Who Are...LUGOSI AND KARLOFF?

You really should know who BELA LUGOSI AND BORIS KARLOFF are! Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff are the two most famous and beloved of those stars who were the leading lights in Horror films of the 1930s and 40s. Stars in their own rights, their teaming was just icing on the cake.

A fine place to start is by viewing: The Black Cat (1934)? This is one of the oddest films ever made. Lugosi, in a sympathetic role, seeks revenge against former friend Karloff while a young married couple are caught in the middle. Performances are excellent and the film is memorable.

See that and watch them in the following four films:
The Raven (1935) Lugosi is a brilliant surgeon obsessed with a dancer. Karloff is an escaped killer forced to do his bidding. Bela really gets to chew the scenery here.
Son of Frankenstein (1939) Bela's career was on a downward slope by this time, but he is excelent as Ygor, a murderous shepherd, who takes care of Frankenstein's creation. Basil Rathbone is the son who just has to continue his father's work. This movie inspired a great deal of Mel Brooks's great spoof Young Frankenstein.
The Invisible Ray (1936) Karloff is a scientist driven mad by a radioactive meteor. Lugosi is a rival scientist.
The Body Snatcher (1945) This Val Lewton classic belongs to Karloff as Gray, the title character. Lugosi's role is small, but he gives it his all, as Dr. MacFarlane's blackmailing servant. The ending is one of the best in horror films.


*Contributed by: Eric Jamborsky Date: Thurs, Oct 05 2006 / 08:42:03 PST

Movie stills displayed: The Black Cat (1934)