Behind the Mask

Were it not for the presence of Boris Karloff, here in a supporting role, we may not have such a high quality home video edition of this movie. Enjoyable as it is in many ways, BEHIND THE MASK is also a good example of how much difference a talented director can make. Compare the films of James Whale, for example, from the same period and see how much better several scenes here might have been. On the plus side, there is the cinematography of Ted Tetzlaff, creating moody scenes in heavy rain that grab a viewer's attention from the start. So the film looks mostly great, but in the acting department it's merely adequate. No one in the cast is terrible, and we do have Edward Van Sloane clearly enjoying himself as an evil scientist. But even Karloff is a slight disappointment. It's fun to see him in modern dress, playing a hired killer, but it's not one of his really notable appearances. Still, the plot is engaging and there is more action than one might expect from such a modest production.