Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster

If you were seeking a phrase to characterise the life and career of Boris Karloff (aka William Henry Pratt), you could do worse than the credo he used himself: “Fire in the Belly”. From the moment in December 1896 when he emerged from a trap-door as the Demon King in a local parish production of Cinderella, till the day he died on February 2nd 1969, the passion for acting remained undimmed. Drawing from dozens of interviews including Guillermo Del Toro, John Landis, Roger Corman, Sara Karloff, Peter Bogdanovich, Christopher Plummer, Stefanie Powers, Lee Grant, Sir Christopher Frayling, Kevin Brownlow, some of whom have never discussed their time with Boris, and never released audio of Karloff himself, “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster” takes us to the heart of the man, with a gripping, intimate portrait of Karloff and the genre he helped define. It’s often noted that in life Karloff was totally unlike his onscreen persona. Colleagues recall his professionalism, kindness and self-depreciating sense of humour. But, while chronicling his career, “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster” also examines the secretive side of Boris, areas he wouldn’t discuss even with close friends. And his deepest fear of all, the fear he might become obsolete.