Books, newspaper and magazine articles, television and the internet are filled with information about films and filmmakers. Rarely, however, do they discuss the one indispensable element of motion pictures…those who pay to see the results of filmmakers’ efforts.
From the earliest days of motion pictures, Americans and moviegoers around the world wanted to know about the movies. They wrote letters to studios requesting information and photographs. Magazines catering to film fans’ interests in the movies and those who made them date back to the earliest days of filmmaking. The first two fan magazines both debuted in 1911, Photoplay and Motion Picture Story.
Perhaps the quintessential movie fan phenomenon was – and is – The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Less than a year after its 1975 release, late-night and midnight screenings began to rise in popularity. Fans would come dressed as the film’s characters, bring props, and even shout out their favorite lines. More than 30 theaters have already announced September and October 2025 play dates for the film’s 50th Anniversary Spectacular.
One who is happy to pay homage to film fans is Sara Karloff, the daughter of famed actor Boris Karloff and keeper of his legacy.
Boris Karloff had impeccable San Fernando Valley credentials: he appeared in 174 motion pictures, the best-known of which were made for Universal Studios. He appeared before the camera for the first time in a crowd scene at that studio. He lived in the Valley from 1929 to 1934 and again from 1946 to 1952.
Sharing not only her father’s famous name, but also his birthday, November 23, Sara Karloff knows a lot about fans of her father’s films: “Those who love fine art are not called fans. Those who enjoy classical music are not called fans. But those who have an abiding interest in motion pictures are called fans, and that’s what movie fans are…fanatic about films, the people who make them, the people who star in them, and the smallest details about them all.”
Sara Karloff first learned about fans when she was invited to the Famous Monsters of Filmland convention, back in the early nineties. Held in a Washington, D.C. suburb, it’s where she first met Bela Lugosi, Jr.; Lon Chaney’s son, Ron; and Dwight Frye, Jr., whose father played a villain in several classic Universal horror films, including Renfield in 1931’s Dracula.
She recalls “All the fans in attendance were excited to meet those of us who were descendants of famous motion picture monsters. We could not walk across the room without being inundated by the fans and asked to sign things because we were a direct link to their favorite movie stars. This was my first exposure to the world of fans.”
One night during the convention the four monster films’ offsprings decided to attend an outdoor concert in Washington, D.C. “We went to the Capitol Lawn and spread out our picnic. We were there for about 15 minutes and realized that no one had asked for our autographs. Nobody had taken a picture of us. No one approached us for the entire two-hour concert. We learned then how fleeting was fame. The next morning, we got up and signed more autographs, full of ourselves once again.”
Sara Karloff has met youngsters who come up to her and can replay the dialogue from these films verbatim or go back and forth through a scene with their grandparent or their parent. They know what years their favorite films were released, who starred in what film, and trivia from those films. “That’s what fans of all genres do, fans of musicals, of dance films, the westerns,” she says.
She has learned more from her father’s fans than she ever might have learned on her own about his career and about the impact his work has had on families over the generations: “It’s been so rewarding to hear the stories of fans who tell me about the influence my father’s films have had on their grandmother, sister or child. Their stories are so genuine and often touching.
“At the fan conventions I sit behind a table and speak with, take photographs with, and share stories about my father. The worst thing that can happen is that they don’t care anymore or that you were rude and they stop being your fan. It would be a mistake not to take the fans seriously. They are the ones who buy tickets, and without tickets there are no films.”
Worth repeating: Without fans, there are no films.
Martin Cooper, President of Cooper Communications, supervised public relations for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for 10 years; held executive positions with Disney and Universal Studios; and was Board Chairman of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. An award-winning author, he has written four books, two of them on the San Fernando Valley. His next book, The ‘Reel’ Hollywood: The San Fernando Valley, the history of motion pictures in the Valley, will be out later this year.
