Customer Reviews (1)

The Most Comprehensive Book On This Subject: Highly Recommended!
I've been something of a Frankenstein-ophile since the age of five when I saw Boris Karloff play "The Creature", (his own, fond term for Frankenstein's Monster), in the 1931 classic "Frankenstein".

A relative of Boris Karloff whom I consider a dear friend, said that they'd "never seen the book, only heard about it."Thus, I bought this book purely by gamble, and hit the jackpot.Whether Boris played the role or not, everyone who ever did, on film or TV, is discussed at some length, with full detail as to dates, studio, etc.
Certainly Boris' performances--complete with rare photos--are the main focus of the book, and are dealt with so thoroughly that even Boris' relatives were impressed with it when I showed them the book at last.

If you're a fan of Boris', or just the genre, buy this book whilst you're still able.I reccomend it most highly! ... Read more

Product Description
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mystery lovers and fans of old Hollywood will love these
These radio episodes have an effective way of keeping the listener at the edge of their seat. Lucille Ball's performance was no exception. Here, she comes out of the ditsy housewife roles she's so famous for and plays aconniving seducing witch who will stop at nothing to get her way.I highlyrecommend listening to these with the lights turned off or down low. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dissapointing Film Guide To The World's Most Famous Monster.
Stephen Jones has made a career out of compiling and reviewing Horror in film and literature and has made many notable achievments in the genre releasing many terrific anthologies over the years. As a critic he lacks something, call it enthusiasm and insight. Call it passion. Call it life. It's just not there.

This book attempts to cover every major attempt at the Frankenstein story from the silent era through the 90s(it was published in 1995) and every film on the similar subject of man made monsters both in the genre and beyond.
Most of the films the author has clearly not seen and so most films recieved a low one lighting bolt review(equivalent to a star) and that system becomes increasingly useless as most films in here barely pass. For a guy so immersed in the genre, this author seems to care very little for it, even going so far as to give a four out of five to the 1931 Frankenstein! Somethings rotten in this guide to Frankenstein and it's that review system. He compensates by utilizing several cool photographs(several in color!) and poster art to decorate the book and even has an introduction written by Boris Karloff on his most famous performance, but it's just window dressing to what amounts to a very, shallow review guide.

As a curio piece for Frankenstein fans, this is not bad for all the titles covered, but for anyone seeking serious reviews on the genre, than avoid this author's guides like the plague. In fact maybe you should just buy Phil Hardy's "Overlook Encyclopedia to Horror" and forget buying guides like this altogether. ... Read more

Product Description
The duo of Bela Lugosi's Count Dracula and Boris Karloff's Frankenstein's monster made some of Hollywood's most eccentric product. Equally striking was their odd, moving, ultimately tragic personal relationship. This book examines their work and personal lives and that relationship. Supporting the biographical narrative are complete production histories of their eight collaborative films, interviews with over a dozen of their coworkers and friends, archival studio material, and fully detailed filmographies. There are many unusual, never-before-published portraits, stills, and poster reproductions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Wait
This is a truly excellent box covering the lives of two horror superstars.But wait before you pay the crooks on the Marketplace $50 or more dollars for a beat up copy.This book is getting a revision and will be back in print next year.Pick it up then, it is well worth the price.The author though a little Karloff biased, does some phenomenal research on both men and the movies they made.I couldn't stop reading this one.

A worthwhile resource and read
Fans of the era of Universal Studios classic horror films should not hesitate to purchase this book. Few icons of cinema surpass Bela Lugosi or Boris Karloff in the minds of horror gourmets. Mank provides in this weighty volume a detailed background to the few films these two stars shared billing. Mank includes firsthand accoutns, gossip, production history, and some authorial analysis (that more often compliments the details than intrudes). This is a resource that demands repeated readings, especially after watching a Lugosi/Karloff film.

Kings of horror given royal treatment
This book is well written and painstakingly researched. Mank has personally interviewed as many of the players in the Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff story as was possible, and to his credit he includes plenty of conflicting stories. He has poured through studio records and includes information on star billing, salaries and even production updates. Mank even goes to the trouble of giving exact addresses of the stars homes! The end of the book features complete career information about each star (including theatre, film and television) and a detailed filmography of the films they made together.

The book takes a linear route, and Mank treats it like a slowly unraveling story beginning with Karloff's arrival on the Universal lot to play Frankenstein's monster and ending with his death. In between those events he devotes entire chapters to the eight films Lugosi and Karloff made together: The Black Cat (1934), Gift of Gab (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Black Friday (1940), You'll Find Out (1940) and The Body Snatcher (1945). In addition a few chapters are provided in between to fill out the story between movies (including a chapter devoted to Bride of Frankenstein) and separate chapters at the end devoted to the end of each star's life. The chapter on the Black Cat is particularly detailed and informative and makes the book worth the price and the time in and of itself.

The 372 pages are packed with information. There are quotes from the stars themselves, their wives, friends, fellow actors and directors. As I said before many of these stories disagree especially when it comes to Lugosi. There are many mini-biographies of such luminaries as James Whale, Dwight Frye, Edgar Ulmer, David Manners, Colin Clive, Peter Lorre, Val Lewton, and just about every other major figure to come in contact with the two actors. There are many great full-page pictures (many that I haven't seen anywhere else).

Mank proceeds from the premise of contrasting "Dear Boris" as a gentle beloved distinguished and successful actor and "Poor Bela" as a doomed tragic figure who was misunderstood and a victim of circumstance and his own mismanaged affairs. This is a great hook to give the book some spice, but ultimately it is the weakness of the book. Mank is up front about the fact that he is biased towards Karloff, and I feel he misses the point at times about Lugosi's talent and his ultimate fate. For instance he praises Karloff for knowing when he was in a dog and phoning in his performance and condemns Lugosi for always playing his heart out no matter how bad the film. I disagree with this approach completely. However, despite the sometime distracting Karloff bias, this book is still the best and most informative book I have ever read on the subject. To his credit, Mank tries hard to be fair (who after all is truly unbiased and at least Mank recognizes his) to the point of printing opinions that don't agree with his.

I highly recommend this to any fan of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, classic horror movies, old Hollywood and film in general. It is both fascinating and easy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Necrotic - Dead Flesh on a Living BodyThe complete story is in this 64-page, perfect bound graphic novel. It reads like a movie.High quality writing, art, and printing make this a beautiful addition to comic book readers. Movie buffs will enjoy this, especially if they are enthusiasts of classic Hammer horror films, Karloff, Lugosi, Hitchcock, the Indiana Jones franchise, and even the Brendan Frasier Mummy franchise.STORY: A 1930s adventurer dies and is mummified. He wakes up 75 years later in the present day...as a living mummy. When he died, he was a very old man, but upon his resurrection, he is once again in his young, prime body. The only problem...he keeps killing people. A smart, sharp horror story about love and rotting flesh. ... Read more

Product Description
A generous selection of Kipling's eminently quotable works, including the Nation's Favourite Poem "If-", "Mandalay" and the moving "Recessional". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An exciting recording
This is an exciting recording by multiple readers. Some poems are recited by Boris Karloff, who is best known from the film version of Frankenstein. Karloff is the stand-out in the group. Other more recent speakers do well also. Recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
The Best of Boris Karloff ... Read more

Product Description
Read the extracts of a fictional diary of one man's experiences of living with bogeymen and his struggle in the end to figure out who are family and who are the real monsters. A Unique and humurous look at a rediculous situation. ... Read more

Product Description
It is 1938 and there is murder afoot on the set of Son of Frankenstein Boris Karloff has been framed for murder!He joins forces with Basil Rathbone, in full Sherlockian mode,and a gleeful Bela Lugosi.It s a case of the legends ofhorror meet the three stooges asour daring heroes search for a missing movie mogul andend up crossing swords with the Hollywood Mob. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

fun read
An enjoyable and entertaining look at old hollywood and the classic horror film stars that I love.Nice escapism from the stress and meanness of the world today.

Weekend fun reading.
It's a fun read but could have definitely used an editor's red pencil.

Dwight has definitely done his homework and it shows, but sometimes he seems to put everything he knows about "Universal Studios Horror" into the mix.
At times it reads like a McFarland & Company thesis.
(McFarland is a publisher of cinema treatises, among other things.Their books are high priced but terrific on information and background)

There are a number of things that could easily be taken out because they are superfluous and don't advance the story.

Basil Rathbone slips in elephant poop while hurrying back to solve the mystery ? huh!

But overall the mystery is intriguing and things do tie together at the end, so Dwight gets points on that level.

Enjoyable read for a rainy weekend.
3.5 stars but since I cant' give 1/2 points I'll give him 4 stars

Poorly written, sloppily edited...
I wanted so badly to like this book because I'm a great fan of the horror classics, but this story was so poorly written and edited that it was tough to complete. I was astonished at the number of glowing reviews until I looked at the reviewers' past reviews and found most to be their first reviews, indicating to me that they were friends of the author.

So what's wrong with this book? For starters, the characters' "voices", with the exception of Rathbone, are very similar, if not exactly the same. The author has a habit of oversuing excamation points!!! to exhaustion. Often there are several per page. He also uses emphasis in CAPS most of the time, and a few times correctly in itlaics. Whomever edited this story should go back to editing school.

While the author obviously has great knowledge of the movie industry, he doesn't know much, if anything, about gangsters. Bugsy Siegal got homicidal if you called him "Bugsy" to his face, and certainly would never have referred to himself with the monicker. The mob guys were depicted as very cartoonish and did not suspend disbelief.

Evidently the author is writing a second in this series. I certainly hope he spins a better yarn and brushes up on his notes from Writing 101.

This book NEEDS to be a movie!
Who Framed Boris Karloff was a delightful read and enthralling until the very last page! For fans of the monster movie genre the final thought while closing the back cover is "This should really be made into a movie!".Dwight Kemper takes you to a place where movie stars, producers and gangsters run Hollywood and the amazing trio of Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi conspire to save the day, or at least save Karloff!
All around it's a stellar book and worth the read, BRAVO!

They're alive!
Who Framed Boris Karloff? was extremely enjoyable and the personalities were brought vividly to life.I didn't want it to end.These guys are my horror heroes and I look forward to Mr. Kemper's next book.
Highly recommended for both mystery fans and horror fans. ... Read more