Mary Shelley invented the character of Frankenstein's monster, but it was Hampshire great, Boris Karloff, who brought it to life
'Frankenstein lived in Hampshire’. It’s a fabulous opening gambit but only partly true. It was the actor appearing in Frankenstein (1931) who lived in Bramshott. Also, the character he played, the unfortunate looking hulk with the bolt through his neck wasn’t Frankenstein. The scientist who created him was Victor Frankenstein. The creature of the Mary Shelley Gothic horror was unnamed.
Boris Karloff came to Hampshire in early-1966, buying a two-storey cottage, Roundabout, lying at the junction of Tunbridge Lane and Church Lane in Bramshott. Aptly, for someone who appeared in scary films, the village is reputedly haunted. He spent his last few years in this idyllic spot, tending his plot in between TV and film commitments before his death in February 1969.
Karloff might sound like someone of overseas extraction but he was home grown, born William Henry Pratt in Dulwich on November 23 1887. His parents were Edward and Eliza, both of whom died young, leaving William to be raised by a half-sister and elder siblings (he was the youngest of nine). Edward Pratt was employed in the Indian Civil Service and William’s paternal grandmother was Indian. His maternal great aunt meanwhile was Anna Leonowens, the governess in the royal court of Siam (Thailand) who inspired The King and I, the musical based on Anna’s early-1860s memoirs.
William had a stutter, which he overcame, and a lisp, which he didn’t, so was evident in his screen portrayals. He headed for Canada where he did various jobs before venturing into acting, debuting on minor roles in the old silent movies, including The Last of the Mohicans (1920). He wed in 1910, the first of at least six marriages, although some sources claim he accumulated seven or eight wives.
That acting career saw Karloff take on his most famous role in 1931, playing the role of the lumbering creature in Frankenstein, a statuesque bit of acting that saw him make the character his own, reprising him in both The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein, movies where he was permitted more latitude than the original Mary Shelley novel allowed. Amazingly, that 1931 outing which made his name as a horror icon was already his eighty second movie, when he was aged 44.
Continuing with the same edge of seat entertainment, he starred in The Mummy (1932), portraying Imhotep, the chief antagonist, loosely based on an historical figure unlike the unnamed wretch in Frankenstein. It was the latter character though that Karloff will always be identified with and it’s his depiction the public still associates with the monster, all signature make-up, neck bolts and asphalt spreader boots.
Mary Shelley wrote the character but it was Karloff who brought him to life. If you read Shelley’s work it’s possible to feel sorry for the creature and Karloff’s vulnerable, frail portrayal would surely have been applauded by the authoress. His benchmark depiction was so iconic it created a legacy, the inspiration for a later transformative creature, the Incredible Hulk. Other characters came Karloff’s way around this time as he became Hollywood hot property: Scarface (1932); The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and The Ghoul (1933).
It's impossible to review Karloff’s filmography in detail as the list is simply too long. There were undoubtedly lows as well as highs, some rotten tomatoes in addition to works of art. Some of those earlier ones were among his best as he moved from horror icon to novelty act, including appearances in some Bud Abbott and Lou Costello monster movies that were more hokey than horror. It was an undoubted low point but Karloff was still revered and became a regular guest on high-profile TV shows. He appeared on Broadway, had a lengthy run in Peter Pan where he cut a menacing Captain Hook, and saw a revival in his acting fortunes during the 1960s beginning with hosting the TV anthology series Thriller and registering notable later films such as The Raven (1963), The Terror (1963), and Die, Monster, Die! (1965), inspired by author H.P. Lovecraft. His last lauded role came in Target (1968) in which he appropriately played an aging horror movie star.
Karloff was far more than shuffling monsters as shown by his Grammy for voicing the Grinch, plus narrating the TV series animation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), based on the popular 1957 book by children’s author Dr. Seuss. The actor was not averse to playing comedy, or a mickey-take of himself, for example, in those previously mentioned Abbott and Costello farces: Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949); Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1952). In a curious case of monster becomes creator, Karloff played Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein 1970 (1958); the only time he played opposite his own monster.
Then there was Bramshott, a village once the centre for mining and smelting of Weald iron, but with a quieter ambience today. Streams powered hammermills, the last of which ceased operations in 1924 although by then it was a paper mill. Tennyson was here in 1860, visiting Wakener’s Wells (Waggoners Wells), three ponds which formed part of the aqua system that operated those hammers. It’s a village of 13th century church and manor, but also of ghosts; spectral carriages allegedly visiting the wells. This seems the most apt of places for Boris Karloff to end up.
Karloff died on February 2 1969, aged 81. He was cremated at Guildford Crematorium where there’s a plaque in the garden of remembrance. The actor had several nicknames: The Uncanny (Karloff the Uncanny); plain Billy; The Hero of Horror; The Gentle Monster, as he had something of the gentle giant about him, although he was a less than towering 5 ft 11, so needed lifts and padding to make him a plausible monster. He didn’t take himself too seriously (they’re the best actors), being self-effacing and modest about his achievements. Contrary to his screen persona he was kind, refined and warm-hearted; a surprisingly quiet, bookish monster, his favourite author being Joseph Conrad. He was humorous and a fan of the song Monster Mash by all accounts. His hobbies included old-fashioned homegrown ones: drinking tea; cricket; rugby and growing roses (he once scared a passer-by, watering his flowers whilst dressed in Frankenstein garb who Karloff regarded as ‘My dear old monster. I owe everything to him. He’s my best friend’.
Chronology
1887 – William Henry Pratt born in Dulwich (November 23).
1910 – Marries stage actress Grace Harding, the first of Karloff’s six wives.
1931 – Karloff appears in Frankenstein, the film that made his name as a horror icon.
1946 – The sixth and last of Boris Karloff’s six marriages to another actress, Evelyn Hope.
1958 – Having played the creature three times, Karloff now plays his creator, Dr Frankenstein.
1966 – Boris Karloff moves into Roundabout, a two storey cottage in Bramshott.
1967 – Karloff wins a Grammy for his Grinch work.
1969 – Death of Boris Karloff in Midhurst, Sussex (February 2) aged 81.
