Editing Boris Karloff (section)

===Stardom===
Karloff acted in eighty-one films before being discovered by [[James Whale]] and cast in ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' (1931). Karloff's role as [[Frankenstein's monster]] was physically demanding – it necessitated a bulky costume with four-inch platform boots – but the costume and extensive makeup produced an iconic image. The costume was a job in itself for Karloff with the shoes weighing {{convert|11|lb|kg}} each, which further aggravated his back problems.<ref>Buehrer, Beverley B. (1993). ''Boris Karloff: A bio-bibliography''. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. p. 88. {{ISBN|031327715X}}</ref> Universal Studios quickly copyrighted the makeup design for the Frankenstein monster that [[Jack Pierce (makeup artist)|Jack P. Pierce]] had created.

It took a while for Karloff's stardom to be established with the public – he had small roles in ''[[Behind the Mask (1932 film)|Behind the Mask]]'' (1932), ''[[Business and Pleasure]]'' (1932) and ''[[The Miracle Man (1932 film)|The Miracle Man]]'' (1932). As receipts for ''Frankenstein'' and ''Scarface'' flooded in, Universal gave Karloff third billing in ''[[Night World (1932 film)|Night World]]'' (1932), with [[Lew Ayres]], [[Mae Clarke]] and [[George Raft]].
[[File:Gloria Stuart and Boris Karloff in The Old Dark House.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gloria Stuart]] and Karloff in ''[[The Old Dark House (1932 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' (1932)]]
[[File:Gloria Stuart and Boris Karloff in The Old Dark House 1932.jpg|thumb|right|Karloff and Gloria Stuart in ''The Old Dark House'' (1932)]]
[[File:The Mummy (Boris Karloff).jpg|thumb|Karloff in ''[[The Mummy (1932 film)|The Mummy]]'' (1932)]]
[[File:Frankenstein's monster (Boris Karloff).jpg|thumb|right|Karloff in ''[[Bride of Frankenstein]]'' (1935)]]
[[File:Boris Karloff as The Monster in Bride of Frankenstein film trailer.jpg|thumb|right|Karloff in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935) trailer]]
[[File:Brideoffrankenstein.jpg|thumb|right|[[Elsa Lanchester]] and Karloff in ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935)]]
Karloff was reunited with Whale at Universal for ''[[The Old Dark House (1932 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' (1932), a horror film based on the novel ''Benighted'' by [[J. B. Priestley]], in which he finally enjoyed top billing above [[Melvyn Douglas]], [[Charles Laughton]], [[Raymond Massey]] and [[Gloria Stuart]]; he was billed simply as "KARLOFF", a custom that Universal continued for several years. He was loaned to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] to play the titular role in ''[[The Mask of Fu Manchu]]'' (also 1932), for which he had top billing.

Back at Universal, he was cast as [[Imhotep (character)|Imhotep]] who is revived in ''[[The Mummy (1932 film)|The Mummy]]'' (1932), an original story inspired by the unsealing of [[Tutankhamun|Tutankhamun's]] tomb—though a [[remake]] of ''Dracula'' set in Egypt, conceived to continue the success of the ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'' adaptations. ''The Mummy'' was as successful at the box-office as his other two films and Karloff was now established as a star of horror films. Like ''Frankenstein'', ''The Mummy'' would spawn a line of sequels, although Karloff would not reprise the iconic 1932 role.

Karloff returned to England to star in ''[[The Ghoul (1933 film)|The Ghoul]]'' (1933), then made a non-horror film for John Ford, ''[[The Lost Patrol (1934 film)|The Lost Patrol]]'' (1934), for which his performance was highly acclaimed.

Karloff was third billed in the [[Twentieth Century Pictures]] historical film ''[[The House of Rothschild]]'' (1934) with [[George Arliss]], which was highly popular.<ref>{{cite news|last=Churchill|first=Douglas W.|date=December 30, 1934|title=The Year in Hollywood: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/30/archives/the-year-in-hollywood-1984-may-be-remembered-as-the-beginning-of.html|work=New York Times|page=X5}}</ref>

Horror had become Karloff's primary genre, and he gave a string of lauded performances in [[Universal Monsters|Universal's horror films]], including several with [[Bela Lugosi]], his main rival as heir to [[Lon Chaney]]'s status as the leading horror film star. While the long-standing, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with ''[[The Black Cat (1934 film)|The Black Cat]]'' (1934) and continuing with ''[[Gift of Gab (film)|Gift of Gab]]'' (1934), in which both had cameos. Karloff reprised the role of Frankenstein's monster in ''[[Bride of Frankenstein]]'' (1935) for James Whale. Then he and Lugosi were reunited for ''[[The Raven (1935 film)|The Raven]]'' (1935). Billed only by his last name during this period, Karloff had [[Billing (performing arts)|top billing]] above Lugosi in all their films together despite Lugosi having the larger role in ''The Raven''.

For [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]], Karloff made ''[[The Black Room (1935 film)|The Black Room]]'' (1935) then he returned to Universal for ''[[The Invisible Ray (1936 film)|The Invisible Ray]]'' (1936) with Lugosi, more a science fiction film. Karloff was then cast in a [[Warner Bros.]] horror film, ''[[The Walking Dead (1936 film)|The Walking Dead]]'' (1936).

Because the [[Motion Picture Production Code]] (known as the Hays Code) began to be seriously enforced in 1934, horror films declined in the second half of the 1930s. Karloff worked in other genres, making two films in Britain, ''[[Juggernaut (1936 film)|Juggernaut]]'' (1936) and ''[[The Man Who Changed His Mind]]'' (1936) which was released in the U.S. as ''The Man Who Lived Again''.

He returned to Hollywood to play a supporting role in ''[[Charlie Chan at the Opera]]'' (1936), then starred in a crime drama, ''[[Night Key]]'' (1937). At Warners, he did two films with [[John Farrow]], playing a Chinese warlord in ''[[West of Shanghai]]'' (1937) and a murder suspect in ''[[The Invisible Menace]]'' (1938).

Karloff went to [[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]] to play the title role of a Chinese detective in ''[[Mr. Wong, Detective]]'' (1938), which led to a series. Karloff's portrayal of the character is an example of Hollywood's use of [[Examples of Yellowface|yellowface]] and its portrayal of East Asians in the earlier half of the 20th century. He had another heroic role in ''[[Devil's Island (1939 film)|Devil's Island]]'' (1939).

Universal found reissuing ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'' led to success at the box-office and began to produce horror films again starting with ''[[Son of Frankenstein]]'' (1939). Karloff reprised his role, with Lugosi also starring as Ygor and top-billed [[Basil Rathbone]] as Dr. Frankenstein. This was Karloff's first Universal film since the original ''Frankenstein'' in which Karloff was not top billed as "KARLOFF", a custom that the studio had used for eight films in a row while Karloff was at the height of his career. Basil Rathbone held top billing for ''Son of Frankenstein'', and since Rathbone, Karloff and Lugosi were all billed above the title, billing Basil, Boris and Bela was hard to resist. Karloff was never billed by simply his last name again. Regarding ''Son of Frankenstein'', the film's director [[Rowland V. Lee]] said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected&nbsp;... when we finished shooting, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole the show. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Son of Frankenstein|first=Phil |last=Edwards|publisher=[[Marvel UK]]|isbn=0786402571|volume=3|issue=10|magazine=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]]|date=January 1997 }}</ref>

After ''[[The Mystery of Mr. Wong]]'' (1939) and ''[[Mr. Wong in Chinatown]]'' (1939) he signed a three-picture deal with Columbia, starting with ''[[The Man They Could Not Hang]]'' (1939). Karloff returned to Universal to make ''[[Tower of London (1939 film)|Tower of London]]'' (1939) with Rathbone, playing the murderous henchman of King [[Richard III of England|Richard III]].

[[File:British Intelligence (1940) still 1.jpg|thumb|left|Karloff with [[Margaret Lindsay]] in ''British Intelligence'' (1940)]]
Karloff made a fourth Mr Wong film at Monogram ''[[The Fatal Hour (1940 film)|The Fatal Hour]]'' (1940). At Warners he was in ''[[British Intelligence (film)|British Intelligence]]'' (1940), then he went to Universal to do ''[[Black Friday (1940 film)|Black Friday]]'' (1940) with Lugosi.

Karloff's second and third films for Columbia were ''[[The Man with Nine Lives (film)|The Man with Nine Lives]]'' (1940) and ''[[Before I Hang]]'' (1940). In between he did a fifth and final Mr Wong film, ''[[Doomed to Die]]'' (1940).

Karloff appeared at a celebrity baseball game as Frankenstein's monster in 1940, hitting a gag home run and making catcher [[Buster Keaton]] fall into an acrobatic dead faint as the monster stomped into home plate.

Karloff finished a six picture commitment with Monogram with ''[[The Ape (1940 film)|The Ape]]'' (1940). He and Lugosi appeared with [[Peter Lorre]] in a comedy at [[RKO Pictures|RKO]], ''[[You'll Find Out]]'' (1941), then he went to Columbia for ''[[The Devil Commands]]'' (1941) and ''[[The Boogie Man Will Get You]]'' (1941).