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Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  I completely agree with you and J Harker about Lugosi and Karloff. Lugosi had presence and a strange charisma in some roles, but Karloff, no doubt due to ~eight years of stage acting in Canada and the US, was a more versatile actor who could perform with gravitas and humour, depending on what the role needed.
I suppose another advantage was that English was his first language and that growing up in England before emigrating to Canada and then moving to the US gave him a grasp of language and accents that Lugosi, whose delivery was often a bit stilted, simply couldn't match.
When they were together in The Black Cat, that was a brilliant piece of casting in an exceptional film, allowing each to shine and benefit from the other's presence that didn't quite happen in The Raven, You'll Find Out, The Bodysnatcher, or Son of Frankenstein. |
Christopher Lee couldn't raise a film like Peter Cushing could either. (I mentioned Cushing earlier so thought it relevant).
I don't think with Lee it was because he didn't have the ability, more that his heart wasn't really in it and he didn't really love what he was making,horror especially. He was certainly more in it for the money than because he enjoyed what he was doing.
A claim which is proven by his dominating presence in non-starring roles in later films by directors he admired such as Peter Jackson, George Lucas and Tim Burton.
When i say 'I don't think' i mean i know having read his memoir
Lord of Misrule.