Boris Karloff Filmography

Boris Karloff Filmography

This is the filmography of Boris Karloff. Born as William Henry Pratt, he joined a touring company and adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. During these early stages of his career he was mostly left in obscurity. By 1919, Karloff found regular work as an extra at Universal Studios. Karloff's first significant hit film was in Howard Hawks's The Criminal Code (1931). While shooting Graft, director James Whale convinced Karloff to star as a character in one of his most popular roles as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein which led to him becoming an overnight superstar. After Frankenstein and starring in several high profile films such as Bride of Frankenstein and Scarface, Karloff spent the remainder of the 1930s continuing to work at an incredible pace, but progressively more into less financially successful films. Karloff starred in a few acclaimed Val Lewton produced horror films of the 1940s and by the mid-1950s, he was a familiar presence on television hosting his own series including Thriller and The Veil and guest starring on such variety programs as The Donald O'Connor Show.

In the 1960s, Karloff was a fixture at Roger Corman's American International Pictures. His final American film was in Peter Bogdanovich's Targets portraying an aging horror film star.