lugosi would win! hey ideia movie! i need to write this down!!!!!!! i'll make millions i tell ya millions!

Boris Karloff was a great actor, but not a makeup artist. Surely you're thinking of Lon Chaney, who did both?

As for the Karloff-Lugosi rivalry, I think Karloff was probably the more versatile character actor, able to bring more subtlety to his roles.

But Lugosi was the master of over-the-top melodramatic villainy, and I think his performances in horror films hit the mark more often.

A lot of times, Karloff doesn't seem that menacing, and he occasionally seems to be walking through his films, wishing he was doing something better.

Lugosi always through himself into everything, pulling out all the stops. The result could be hammy, but it tended to liven up some pretty dull material.

William Henry Pratt....AKA Boris Karloff, IMO was far more versitile and added more "creepy elements" to the films he was in compaired to Bela Lugosi.

Although Bela played the monster in Frankenstein meets the Wolfman (my favorite "Frankenstein" film), comparing Bela's Frankensteins Monster to Karloffs' Monster, there is no question.

IMO, Boris Karloff is the King of the 30's-40's Horror movies...bar none.

It's not really a fair comparison. At the end of GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, the previous film in the series, the original monster for all intents and purposes dies; that is, his brain is replaced by that of Igor, the character Lugosi played.

So in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, Lugosi is really playing Igor in a new, stronger body. AS the story goes, the character was supposed to be blind (another piece of continuity with the previous film), and he talked with Igor's voice.

Post-production editing deleted all this continuity, so it seems as if Lugois is stumbling around with those heavy-lidded eyes and out-stretched arms for no reason -- when in fact he's playing a blind character.

That doesn't elevate the performance to Karloff level, but at least it sort of makes some sense.

^ Eveything hollywoodgothiq said.

As for my preference, I'm giving my vote to Karloff. I loves me some Lugosi, but as an actor, Karloff wasmuch more subtle and versatile.

Still, it's a joy to watch either of these men onscreen.

And Ed Wood's great, too. :D