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Rating:  -
If Peter Lorre (Rosenberg, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia]) can be Mr. Moto "Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)," then Boris Karloff (Camberwell, London, England, UK) can be Mr. Wong. Boris appears in more than 160 films and videos.
Actually these films are quite entertaining. They are also some of his more obscure films but it is worth purchasing as a set.
Night Key (1937) David Mallory
Tower of London (1939) Mord
The Climax (1944) Dr. Friedrich Hohner
The Strange Door (1951) Voltan
The Black Castle (1952) Dr. Meissen
See my individual reviews.
There are larger Karloff collections
The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)
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This collection is a real treat for Karloff fans. Mr. Karloff is at his best in all 5 films. My favorite is The Strange Door with Charles Laughton. Mr. Laughton dominates his scenes. Sally Forrest is fetching as the leading lady. There's even Boris in Technicolor in The Climax. The film isn't a horror film really but still pleasing to the eye with the luscious colors and beautiful Susannah Foster as the soprano. YES shades of Phanton of the Opera. They even used the Phantom sets.Night Key is an interesting story with Boris as the usual scientist/inventor with an invention that was ahead of its time and almost borders into science-fiction. Jean Rogers plays his daughter. She had just scored success playing Dale Arden to Buster Crabbes Flash Gordon. The Black Castle has Boris in a small part but still an entertaing thriller. Richard Greene (who played Robin Hood in the 1950's British series) is dashing and handsome as the leading man who goes to the castle looking for two former friends who have disappeared. The only glitch in the film is the leading lady who is a poor actress not helped at all by her foreign accent. I recommend this set to anyone who is a Karloff fan like myself. With the exception of Tower of London I had not seen any of the films.
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Boris Karloff "king of the monsters" made
many movies where he wasn't a monster but
some of the movies were considered horror.
This set included many of his best work
& are overlooked classic movies! Tower
of London is a Universal classic gothic
tale with Karloff playing the executioner
as a vicious evil man who follows the King
to his death! Vincent Price is also here
as the brother of the King & is great.
The STrange Door w/Charles Laughton is
brilliant. Great story & acting by both.
The ending is great! Night Key & Climax
are okay Karloff movies very enjoyable
but not his best work. The Black Castle
is another Universal Gothic tale & is
my favorite. Great story & action with
mystery. Karloff is kind of a good/bad
guy & is actually the hero with an
excellent ending. One of his best.
I highly recommend this set even if
you aren't a Karloff fan. Great movies!
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Fantastic set of Karloff films. Very enjoyable with great prints. It was good to finally be able to see Night Key again.
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I only got this movie pack to see "Tower of London." I had seen it when I was a kid on TV and then again about 15 years ago. It's every bit as good as I remember it both times and is by itself well worth the price of the DVD package.
But I want to say something about one of the B-movies included: the 1937 "Night Key." I had never even heard of it. It's a mildly entertaining melodrama, with generally good acting but gets silly towards the end. Only the day after seeing it did I realize that there is something odd here. And then it hit me: "Night Key" is the narrative grand-daddy to the TV series "Breaking Bad."
In "Night Key," Karloff plays a scientist with a pressing and degenerative health problem (he is going blind). Despite a brilliant mind he has almost no money, which he desperately needs for medical care and also to take care of his family (here limited to an adult, unmarried daughter). We learn of a back story in which Karloff's character was cheated years earlier by a business partner who got rich at his expense. We also learn that these two men were romantically involved with the same woman. Now Karloff has to turn to crime, even though he has always been completely law-abiding. (For all the good it did him!)By accident he encounters a career criminal about to fall into police custody and whom he helps to escape. The career criminal is a sympathetic character, and also adds some comic relief. He and Karloff become friends even though they come from different worlds. However, Karloff's involvement with this fellow gets him involved with a criminal gang run by a psychopathic killer. Things quickly go from bad to worse as the psychopathic gang leader kidnaps Karloff and his friend. Karloff must then use his scientific knowledge to save himself, his friend and his family.
If you have seen "Breaking Bad" this will all sound VERY familiar! Which leaves only one question: were the writers of the TV show influenced by "Night Key" or is this just an incredible coincidence?
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