Featuring Exclusive Interviews with Sara Karloff, Peter Bogdanovich, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Plummer, John Landis, Roger Corman, and Kevin Brownlow
Shout! Studios has announced today their acquisition of North American distribution rights to BORIS KARLOFF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER. This captivating new documentary sheds light on William Henry Pratt (better known by his stage name, Boris Karloff) as Hollywood’s master of menace, as well as his films, his legend and the fears that haunted him through his life. Abramorama will release the film in theaters on September 17th.
Karloff is best known for his role as “The Monster” in the classic horror films Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). This documentary examines his extraordinary 60-year career in the entertainment industry, as well as his continuing influence as a horror icon.
Directed by Thomas Hamilton (Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn) and co-produced and co-written by Ron MacCloskey, the film provides a riveting depiction of Karloff and the genre he helped define through exclusive interviews with his daughter, Sarah Karloff, and filmmakers he influenced, including Peter Bogdanovich, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Plummer, John Landis, Roger Corman and Kevin Brownlow. The film also features the original song “Frankenstein’s Lament” by famed jazz bassist Jay Leonhart.
More details at www.themanbehindthemonster.com
“In Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster, audiences will be taken on a journey through Boris Karloff’s life and career. They will discover the secrets of the man, the struggles and triumphs of his career, as well as the surprising twists it took, and hear direct testimony from the man himself and those who were closest,” stated director Thomas Hamilton. “Additionally, we chart the rise of one of the most durable of Hollywood genres, the horror film, and provide fresh perspectives on the peculiar power that these films retain, 90 years after they were made.”
“Thomas and Ron have done a first-class job of telling the story of Boris Karloff’s life. I was a ‘monster kid’–my brother and I were obsessed with them,Frankenstein and The Mummy most of all–so I consider it a privilege and high honor to help bring Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster out into the world,” said Abramorama’s CEO, Richard Abramowitz.
“The timing seems perfect to release a documentary about the heralded actor Boris Karloff. His legacy continues to grow and in keeping with Shout! Studios’ focus in perpetuating such legacies, we are thrilled to introduce this documentary to an audience that can once again celebrate Mr. Karloff’s iconic status,” said Mark Balsam from Shout! Studios.
BORIS KARLOFF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER (USA, approximately 90 minutes, English). Voltage Films LTD Tribute Promotions & Abramorama in Association with Shout! Studios “Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster.” Sara Karloff, Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman, Stefanie Powers, Christopher Plummer, Peter Bogdanovich, John Landis, Lee Grant, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, Norman Jewison, David J. Skal, Gregory W. Mank. Narration by Michael Jarmus. Music by Laura Forrest Hay. Original Song by Jay Leonart. Edited by Anuree de Silva. Director of Photography Bruce Heinsius. Post-Production by TVC Soho. Sound Mixing by Stephen O’Toole. Coloring by Marty Webb. Online Editing by Ian Mander. Executive Produced by Eric Bond Hutton, Tracy Jenkins, Richard Abramowitz. Produced by Thomas Hamilton, Ron MacCloskey. Script by Ron MacCloskey & Thomas Hamilton. Directed by Thomas Hamilton. An Abramorama and Shout! Studios theatrical release.
About Abramorama
Abramorama is the preeminent global theatrical distribution and rights management partner for documentary and music films and is recognized for the consistent high quality of its work on award winning features. An innovator in the focused, personalized form of film marketing, promotion, distribution and live, event and digital cinema, Abramorama provides invaluable alternatives to filmmakers while continuing to trail-blaze exciting new pathways to defined audiences.
For more than 20 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films, including Ron Howard’s Grammy Award®-winningThe Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years; Stanley Nelson’s Miles Davis: Birth of The Cool; Atlantic Records and Melanie Martinez’ K-12; John McDermott’s Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church; Amir Bar-Lev’s Long Strange Trip – The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead; Tabbert Fiiller’s The Public Image Is Rotten; Danny Clinch and Pearl Jam’s Let’s Play Two; Corbett Redford and Green Day’s Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk; John Scheinfeld’s Chasing Trane – The John Coltrane Documentary; Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg’s Who Will Write Our History; Brett Bern’s BANG! The Bert Berns Story; Brett Morgen and National Geographic’s seminal Jane; Asif Kapadia’s Senna; Neil Young’s vast catalog of Bernard Shakey Productions; Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam Twenty; Sacha Gervasi’s Spirit Award-winning Anvil! The Story of Anvil; Banksy’s Academy Award® nominated & Spirit Award-winning Exit Through the Gift Shop; Laurie Anderson’s New York Times critics’ pick, Heart of a Dog; Showtime’s National Board of Review Winner Listen to Me Marlon; Academy Award®-nominee and IDA Best Documentary Winner The Look of Silence; and the episodic multi-platform series Deconstructing The Beatles. Abramorama is a founding partner of The Seventh Art Stand program, an act of cinematic solidarity against Islamophobia, that ran in more than 50 theaters across the United States in May of 2017. Abramorama launched a conscious films imprint, Mangurama, in 2018 alongside its music-centric film fund focused on the global release of iconic music documentaries. In January of 2019 the company launched the live multicast streaming enterprise ABCinemaNOW.com with the global live introduction, interstitial programming, and Q&A from Paris, France for the 55-country release of Who Will Write Our History. In 2020 Abramorama Selects was launched providing a gateway for select films across global VOD platforms. For more information visit abramorama.com.
About Shout! Studios
Shout! Studios is the filmed entertainment production and distribution arm of Shout! Factory, specializing in all aspects of distribution, including theatrical, VOD, digital, DVD/Blu-ray, and broadcast. Shout! Studios works with creators at the forefront of pop culture, driving creative expression and diversity in independent storytelling. Shout! Studios finances, produces, acquires, and distributes an eclectic slate of movies, award-winning animated features, specialty films and series from rising and established talent, filmmakers and producers. Upcoming releases for 2021 include dramedy Language Lessons, directed by Natalie Morales and starring Morales and Mark Duplass, Coppelia, starring world-renowned ballerina Michaela DePrince, the Western Old Henry, starring Tim Blake Nelson and making its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the animated feature Dreambuilders, and action-thriller Take Back, starring Mickey Rourke and Michael Jai White. Recent releases include the comedy-drama Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Standing Up, Falling Down, starring Ben Schwartz and Billy Crystal, documentary features A Crime on the Bayou, and Women In Motion: Nichelle Nichols Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA. Family films include award-winning animated features Legend of Hei, In This Corner of the World from director Sunao Katabuchi, and Swift, starring Oscar® winners Kate Winslet and Willem Dafoe, Christophe Gans’Beauty and the Beast (La Belle Et La Bête), starring Vincent Cassel and Lea Seydoux, and Mia and the White Lion, starring Melanie Laurent.
