Category Archives: Boris Karloff

Death by Indifference: “Mr. Wong, Detective” (1938)

    “Mr. Wong, Detective”  (1938)      The initial film incarnation of Hugh Wiley’s detective creation, first popularized in 1934 in Collier’s, “Mr. Wong Detective”, presents the stylish and erudite investigator in a mystery that is fairly unworthy of a … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boris Karloff, crime, movie reviews, Movies, Mystery, short stories, writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

By the Colouring Book: “Die, Monster, Die!” (1965)

            “Die, Monster, Die” (1965)     The literary reputation of H.P. Lovecraft receives a glancing body blow with “Die, Monster, Die!”, an extremely casual adaptation of his celebrated short story The Colour Out of Space; a film … Continue reading

Posted in books, Boris Karloff, Drive-In Movies, H.P. Lovecraft, horror, Movies, Roger Corman, science fiction, short stories, writing | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Egypt, Unwrapped: “The Mummy” (1932)

     “The Mummy”    (1932)     The first of the major Universal sound horror films which relied upon the invention of screenwriters rather than a direct literary predecessor, Karl Freund’s “The Mummy” enjoys the luxury in the depiction of the … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Karloff, horror, horror films, Movies, Pre-Code Movies, religion, Romance, women, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Staged Fright: “The Climax” (1944)

          “The Climax”  (1944)     Based upon the 1909 play by Edward Locke, George Waggner’s “The Climax” is a film with obvious pretensions toward elevating the Universal horror film to a more sophisticated and urbane … Continue reading

Posted in 1940's movies, Boris Karloff, horror, Movies, music, Romance, theater, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Missing the Mark : “TARGETS” (1968)

           Peter Bogdanovich’s “Targets”, the critic-cum-director’s first full original feature (if one discounts the cobbled efforts in his apprenticeship through the Roger Corman meat grinder) plays less as a thriller or a drama than as a thesis paper on … Continue reading

Posted in 1960's movies, Boris Karloff, Film, Film Reviews, horror, movie reviews, Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment