Sara Karloff recalls first Frankenstein
Boris Karloff's daughter saw Frankenstein alone on TV at 19, as composer Michael Shapiro prepares to conduct its first live score in London with the Royal
Michael Shapiro will conduct the first live performance of his 2001 score for the 1931 film Frankenstein next month. The event takes place at Cadogan Hall in London on 25 October, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing alongside the classic horror picture.
Legacy and Personal Connection
Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff, was born in 1938. She did not see her father's most famous film until she was 19 years old. She watched it alone on television while attending a strict girls’ school that did not approve of scary movies. Reflecting on that moment, Sara Karloff said, "It was a rather strange way for my father’s daughter to see his famous film for the first time."
Frankenstein's Origins and Impact
The film is now 95 years old. Directed by James Whale and based on Mary Shelley’s novel, it launched Boris Karloff to stardom at the age of 44. The original 1931 release featured dialogue but no original musical score. Whale was British, hailing from Dudley. He found success directing Journey’s End in London in 1928, which led him to Broadway and then Hollywood.
At Universal, James Whale developed a reputation for artistically ambitious pictures using chiaroscuro lighting associated with German expressionism. The film follows Henry Frankenstein and his hunchbacked assistant as they go grave-robbing to build a creature, which is accidentally given the brain of a deviant criminal. The monster escapes from the lab and cannot control his impulses. In one famous scene, the monster meets a little girl by a lake, and tragedy ensues. Seven-year-old Marilyn Harris played Little Maria. She liked Boris Karloff and wanted to go everywhere with him, ride in his car, and hold his hand.
Boris Karloff's Life and Career
Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in Dulwich in 1887. He lived in London until he was a young man. He picked up his famous pseudonym when he began his acting career in Canada in 1911. Karloff got a foothold in the film business in Los Angeles at the end of the 1910s, working in silent films.
When he returned to the UK in the 1950s, he lived in a flat just a stone’s throw from Cadogan Hall in Chelsea. He commuted to the US to act while based there. Karloff was mad about cricket. He once thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he got to go to a cricket match and have cucumber sandwiches and a pint of beer. The Boris Karloff Foundation now supports young people in the performing arts in the UK and cricket too.
Cultural Context and Reception
Despite its legacy, British critics were largely horrified by Frankenstein upon its release. The film became the second in Universal’s long-running horror series, following Dracula (1931). It featured a largely British cast. Key cast members included:
Director James Whale sent a note to star Colin Clive before shooting. Although the cast was largely English, Whale did not want too much English accent. He advised talking to Americans to avoid 'English tightness' in speech. Colin Clive, who played Doctor Frankenstein, was born to aristocratic English parents in France but educated in the UK. He made his name on the London stage before coming to Hollywood to star in Whale’s 1930 film of Journey’s End.
Composer Michael Shapiro's connection to the film began in childhood. At age nine, he wrote Boris Karloff a fan letter stating, 'Dear Mr Karloff. … I think you’re a thriller.' He received a response, an autograph, and a picture of Karloff as the monster. Of the upcoming live performance, Shapiro said, "It becomes one artistic expression, one artistic experience." He will conduct his score alongside the film for the first time in London next month at Cadogan Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
