USE OF KARLOFF'S IMAGE PROMPTS SUIT.

Byline: Marla Matzer Rose Staff Writer

The horror: Boris Karloff's daughter is suing Universal Studios and one of its executives for more than $10 million, claiming the movie company has been using her father's image to secure promotions and licensing deals without paying her royalties.

Sara Karloff's suit, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges fraud, unfair business practices and breach of contract. It claims the movie studio has been using Boris Karloff's image to secure promotions and licensing deals with third parties.

Her father, who changed his name from William Henry Pratt because he thought Boris Karloff it sounded more menacing, portrayed such classic horror characters as Frankenstein and The Mummy in a series of films beginning in the early 1930s. Universal is still capitalizing on those characters.

``Sara Karloff is owed millions by Universal because the studio ran roughshod over her rights,'' said Allan Browne, Karloff's attorney. ``(Universal) used unsavory business tactics and wrongfully used Boris Karloff's image and likeness.''

A representative of Universal, owned by Montreal-based Seagram Co., said the studio does not comment on litigation.

Universal has made a concerted effort for at least the past five years to exploit such classic monsters as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy. Much of this initiative has come out of Universal's consumer products division, whose president, Cynthia Cleveland, is named as a co-defendant in the suit.

The studio has big plans for its horror classics: It produced a successful remake of ``The Mummy'' last year, and a new version of ``Frankenstein'' is in the works.

Karloff is one of many celebrity heirs who claimed inherited rights of publicity under a California law passed in the mid-1980s. Until that time, a celebrity's rights to his or her image were not ``descendible,'' but ended at death.

Bela Lugosi, the son of the ``Dracula'' actor of the same name, helped to bring about the legislation after he sued Universal in the late 1960s.

Under agreements with these heirs, Universal can use ``generic'' Dracula and Frankenstein characters that don't directly copy facial features of the original actors.

Indeed, vampires and mummies per se are not the property of any one company. But the line between legality and illegality in a case such as Karloff's can be open to interpretation.

Browne admitted he couldn't give an exact definition of how much Universal would have to change a Karloff character to avoid paying royalties to his daughter.

His suit alleges that Universal ``passed off'' slightly changed versions of Karloff characters - which, according to Browne, were ``substantially similar'' to Karloff's. The company also engaged in ``bait and switch'' tactics with licensees who pay Universal to make products in the image of their characters.

No outside licensees are named in the suit. Browne declined to name any, saying he would hold back specific examples to use as evidence in his case.

But Universal has dozens of licensees for its monsters, making everything from Halloween masks to Christmas ornaments to high-end collectibles.

Browne and Karloff contend that Boris Karloff himself created the unique look of the characters he portrayed.

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Photo: Boris Karloff as Frankenstein