In his last great performance in Peter Bogdanovich’s debut film Targets (1968), Boris Karloff plays the aged and exasperated horror legend Byron Orlok. In a single line he sums up his entire career, at least as viewed by the public: “Marx Brothers make you laugh, Garbo makes you weep, Orlok makes you scream.” As with Gloria Swanson’s unforgettable portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950), it is tempting to project too much of the real Karloff onto his onscreen counterpart. The broad strokes are similar enough, but the true man is far more complex and enigmatic. Boris Karloff was an intensely private man who shunned the spotlight as much as he could, often refusing to discuss difficulties of his past even with close friends and family. The story of his early days has been pieced together (sometimes with contradictions) by researchers and biographers, but elements of the man remain a mystery,...
- 11/23/2022
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
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