William Henry Pratt, better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who starred as Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), which established him as a horror icon. He reprised the role in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Karloff also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch, as well as narrating the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
This is the filmography of Boris Karloff. Born as William Henry Pratt, he joined a Canadian touring company as a young man 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 The Mummy , Karloff spent the remainder of the 1930s continuing to work at an incredible pace, but progressively more into less financially successful films. In the 1940s, he began to get stereotyped into playing "mad scientist" roles.
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.
The Fire Eater is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and featuring Hoot Gibson.
Headin' West is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by William James Craft and featuring Hoot Gibson. It is not known if the film survives.
Step on It! is a lost 1922 American silent Western film directed by Jack Conway and featuring Hoot Gibson, released by Universal Pictures.
Kindled Courage is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by William Worthington and featuring Hoot Gibson. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
His Majesty, the American is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It was the first film produced by United Artists. It was released in the U.K. as One of the Blood. Prints exist in the film holdings of Cohen Media Group [a 35mm positive]; in the film holdings of EmGee Film Library [a 16mm reduction positive]; and in private film collections [a 16mm reduction positives].
The Prince and Betty is a lost 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Thornby. It features Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. It is based on the 1912 novel The Prince and Betty written by P. G. Wodehouse.
The Infidel is a 1922 American silent drama film written and directed by James Young and featuring Katherine MacDonald, Robert Ellis, Joseph Dowling and Boris Karloff. Young wrote the screenplay based on a story by Charles A. Logue. The film is considered to be lost. The film's tagline was "Man-Bait! Sent out, willingly, to a Pacific Paradise where the world forgets. Sent there to wreck a two-fisted, fighting gentleman with her faithlessness... And instead wrecking her own heart with her own love.".
The Altar Stairs is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and featuring Frank Mayo, Louise Lorraine, Lawrence Hughes and Boris Karloff in an early role. The screenplay was written by Doris Schroeder, George Hively and George Randolph Chester, based on the novel of the same name by G. B. Lancaster. It is considered today a lost film.
Forbidden Cargo is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Tom Buckingham and featuring Boris Karloff. The film is considered to be lost.
The Prairie Wife is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Hugo Ballin and featuring Boris Karloff, and based on a story by Arthur Stringer. The film is considered to be lost.
Lady Robinhood is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince, starring Evelyn Brent, and featuring Boris Karloff.
Never the Twain Shall Meet is a 1925 American silent South Seas drama film based on the book by Peter B. Kyne, produced by MGM and directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Anita Stewart and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited bit part. It was remade as talking picture in 1931 at MGM by director W. S. Van Dyke. This is one of Tourneur's many lost and sought after films.
The Man in the Saddle is a lost 1926 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and Clifford Smith, starring Hoot Gibson and featuring Boris Karloff.
The Eagle of the Sea is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Florence Vidor and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. Incomplete prints of the film exist.
Valencia, also known as The Love Song, is a 1926 American silent romance film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, who came over from Paramount to direct. The film stars Mae Murray and features Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. Rumors of a surviving print persist. The film was a box office hit and the title song, Valencia, was the top song in the U.S. for the year.
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.
Burning the Wind is a 1928 American romantic drama film, directed by Herbert Blaché and Henry MacRae, starring Hoot Gibson and featuring Boris Karloff. The film is considered to be lost.
