Everyone will remember this English bloke for his heartfelt depiction of Mary Shelly's original monster, but Karloff has been notable in several other performances. Will it be some of his Lewton work, his work with the Gordon's, or something else altogether?
I would choose the Val Lewton production The Body Snatcher. Karloff's performance as Cabman Gray is the most complex of his career. Runners up for me would be The Black Cat, The Mummy, and Targets.
I second The Body Snatcher. He's incredible in that one. That has to be one of the more menacing performances in cinema history. That Lewton box set is a real treasure in general. I had never seen the majority of those films. I loved his work in Targets as well, especially because he's essentially playing himself. The scene where he tells that long story all in one take is a great piece of work. He was apparently in very poor health when he made that film, which makes it that much more remarkable.
I'm all about "The Body Snatcher", myself. Great role, although I liked his depiction of the mute in "The Old Dark House", as well. But "The Mummy" runs a close second behind TBS.
There's a lot, but since I have choose at this very moment, I went other. He's so much fun in The Mask of Fu Manchu, and with its racist overtones, it's just a hoot to see today. So I'm going with that.
I love the pairing in that post of your avatar and that image, RyanPC. No offense, of course, to Bea. :lol:
Always liked The Body Snatcher. The original Mummy for some reason does nothing for me. I do like the Hammer films version with Lee and Cushing and have a strange fascination with Agrama's Dawn Of The Mummy even though I know it sucks.
