My dad was a monster! Sara Karloff on reviving Frankenstein, 95 years on
Boris Karloff’s daughter and composer Michael Shapiro, whose musical score for the 1931 film is finally coming to London, talk about how it became a much-loved classic
TL;DR
- The 1931 film Frankenstein, a classic horror, is getting a live musical score composed by Michael Shapiro.
- Shapiro's score, written in 2001, will be performed live with the film by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
- Sara Karloff, Boris Karloff's daughter, discusses her father's role and his perception of the monster as an innocent victim.
- The film, based on Mary Shelley's novel, was made by considerable British talent, including star Boris Karloff and director James Whale.
- Karloff felt that "terror films" like Frankenstein encouraged audience imagination, unlike later "horror films" that relied on explicit gore.
- The film's themes on technology and control remain relevant today, with Sara Karloff describing it as a "thoughtful film" that questions perpetrator and victim roles.
- Boris Karloff, born William Henry Pratt in London, became a star with Frankenstein at age 44, having made 80 previous films.
- Director James Whale and actor Colin Clive were also British, with much of the cast and crew having British origins.