Aural Horror: Boris Karloff "An Evening With Boris Karloff And His Friends" (Decca, DL74833, 1967)

Now, a blast from the past. And a cool merging of monster talent here, as well: Forrest J. Ackerman writes a script that Boris Karloff reads with Verne Langdon & Milt Larsen producing!

This LP is a collection of synopses for the classic Universal films that Karloff figured in so largely, and mixed in with his narration are sound bites and musical cues from Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The House of Frankenstein; all of which must've blown the collective minds of monster kids dwelling in the pre-video-on-demand days of 1967.

Forrest J. Ackerman's script (famously written in one sitting) does a nice job of stitching together all the parts, and while the whole thing only lasts about 24 minutes it manages to give an appropriately grand sense of status to the initial Universal horror cycle that was then still setting the tone for most monster entertainment.

Unfortunately, this gem is out of catalog and was never releases on CD, but thanks to the miracle of the Internet you can download it here. (Courtesy of the site Scar Stuff)