Frankenstein is as timeless a monster as it gets. First appeared in Mary Shelley Frankenstein; or, The Modern PrometheusFrankenstein’s Monster has been at the center of pop culture for over 200 years. Countless films about the tale have been made over the years, with hundreds (if not thousands) of creators putting their own spin on this timeless tale. The latest iteration comes from Legendary Comics, which recently adapted Mary Shelley’s classic novel into a sequential format. In addition, the film studio turned comic book publisher worked with the estate of Boris Karloff to give the Monster the image of the deceased. Frankenstein (1931) star. Keep scrolling to see our recent conversation with Sara Karloff, Boris’s daughter, and Robert Napton, the supervisor of Legendary’s comics division.
CBR: I say this in the best way possible, but Boris Karloff is the definitive monster, right? There is nothing more iconic than him as Frankenstein. At what point in your life did you realize how important this film was to your father’s career?
Sarah Karloff:
I wasn’t, you know, no matter how old you think I am, I wasn’t born when this was done. But the first time I saw it, I was 19 and I watched it alone on television, in our living room. At that point, I had heard so much about it, read so much about it, that I had looked at it quite carefully and really from an objective point of view. Of course, I wasn’t afraid at all and understood what the problem was. I mean, from a film history standpoint, I really enjoyed it, and it was about time I saw it, but it wasn’t like going to the theater, buying a ticket, and sitting down . and eating popcorn and being scared to death.
CBR: Frankenstein is a story that has been told many times. What makes comics the best medium for this particular story?
Robert Napton:
I think having the opportunity to introduce Boris Karloff’s portrait and likeness into an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel was a really exciting prospect. Really, comics, I think, is the only medium that you know where you can do that and do it effectively. I think there are other ways to do it, I guess, with CGI or whatever. But for me,
it was just such an amazing opportunity
and I was so excited that Sara was also excited about creating a new vision of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, which was intimidating, in a sense, because it’s such an iconic vision. Having the opportunity to recreate, not re-create, but create a new version of the creature with Boris Karloff playing the creature again was just a dream come true. And I was very grateful to Sara for her enthusiasm and for taking on this challenge and she was the first to say, “Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s create this new version of me using my dad’s face.”
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CBR: Sara, let’s take a look behind the curtain. With the last name Karloff, I’m sure you’re inundated with requests. What excited you most about saying yes to this particular iteration, compared to the other requests that came across your desk or via email?
Sask. :
Well, I’ve certainly never received a request like this before, which made saying “yes” very easy. But I also knew the artist’s work, the presentation of the project was magnificent and the general idea was very exciting. So it was very easy to say “Yes!” »
CBR: This first success on Kickstarter is a kind of double header with Dracula. You have him and Frankenstein’s monster, a bit like the two greats of this country. Where does he go from here? I would be remiss if I didn’t point this out. [Samhain from Trick r’ Treat] over your shoulder, which is also on Kickstarter right now. You know, will you revisit other monsters in the future in this same style?
RN:
You know, it’s funny. So, I mean, obviously, look, I grew up as a fan of the actors in these films, watching them on television. Then I started going to the screenings in the 90s here in LA when I had the opportunity to see them on the big screen as they were presented in the 1930s and, yes, I love these movies. I met the Lugosi family, Bella Lugosi Jr. and Lynn Legosi, who co-managed the estate when we did the Dracula book in 2020. Luckily, having this to be able to show Sara was awesome, because I could say: “Okay, now it makes perfect sense that we do this with, with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the image of your father.” So yeah, being able to do those two is phenomenal. And you know, if there’s more to be done, I’m certainly open to that. But you know, our mission and our goal right now is to make Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with Boris Karloff a real success. Obviously we did the pre-sales and pre-marketing with Kickstarter, but it will be released on November 12th. You know, we just want everyone who’s interested to know about it, find it, and hopefully absolutely enjoy it.
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This 93-year-old horror film still has a profound impact on cinema today
Frankenstein (1931) is Mary Shelley’s most iconic portrayal of the novel, and its impact on cinema still reverberates today.
CBR: We know Frankensteinwe know The Mummy. Everyone knows How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but which of your father’s works do you think deserves so much attention?
Sask. :
Well, I think Val Luton’s films were wonderful, and certainly The Body Snatcher was wonderful and my father’s role in that film was superb, because it showed that his acting abilities were immense. I particularly liked Targets which he made with Peter Bogdanovic, in which he essentially played himself. An aging horror movie star, but, what’s more, he was playing himself. That was it
reflected in his own belief that the real horror was in the streets and not on the screen
. It was a beautiful film showing Peter’s multiple talents and multi-creativity. Not only did he star in it, he wrote it and he directed it. And my dad was so impressed with Peter’s talent and creativity and really enjoyed working alongside such talent that he loved the script, even though it was horrible. It’s just as relevant today and very few of my dad’s fans have actually seen it, but I recommend it every chance I get. You can go back in history a bit to the days of DVDs, buy one, find a machine, pop it in and watch it. It’s a good movie, so it’s one of my dad’s favorites.
CBR: My wife and I own and operate a game and comic book store here and every year the biggest part of our marketing plan is to do an event called Monster Madness. We partner with the local theater and we show a whole bunch of monster movies. This year the flagpole projection took place Frankensteinand all these years later, I watch it on the big screen, amazed at how well the film holds up. Why do you feel Frankenstein still holds up as a film all this time later?
Sask. :
I think there are so many facets to this story and to the creature itself. He was truly the victim, not the aggressor. The children understood it. They understood it. I think it shows the exploration of science and how it can go wrong. I think there is
there are so many different sides to the story itself that it’s bound to hold up
. If you just look at it on the surface, it says what it was. If you explore the depth of the story itself, it will definitely hold up over the years. If you realize that a 16 year old wrote it, that in itself is incredible. So I think in many ways it’s a remarkable story and a remarkable film. The makeup is just top notch, because Jack Pierce was an absolute genius. I think it’s a wonderful combination of talents, James Whale and Colin Clive. It made a crucial difference in my father’s life, both personally and professionally. So I think on many fronts it holds up more than that over the years.
Frankenstein is available for purchase wherever movies are sold.
Dr. Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
- Director
- James Whale
- Release date
- November 2, 1931
- Cast
- Colin Clive, Boris Karloff
- Writers
- Garrett Fort, Francis Edward Faragoh, John Russell, Robert Florey
- Runtime
- 70 minutes
- Producer
- Carl Laemmle Jr.
- Production company
- Universal images