Our editor-in-chief Nate Yapp is proud to have contributed to the new book Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks, edited by Aaron Christensen. Another contributors include Anthony Timpone, B.J. Colangelo, Dave Alexander, Classic-Horror.com's own Robert C. Ring and John W. Bowen. Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com!

Tribute Video: Boris Karloff in Columbia's Mad Science Films

Author
Date
11-28-2009
Comments
Boris Karloff in The Man with Nine Lives (1940)

The following is our contribution to Frankensteinia's Boris Karloff Blogathon.

Starting with The Man They Could Not Hang, Columbia released four mad scientist films starring Boris Karloff in an eighteen-month period between 1939 and 1941. The other films in the series were The Man with Nine Lives, Before I Hang, and The Devil Commands. As a tribute, I created a short video to illustrate the general shared tone of the films and their similarities in structure, casting, theme, and direction.

The music is The Avalanches' Frontier Psychiatrist, a song constructed from clips and samples from previously recorded materials. I picked this song in particular because it calls attention to the fact that the Columbia Mad Scientist series was itself constructed from "used" parts, taking elements from Karloff's past successes in films like The Man Who Changed His Mind, The Invisible Ray, and even The Walking Dead.

Another fine video.  Great

Another fine video.  Great job!

Nice video.  I saw "The Man

Nice video.  I saw "The Man They Could Not Hang" years ago and it still sticks in my mind.  Happy Holidays and do enjoy the long vacation from CH. Many thanks as well.  You've certainly made your mark on the web so far.

Gary, I just wanted to take a

Gary, I just wanted to take a second and thank you for all the support your Mediaburn blog has given to Classic-Horror.com over the years.

"He went for a little walk! You should have seen his face!"