Karloff, the Gentle Monster

Karloff: The Gentle Monster (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Gregory W. Mank, Kim Newman, Joe Dante and Richard Gordon are just some of the familiar faces on display in this very good documentary taking a look at Boris Karloff. The majority of the 38 minute running time is devoted to his Frankenstein monster performances with FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. His rivalry with Bela Lugosi is discussed as well as his success on Broadway, TARGETS and THE BODY SNATCHER. If you're not overly familiar with Karloff then this is a very good documentary that will introduce you to some of his best movies. Fans of the legendary actor probably won't learn anything new here but the interviews are still a lot of fun. It's also worth noting that the majority of the time is devoted to his horror movies so it would be nice for a longer documentary that covered all aspects of his career.

Boris Karloff first started out as a person that lived with a good family while he was growing up, but his life was unlucky most of the time, until he stared as the monster in "Frankenstein" (1931) at the age of 43 years old. In this documentary, a lot of people, such as Richard Gordon, Joe Dante, and many other guys discuss a lot about Karloff's life during his acting career. From "Frankenstein" to "Targets" (1968), he has been in many good movies, and has become one of the greatest movie stars of all time. If you ever see the "Frankenstein 75th Anniversary Edition" DVD in any stores or on the internet, that is where this documentary is found on. Watching this documentary will be well worth your time and you might know a little more about Boris Karloff's life.