William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931) established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.
Two Arabian Knights (1927) is an American silent comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring William Boyd, Mary Astor, and Louis Wolheim. The film was produced by Howard Hughes and was distributed by United Artists. The screenwriters were James T. O'Donohue, Wallace Smith, and George Marion Jr.
James Oliver Curwood was an American action-adventure writer and conservationist. His books were often based on adventures set in the Hudson Bay area, the Yukon or Alaska and ranked among the top-ten best sellers in the United States in the early and mid 1920s, according to Publishers Weekly. At least one hundred and eighty motion pictures have been based on or directly inspired by his novels and short stories; one was produced in three versions from 1919 to 1953. At the time of his death, Curwood was the highest paid author in the world.
Boris Karloff (1887-1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
Black Friday is a 1940 American horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
The Raven is a 1935 American horror film directed by Louis Friedlander and starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. Billed as having been "suggested by" Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem of the same title, excerpts of which are quoted at a few points in the film, it was adapted from an original screenplay by David Boehm. Lugosi stars as a neurosurgeon obsessed with Poe who has a torture chamber in his basement, and Karloff plays an escaped murderer on the run from the police who Lugosi manipulates into doing his dirty work.
Pauline Starke was an American silent-film actress.
Niles Eugene Welch was an American performer on Broadway, and a leading man in a number of silent and early talking motion pictures from the early 1910s through the 1930s.
The Nickel-Hopper is a 1926 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and featuring Oliver Hardy and Boris Karloff in minor uncredited roles.
Billie Bennett was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1913 and 1930. She was born in Evansville, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California.
British Intelligence is a 1940 spy film set in World War I. It was directed by Terry O. Morse and stars Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay. The film, also known as Enemy Agent, was released in the United States in January 1940. The Warner Bros. B picture was based on a 1918 play Three Faces East written by Anthony Paul Kelly and produced on the stage by George M. Cohan. Two film adaptations of Three Faces East in 1926 and 1930 preceded British Intelligence.
William J. Dyer was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in dozens of films, mostly Westerns and action films, between 1915 and 1933. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia and died in Hollywood, California. He was also credited as William Dyer and Bill Dyer.
David Smith was an English film director and cinematographer of the silent era. He directed more than 70 films between 1915 and 1927. He was born in Faversham, Kent, and died in Santa Barbara, California. He was the older brother of Albert E. Smith, one of the co-founders of the Vitagraph Studios.
The Cave Girl is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Joseph J. Franz and featuring Teddie Gerard, Charles Meredith, Lillian Tucker and Boris Karloff in an early film role. The source for the William Parker screenplay was the stage play of the same name by George Middleton and Guy Bolton. The film's tagline was "A Romance of Silent Trails and Rushing Waters... A Drama of Youth Gone Wild... Enacted in the Yosemite Valley in the Middle of Winter.". The film is presumed lost.
The Woman Conquers is a 1922 American silent drama film written by Violet Clark and directed by Tom Forman. It starred Katherine MacDonald and Bryant Washburn and featured a young Boris Karloff. The film is considered lost.
Flames is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Lewis H. Moomaw and starring Eugene O’Brien, Virginia Valli, Jean Hersholt, and Boris Karloff. Its plot follows a railroad laborer who, while working on a bridge in rural Oregon, must face off with a desperado who kidnaps his boss's daughter.
Sharp Shooters is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring George O'Brien, Lois Moran, and Noah Young. A print survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Sharp Shooters contains uncredited performances by Boris Karloff and Randolph Scott in his first film appearance.
Bloodhounds of the North is a 1913 American silent short drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, and Lon Chaney. The film is now considered lost. Some sources state the film was edited down to one reel and re-released theatrically in 1916 as Accusing Evidence, but this is disputed.
James O'Neill was an American actor. Before his silent film career he was a vaudeville stage actor.
