The Boris Karloff Collection (DVD)
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Boris Karloff is probably best-known among genre fans of all ages for his iconic role in Frankenstein in 1931, and for his work in the quirky Roger Corman films in the 1960s. of course, he did a ton of acting in between – and not all of them horror flicks.
While The Boris Karloff Collection advertises the films within as "horror", it's a stretch. Still, that doesn't mean that genre fans won't enjoy them — there are some little-seen gems here, including Karloff's first key role in a color film, The Climax (1944).
The Climax is a gem as a curiosity piece, but you must have a very high tolerance for operatic and balletic song-and-dance numbers. Unlike, say, The Phantom of the Opera or Dario Argento's Opera, The Climax is a musical with horror barely there as the backdrop. Karloff plays Dr. Hohner, the refined house physician for the Vienna Royal Theatre. After he secretly murders the star soprano due to mad jealousy, he lives a quiet, contrite life and continues his career without incident. Cut to 10 years later. Another young, sweet-voiced singer, Angela (Susanna Foster), reminds Hohner of the late diva and his old demons rise to the surface. It's a great premise, but unfortunately, Karloff is not in the movie nearly enough and the story centers strongly on the romance between Angela and her beau.
Tower of London is fun to see, because along with Karloff, it features Vincent Price appearing in one of his earliest film roles. Karloff brilliantly plays Mort, the clubfooted, gleefully sadistic henchman of Richard the III (Basil Rathbone). The three iconic actors are all quite good in their roles, but after an attention-grabbing beginning set in a torture chamber, the movie becomes far too-dialogue-heavy and relies on out-of-place comic relief for no apparent reason. And if you're looking for historical accuracy, don't bother. I guess that was just the style for period-pieces of the day (1939).
The Strange Door is a gothic thriller with good dialogue delivered ably by the all-star cast. The story, based on the classic work of Robert Louis Stevenson, follows Dennis de Beaulieu (a dashing Richard Wyler), a ne'er-do-well who is being held hostage by Sire de Maletroit (a super-hammy, but loveable, Charles Laughton). Karloff nicely plays Maletroit's long-suffering servant, Voltan, with both menace and pathos.
Also in the set:
The
Night Key: The inventor of a new top-of-the-line burglar alarm system is kidnapped by a gang in order to get him to help them commit robberies. (No horror elements.)
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson