Boris Karloff Movies

Boris Karloff

Want to know the best Boris Karloff movies?  How about the worst Boris Karloff movies?  Curious about Boris Karloff box office grosses or which Boris Karloff movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which Boris Karloff movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was an British actor, who is recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema.  Karloff appeared in movies from 1919 to 1971.  His two most famous roles were playing Frankenstein and The Mummy. His IMDb page shows an incredible 205 acting credits. This page will rank 65 Boris Karloff movies from Best to Worst in seven different sortable columns of information. Television appearances (43 credits), all of his silent movies (58 credits), shorts and many other movies that we could not find box office grosses on were not included in the rankings.

Drivel part of the page:  This is actually one of our oldest requests.  Steve Lensman and Lyle requested this page many many moons ago.  Well finally we decided to tackle Karloff’s massive career. Added bonus?  We have tweaked our tables slightly.  First of all when looking at the yearly box office ranks….realize this is now the rank of the movies in our database for the year the movie was made.  It used to be Variety’s yearly rank. Secondly we have included the overall UMR rank for Karloff’s movies compared to our entire database.

Boris Karloff in 1931’s Frankenstein

Boris Karloff Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

Boris Karloff Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Boris Karloff movies by co-stars of his movies.
  • Sort Boris Karloff movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Boris Karloff movies by yearly domestic box office rank (based on movies in our database for the year the movie was made)
  • SortBoris Karloff movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each Boris Karloff movie received and how many Oscar® wins each Boris Karloff movie won.
  • Sort Boris Karloff movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
  • Sort Boris Karloff movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score rank (based on all the movies in our entire database).

Boris Karloff in 1968’s Targets..one of our favorite Karloff movies

Ten Possibly Interesting Facts About Boris Karloff

1. William Henry Pratt was born in Surrey, England in 1887.

2. Lots of different versions of how William Henry Pratt became Boris Karloff. (1) Some theorised that he took the stage name from a mad scientist character in the novel The Drums of Jeopardy called “Boris Karlov”.  (2) Some thought he got the name from Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy novel H. R. H. The Rider which features a “Prince Boris of Karlova”.  (3) Karloff always claimed he chose the first name “Boris” because it sounded foreign and exotic, and that “Karloff” was a family name.  Well 1 & 2 were things published after Karloff had taken the name and 3 was denied by his daughter who says Karloff is nowhere in their family history.  Which leaves (4) The most likely truth is it is from a character in a 1904 book by Harold MacGrath called “The Man on the Box”, which was made into a play in 1905 and later, films starting in 1914.

3. Once Boris Karloff arrived in Hollywood, he made dozens of silent films, but work was sporadic, and he often had to take up manual labour such as digging ditches or delivering construction plaster to earn a living.

4. Boris Karloff appeared with Bela Lugosi in eight films: 1934’s Gift of Gab, 1934’s The Black Cat 1935’s The Raven, 1936’s The Invisible Ray, 1939’s Son of Frankenstein, 1940’s You’ll Find Out, 1940’s Black Friday and 1945’s The Body Snatcher.

5. Boris Karloff was one of the 12 original founders of the Screen Actors Guild and held SAG card number 9.  Boris Karloff made an amazing 16 movies in 1932.  Not a single Boris Karloff movie ever won an Oscar®.

6. Boris Karloff and Frankenstein trivia: (1) His make-up took four hours each day for Jack P. Pierce to apply and his cumbersome costume weighed 48 pounds in the uncomfortable heat of summer.  (2) The monster’s shoes weighed between 11 and 13 pounds.  (3) Karloff was already 44 when he became an “overnight” Hollywood sensation.  (4) Karloff was considered as such an anonymous actor by Universal that he was not invited to the December 6th premiere.

7. Boris Karloff was married six times…..he had one daughter.

8. Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee were neighbors for years….bet the neighbor kids had fun with that.

9. Boris Karloff’s last words to his wife as he was dying of pneumonia were “Walter Pidgeon.”.

10. Check out Boris Karloff’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

And finally…..we have adjusted Worldwide Box Office Grosses on 14 Boris Karloff Movies

  1. Bedlam (1946) $24.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  2. Five Star Final (1932) $162.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  3. Isle of the Dead (1945) $26.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  4. Scarface (1932) $106.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  5. Smart Money (1931) $70.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  6. Tap Roots (1948) $178.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  7. The Body Snatcher (1945) $37.80 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  8. The Haunted Strangler (1958) $26.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  9. The Invisible Menace (1938) $40.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  10. The Mad Genius (1931) $80.00 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  11. The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) $68.30 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  12. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) $335.40 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  13. West of Shanghai (1937) $44.70 million in adjusted worldwide gross
  14. Young Donovan’s Kid (1931) $75.20 million in adjusted worldwide gross

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46 thoughts on “Boris Karloff Movies”

  1. Hi Bruce, I hadn’t commented on this page up to now as I was trying to figure out what I thought about the new columns. The page itself is great and I have found many of the comments by folks more familiar with Boris Karloff’s career than myself very interesting. No doubt he is a legend of cinema whose UMR page was overdue.

    With respect to the new annual ranking column, on the one hand, I find the Variety ranking interesting, but as we discussed previously, they can be quite misleading since the rankings are based on the box office earned in a given year rather than the total box office earned. The UMR annual ranking makes more sense to me since you are ranking movies released in the same year based on the total box office earned in that year plus the following year when applicable. However, since there are still many movies not included in the database and most of these are probably on the lower end of box office earnings, such a ranking is probably less meaningful for less successful films. In the long-run, perhaps WoC’s idea of gradually entering in the database the box office of all the films listed by Variety would make the such a column more informative. Still thinking about the last column on UMR overall ranking, but anyway, it’s an interesting experiment!

    Reply

    1. Hey Phil….I thought WoC had set up a place in our database that would automatically get the box office rank by year….sadly it turned out to be a UMR rank by year….so for this Boris page…I had to manually check each movie and type in the results…..doing that for 65 movies took a little bit of time…lol. Ultimately….when I get all the Variety numbers in the database….I think the UMR year rank will actually be more meaningful than Variety’s rankings…..got a ways to go before that happens.

      I agree the comments here….have a lot more knowledge on Boris Karloff than I have….so I bow to their expertise..thanks for the kind words and the visit….all are greatly appreciated.

      Reply

    2. Hey Phil….I am still thinking if the last column is worthwhile or not too…..so far you are the only person that has mentioned it….so I am thinking it is not gaining much attention.

      Reply

  2. Hello Bruce.
    I’ve been using a divider of 2.86 for the years 1932 thru 1936 to get the rentals from the gross and 4.0 divider for years 1937 thru 1939. But I would like to know what figures you use for 1930 and 1931. I’ve been using 3.08 for 1930 and 2.96 for 1931. And I’m wonder if my figures are right. I would appreciate knowing what figures you use. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Hey Lyle….saved this comment as my last comment of the day….mainly because it is going to require some research.
      1. If the concern is Frankenstein…..it is due to many re-releases….I have it earning about $170 million during it’s first run….picking up about another $100 million in 1947….and the rest from limited runs in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. A few sources have it earning about 12 million…..that seems a little high….but there are lots of different sources saying different things.
      2. Ok….sorry…I went of track there…..my multipliers for 1930 and 1931.
      3. For 1930 my multiplier is 3.08 which you are using too.
      4. For 1931 my multiplier is 2.95 which you are using too.
      5. Average ticket price in 1930 is .32 cents
      6. Average ticket price in 1931 is .21 cents
      7. Guessing the Depression drove down the average cost from 1930 to 1931
      Hope that helps.

      Reply

  3. Hello Bruce.
    You’ve been busy. Thanks for this great page on Boris Karloff. I love Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein as well as The Mummy and Son of Frankenstein. But I have to say my favorite Karloff film is 1935’s The Black Room. I also love The Body Snatcher and Isle of the Dead. This is a really good Page which took a lot of research. Thanks again Bruce, you’ve made my day.

    Reply

    1. Hey Lyle…glad you found your requested Boris Karloff page. Thanks for the list of favorites…I have not seen The Black Room….but I want to. I liked The Body Snatcher and Isle of the Dead. Actually in Danny Peary’s Alternate Oscar book….he gave Karloff the Oscar for The Body Snatcher….shame it did not happen that way in the real world. Glad we made your day. Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply

  4. I remember when Boris died in 1968 I was with the family who watched me after school while my mother worked. The lady who minded me told me the guy who played Frankenstein on the Munsters died. She thought Fred Gwynne had died.

    Anyway Boris was never on the Oracle of Bacon top 1000 Center of the Hollywood Universe list. The few on the 2016 who appeared with him in a film are;

    35 CHRISTOPHER LEE Corridors of Blood (1958)
    35 CHRISTOPHER LEE Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)
    364 ROBERT VAUGHN The Venetian Affair (1967)
    368 RANDY QUAID Targets (1968)
    482 EDWARD ASNER The Venetian Affair (1967)
    491 JACK NICHOLSON The Raven (1963)
    491 JACK NICHOLSON The Terror (1963)
    772 DICK MILLER The Terror (1963)
    912 ARTHUR TOVEY The Mummy (1932)

    The actors on the 2000 list who appeared with him in a film and have since fallen off with their 2000 rank;

    14 JOHN CARRADINE Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
    14 JOHN CARRADINE House of Frankenstein (1944)
    14 JOHN CARRADINE The Black Cat (1934)
    27 MARC LAWRENCE Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
    27 MARC LAWRENCE Unconquered (1947)
    43 KEENAN WYNN Bikini Beach (1964)
    50 JEFF COREY Unconquered (1947)
    50 JEFF COREY You’ll Find Out (1940)
    65 VIVECA LINDFORS El coleccionista de cadáveres (1970)
    76 EDDIE ALBERT Unconquered (1947)
    100 IAN WOLFE Bedlam (1946)
    100 IAN WOLFE The Raven (1935)
    125 VINCENT PRICE The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
    125 VINCENT PRICE The Raven (1963)
    125 VINCENT PRICE Tower of London (1939)
    146 MIKE MAZURKI Unconquered (1947)
    147 LLOYD BRIDGES Unconquered (1947)
    216 LAURENCE OLIVIER The Yellow Ticket (1931)
    219 ELISHA COOK JR. Voodoo Island (1957)
    222 BESS FLOWERS Old Ironsides (1926)
    222 BESS FLOWERS The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
    222 BESS FLOWERS You’ll Find Out (1940)
    225 PAUL SMITH (I) Bikini Beach (1964)
    243 MICHAEL GOUGH Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)
    256 HANK WORDEN Tap Roots (1948)
    256 HANK WORDEN The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
    272 VITO SCOTTI Sabaka (1954)
    278 KEYE LUKE Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
    280 BILLY BARTY Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
    299 FRITZ FELD The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
    315 JEAN-PIERRE AUMONT El coleccionista de cadáveres (1970)
    323 GEORGE SANDERS Lured (1947)
    359 KARL MALDEN Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
    379 ANN DORAN The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    397 ELKE SOMMER The Venetian Affair (1967)
    410 GEORGE RAFT Night World (1932)
    410 GEORGE RAFT Scarface (1932)
    431 MARIANNE STONE Corridors of Blood (1958)
    463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Five Star Final (1931)
    463 EDWARD G. ROBINSON Smart Money (1931)
    472 TERRY-THOMAS The Daydreamer (1966)
    504 ANDY ROMANO Bikini Beach (1964)
    504 ANDY ROMANO The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
    506 DOUGLAS FOWLEY Gift of Gab (1934)
    542 PAUL FIX Black Friday (1940)
    542 PAUL FIX Scarface (1932)
    571 CHARLES LANE Smart Money (1931)
    585 HAMILTON CAMP Bedlam (1946)
    611 DON ‘RED’ BARRY Frankenstein – 1970 (1958)
    651 MELVYN DOUGLAS The Old Dark House (1932)
    651 MELVYN DOUGLAS Tonight or Never (1931)
    682 RAY TEAL Unconquered (1947)
    712 FINLAY CURRIE Corridors of Blood (1958)
    731 JOHN HOYT The Black Castle (1952)
    740 GEORGE CHANDLER The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
    780 PATRICK MAGEE Die, Monster, Die! (1965)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Gift of Gab (1934)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)
    783 JAMES FLAVIN Unconquered (1947)
    800 MARTHA HYER Bikini Beach (1964)
    819 RALPH RICHARDSON The Ghoul (1933)
    824 FRANK WILCOX Unconquered (1947)
    851 CEDRIC HARDWICKE Lured (1947)
    851 CEDRIC HARDWICKE The Ghoul (1933)
    868 LEX BARKER Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947)
    868 LEX BARKER Unconquered (1947)
    871 DESMOND LLEWELYN Corridors of Blood (1958)
    894 PHILIP VAN ZANDT House of Frankenstein (1944)
    969 BYRON FOULGER Night World (1932)
    969 BYRON FOULGER The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
    969 BYRON FOULGER The Man with Nine Lives (1940)
    969 BYRON FOULGER Unconquered (1947)
    994 ELLEN CORBY Bedlam (1946)

    I find it amazing that with all the horror movies he appeared in he actually acted with 24 Oscar winners.

    CHARLES COBURN Lured (1947)
    CHARLES LAUGHTON The Old Dark House (1932)
    CHARLES LAUGHTON The Strange Door (1951)
    EDMUND GWENN The Walking Dead (1936)
    GALE SONDERGAARD THE CLIMAX (1944)
    GARY COOPER Old Ironsides (1926)
    GARY COOPER Unconquered (1947)
    GEORGE SANDERS Lured (1947)
    JACK NICHOLSON The Raven (1963)
    JACK NICHOLSON The Terror (1963)
    JAMES CAGNEY Smart Money (1931)
    KARL MALDEN Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
    LAURENCE OLIVIER The Yellow Ticket (1931)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Bells (1926)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Yellow Ticket (1931)
    LORETTA YOUNG I Like Your Nerve (1931)
    MARY ASTOR Two Arabian Knights (1927)
    MELVYN DOUGLAS The Old Dark House (1932)
    MELVYN DOUGLAS Tonight or Never (1931)
    PATTY DUKE The Daydreamer (1966)
    PAUL LUKAS Gift of Gab (1934)
    PAUL MUNI Scarface (1932)
    SUSAN HAYWARD Tap Roots (1948)
    VAN HEFLIN Tap Roots (1948)
    VICTOR MCLAGLEN The Lost Patrol (1934)
    WALLACE BEERY Old Ironsides (1926)
    WALLACE BEERY The Last of the Mohicans (1920)
    WALTER BRENNAN Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
    WALTER HUSTON The Criminal Code (1931)
    WARNER BAXTER Behind That Curtain (1929)

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan
      1. Thanks for the lists….they are greatly appreciated.
      2. Interesting memory of how you heard of his passing….I imagine The Munsters were pretty popular back then.
      3. Actually surprised he has that many on the first list….though I could have guessed Lee and Nicholson being there.
      4. Looking at the second list….I see yet another movie that could be added to this table…1931’s Tonight or Never…..that one is already in my Melvyn Douglas page and not here….going to have to fix that.
      5. Lots of familiar names on the lists from legends to bit player superstars like Tovey and Flowers.
      6. I agree 24 Oscar winners is pretty impressive…..especially since he made so many movies in the horror genre.
      Good information as always.

      Reply

  5. Hi

    I was delighted to see you did a page on the great Karloff. I think his Frankenstein monster is the most iconic monster in Hollywood history. The look, the sound is just brilliant.
    The Bride of Frankenstein is one of my favourite movies. I was 11 the first time I seen it and I remember my friend at school thought it was poor and I couldn’t understand how you couldn’t love such a movie.
    Even the original Frankenstein 1931, stands the test of time. I would admit that some of Frankenstein isn’t in the same par but I suppose for that role he will always be remembered.
    There’s a town in Northern Ireland called Cumber, where a guy has a private cinema. He uses it mostly for charity events where they show classic movies. A couple of years ago I went to see The Quiet Man. I got talking with the owner and he told me that he went a science fiction convention in Liverpool, where he met of all people, Boris Karloff’s daughter. During the conversation she asked what part of Ireland he was from, and amazingly her best friend in L.A. was from Cumber. Fast forward a year, one Saturday morning, he opened his door and there stood Boris Karloff’s daughter, over on holiday with her friend. He took her around, showed her the cinema and they watched one of her father’s movies. He said that she got very emotional at the idea that of people going to see her father years ago on the big screen. It was definitely a fascinating tale. One that is unfortunately lost on young people.
    And yet the image of the Frankenstein monster is so familiar with people. It must have been incredible going to see it in the 30’s on the big screen. Yet by today’s standards, pretty tame.
    I also enjoyed The Mummy. Again very tame compared to Brendan Fraiser version or Tom Cruise. Karloff was blessed with a wonderful voice and I’m sure he done very well on radio.
    I remember I was 10 when he died. Strange how one person can affect so many lives with just one performance.
    Great page thanks.

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris
      1. Glad you liked our latest suggestions….for years Steve has been asking for this page…and for years I have avoided doing it….but in fairness to me….at the time of the original request…I did not have nearly the sources I have today. So his request was before the technology…lol.
      2. I agree with all of your thoughts on Frankenstein. I could not have written it better.
      3. That is an amazing story about Karloff’s daughter and Cumber…thanks for sharing that information.
      4. His Frankenstein is quickly closing in on 100 years old…and yet it is still one of movie’s greatest images.
      5. You are right his Mummy is tame compared to the massive high budget computer effects that the most recent Mummy movies have brought to the table.
      Thanks for sharing your memories and how Karloff was a part of your childhood…..good stuff.

      Reply

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