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Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)

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This is a wonderful collection of horror pictures made by MGM and Warner Brothers during the Thirties. Neither studio was noted for horror pictures, but the ones they did make are unforgettable to fans of the genre as well as late night movie addicts. Following is a synopsis of the films contained in the collection:

THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (MGM, 1932) - Boris Karloff is wonderfully creepy as Sax Rohmer's evil genius, Dr. Fu Manchu. It would not be the last time Karloff played a Chinese, as he later starred as Mr. Wong in Monogram's low budget detective series later in the decade. The plot concerns a race between good guy Lewis Stone and Fu Manchu to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan. If Fu Manchu gets there first he will possess the magical relics placed there which, in turn, will allow him to enslave the world. Look for a young Myrna Loy in a delightful turn as Fu's diabolical, and scantily-clad, daughter.

DOCTOR X (WB, 1932) - A good early effort by Michael Curtiz concerning the "Moon Killer" murders in which the victims are strangled, cannibalized and surgically dissected under the light of the full moon. Wise-cracking reporter Lee Tracy traces the clues to a spooky seaside mansion, where Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill) and his colleagues are conducting strange experiments. Made in early two-strip Technicolor, the film is wonderfully atmospheric, and the sets themselves will linger in your mind. Aside from the irritating Lee Tracy as reporter Lee Taylor, the acting is crisp and to the point. Atwill in particular is eerie. Fay Wray is good as Xavier's daughter. I won't give any more of the plot away, but just remember the phrase "synthetic flash." Once heard, it will linger in the mind always.

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (MGM, 1935) - Tod Browning's remake of his "London After Midnight" with Bela Lugosi as the vampire, Count Mora, and Lionel Atwill as Inspector Newman. In the original, both roles were played by Lon Chaney. The plot concerns the death of Sir Karell Borotyn, who appears to have been killed by vampire Count Mora. Fearing that the vampire's next victim will be Borotyn's daughter, Irena (Elizabeth Allan), vampire expert Professor Zelen (Lionel Barrymore) is called I to protect her and shed some light on the goings-on. Look for Carroll Borland as the Count's daughter (a role played by Edna Tichenor in the original).

MAD LOVE (MGM, 1935) - One of the great plots in horror film history, and one that has been repeated many times. Colin Clive plays the brilliant concert pianist Stephen Orlac, whose hands are crushed in a train accident. His wife, Yvonne, is a noted stage actress whose ardent admirer is Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre). Although she rejected Gogol previously, she is forced to seek his help in restoring her husband's hands. Gogol replaces Orlac's hands with those of executed knife thrower Rollo, and the fun begins. Clive is his usual tortured, neurotic self and Lorre is brilliant as the oily monomaniacal Gogol. Pauline Keal, in her book on Citizen Kane, stated that Welles copied Lorre's look for the older Kane.

THE DEVIL DOLL (MGM, 1936) - Tod Browning's last great film is about as respected Parisian banker (Lionel Barrymore), who is framed for robbery and murder and sent to Devil's Island. Years later he escapes in the company of a scientist who has discovered a way to shrink living things to one-sixth their original size. Barrymore finds a new use for the scientist's discovery as a means of revenge on those who had framed him.

THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X (WB, 1939) - The famous Humphrey Bogart punishment picture! After years of complaining about his one-dimensional gangster roles, it was said that Jack Warner decided to teach Bogie a lesson and put him in the role of a vampiric lab assistant who needs freshly drained blood in order to stay alive. Bogart is a hoot in pasty-faced white makeup and a grey streak through his hair. Wayne Morris play the wise-cracking reporter who exposes Bogie as the killer. (Tough job considering the makeup). Look for Olin Howard (Jensen the drunk in Them! and the Blob's first victim) as the undertaker. This film has never before been released on either VHS or DVD, so it is a welcome find for horror fans and Bogart fans as well

Classic horror fans should grab Warner Bros up-coming "Hollywood Legends of Horror" collection, featuring 6 classics "new to dvd," including my personal favorite, "Mark of the Vampire" coming October 10, 2006! Titles include:

"The Devil Doll" (1936): Paul Lavond (Lionel Barrymore) was a respected banker in Paris when he was framed for robbery and murder by crooked associates and sent to Devil's Island. Years later, he escapes with a friend, a scientist who was working on a method to reduce humans to a height of mere inches (all for the good of humanity, of course). Lavond however is consumed with hatred for the men who betrayed him, and takes the scientist's methods back to Paris to exact painful revenge.

"Dr. X" (1932): A monster lurks as New York newspaperman Lee Taylor (Lee Tracy) investigates one of the "Moon Killer" murders, in which the victims are strangled, cannibalized and surgically incised under the light of the full moon. The trail leads to the cliff side mansion of Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill), where the doctor and his colleagues conduct a strange experiment. Fay Wray of "King Kong" fame plays the good doctor's daughter, Joan Xavier.

"The Return of Dr. X" (1939): New York newspaper reporter Walter Barnett (Wayne Morris) finds himself out of a job after he claims to have found actress Angela Merrova (Lya Lys) dead in her apartment - only the next day she showed up alive and threatened to sue the paper. Determined to investigate he discovers her involvement with a strange doctor (Humphrey Bogart) who is an expert on human blood. Barnett then finds a connection to a series of gruesome murders where the victims were all found drained of blood.
"Mark of the Vampire" (1935): Sir Karell Borotyn (Holmes Herbert) appears to have been killed by Count Mora Bela Lugosi), a vampire believed to haunt the local village. Now his daughter Irena (Elizabeth Allan) is the Count's next target. Enter Professor Zelen (Lionel Barrymore), an expert on vampires who is sent to prevent her death. At the same time, secrets are revealed surrounding the circumstances of Sir Karell's death.

"Mad Love" (1935): In Paris, the great surgeon Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) falls madly in love with stage actress Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake), and his ardor disturbs her quite a bit when he discovers to his horror that she is married to concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive). Shortly thereafter, Stephen's hands are badly crushed in a train accident- beyond the power of standard medicine. Knowing that his hands are his life, Yvonne overcomes her fear and goes to Dr. Gogol, to beg him to help. Gogol decides to surgically graft the hands of executed murderer Rollo onto Stephen Orlac, the surgery is successful but has terrible side-effects...

"The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932): Englishmen race to find the tomb of Ghengis Khan. They have to get there fast, as the evil genius Dr. Fu Manchu (Boris Karloff) is also searching, and if he gets the mysteriously powerful relics, he and his diabolical daughter, Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy)will enslave the world!

Also of interest is Universal Studios September 19, 2006 release of "The Boris Karloff Collection," featuring 5 Karloff classics, "Night Key," "The Black Castle" "The Climax," "The Strange Door," and "Tower of London." With Warner Bros and Universal Studios releasing these classic collections, the production values should be very high and the dvd transfers should be at their best! These films could never hold up against today's CGI and computer generated fair for "special effects." However, the acting talent and the incredible "atmosphere" of these films, as well as those released in the wonderful "Val Lewton Horror Collection," and the Universal Studios' "Legendary Monster" collections are far superior to today's artificial talents.

Many of these "boxed sets" contain films that have been long overdue for a dvd release. It's nice to see them finally making it to dvd! Now if only we could have the 1960 b&w jungle voodoo classic "The Leech Woman,"(1960) and a "Hammer Horror Collection Volume 2" featuring more great Hammer Studio classics, including the ultra-creepy "The Gorgon," my expectations in classic horror will be somewhat met.

Being a fan of early cinema and unusual films with clever plots, I was particularly pleased with this set of 6 films; packed neatly in slim cases with nice artwork and bonus features such as expert commentary to 5 of the 6 films. Each film is different and has its own unique highlights; some of which are obvious due to the legendary stars in each one; others are brought out in the audio commentary track which also gives excellent background information on the film's cast and crew, as well as the film industry and newly-emerging Horror genre in general. Although the cover boasts "6 Masterworks of Terror", it's unlikely that any modern-day viewer would find them terrifying, but no doubt for audiences of the 1930s these films were quite a sensation, and due to their high quality of production, direction or acting, can rightly be viewed as classics or prime examples of 1930s horror/thriller/mystery movies.

Far more than merely intending to shock and frighten audiences, these films still have a busy plot and interesting story, albeit unrealistic and even a bit silly at times. My personal favourites are "Mad Love", based on an earlier silent film, "The Hands of Orlac" about transplanting the hands of an executed murderer onto a pianist whose hands were injured in an accident, (echoes of Frankenstein here) and although the story is interesting enough in itself, Peter Lorre is simply brilliant as the mad doctor. His uncanny bald-headed appearance is already unnerving, and he uses his foreign accent to its absolute creepiest effect. And in the same league, Boris Karloff as the evil Fu Manchu is the best I've seen him so far, making this exaggerated character almost believable, and certainly very entertaining. I found the commentary to "The Mask of Fu Manchu" particularly interesting for its detailed explanations of censorship and how many scenes had been removed at some time. Fortunately, this is the complete and restored version, and putting political correctness aside, simply great fun to watch.

Another personal favourite is "The Return of Doctor X" with Humphrey Bogart in an early role before he found fame when he usually played the role of a villain. In this film he is very convincing as the strange, pale-faced doctor's assistant, experimenting with the use of synthetic blood to restore and sustain life - some intriguing ideas taken from both scientific work and the vampire legends. I also enjoyed the commentary to this movie which features a lengthy interview with the film's director, Vincent Sherman, who at age 99 can still vividly recall and tell of his experiences in early Hollywood. Also very intriguing and worth mentioning is "Mark of the Vampire" which is a remake of a lost silent film "London After Midnight" starring the legendary Lon Chaney, but is not at all what one would expect of a Chaney film. In fact, "Mark of the Vampire" is meant to keep you wondering and guessing til the very end; much in the same vein as "Cat and the Canary" and other slightly comical mystery whodunits. Last but not least, Lionel Barrymore puts in a very entertaining performance in his old woman disguise as he plots revenge on former associates with the means of more freaky science in "The Devil Doll". Sound and picture quality on all 3 discs is very good, and I'm sure this set will satisfy most early cinema or 1930s film enthusiasts, not to mention horror-genre fans as well, of course.

The Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection (2006) offers viewers six excellent little-seen thrillers from the classic Hollywood era; as a set, it in many ways surpasses 2005's The Val Lewton Horror Collection in quality.

Though Jacque Tourneur and Val Lewton's Cat People (1942) is generally credited with introducing monsters and horror to the modern urban landscape, Michael Curtiz's atmospheric Doctor X (1932) proves this assertion to be untrue.

Produced in an era before the Hays Code was enforced, Doctor X concerns a series of strangulation murders in New York City and Long Island in which the killer partially cannibalizes his victim's bodies. Known in the press as "the Moon Murderer" due to the period of the month during which he is active, the killer's eventual unmasking and subsequent transformation into the "Moon Monster" is still chilling today. Though the murderer's explanation for his actions seem both forced and unnecessary, the version offered here was printed in an early, eerie version of Technicolor, making a film already long on shadows also weirdly tinted in shades of green, red, and yellow.

Curtiz, of course, would go on to direct The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Casablanca (1942), Mildred Pierce (1945) and White Christmas (1954). A fairly young Lionel Atwill stars as the title doctor, and Fay Wray as his daughter.

Also produced by First National/Warner Brothers, The Return of Doctor X (1939) is a sequel to Doctor X in name only. Humphrey Bogart, who seems to be channeling Andy Warhol in several early scenes, stars as a murderer revived from the dead and now badly in need of continuous transfusions of a rare type of blood. Also starring Dennis Morgan before he rose to stardom as one of the Forties' most popular leading men, The Return of Doctor X is a surprisingly well-made and effective thriller.

Interestingly, the original film trailer, which is present as an extra feature, shows numerous scenes not included in the final cut, suggesting that the producers originally had quite a different film in mind.

Also produced during the pre-Hays era, MGM's The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) stars the post-Frankenstein Boris Karloff as the would-be Asian world-conqueror and Myra Loy as his beautiful but perverse daughter, Fah Lo See. Beautifully produced but anti-climatic, the film is remarkable for its sexual undertones, including the homoerotic scene in which the athletically-built Charles Starrett, who portrays the young hero, writhes under torture while wearing nothing but a scanty loincloth.

Tod Browning and MGM's quirky The Mark of the Vampire (1935) is a fascinatingly disjointed and almost surreal remake of Browning's now-lost silent film, London After Midnight (1927). Starring Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill, and Bela Lugosi, who only has several actual lines of dialogue, the film is actually a murder mystery disguised as a horror movie, and one which continuously cheats at the misleading game it plays with its audience. However, instead of detracting from the finished product, Browning's mischievous use of the editing process and evident joy in subverting viewer expectations make The Mark of the Vampire a horror film classic. Visually stunning throughout, the father-and-daughter vampire team, as depicted by Lugosi and Carroll Borland, remain one of the archetypal representations of the vampire in cinema.

MGM's ghoulish Mad Love (1935) stars Peter Lorre as love-obsessed surgeon Dr. Gogol and Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac, a world-renowned concert pianist who loses his hands in a train accident. When Lorre, who is in passionately in love with Orlac's beautiful wife, Yvonne, is called in to operate, he replaces the pianist's crushed hands with those of a recently-executed murderer whose specialty was knife-wielding. Before long, Orlac has the uncontrollable desire to kill, and Gogol, who keeps a life-size wax effigy of Yvonne in his home, hopes an imprisoned Orlac will finally make Yvonne available to become his bride.

The brief scene in which Orlac confronts what he believes is the reanimated figure of the decapitated and now-handless murderer is one of the great moments of Thirties horror. The film was a critical and popular failure upon release, though Lorre excels as the pathetic, love-sick Gogol, as does Clive as the potentially neurotic pianist, and lovely Frances Drake is extremely impressive as the devoted Yvonne.

The collection is rounded out by the wonderful special-effects extravaganza The Devil Doll (1936), produced by MGM and again directed by Tod Browning. Equal parts fantasy, science fiction, and thriller, Lionel Barrymore stars as wrongfully-accused banker Paul Lavond, who escapes from Devil's Island and subsequently disguises himself as an elderly female Parisian doll maker.

Having discovered how to miniaturize and mentally control human beings from an eccentric husband and wife scientist team who hope to save the world by ending starvation, Lavond sends a pair of 8-inch apache dancers out on missions of revenge, robbery, and murder, before being exonerated and reunited with his daughter, Lorraine, portrayed by the lovely Maureen O'Sullivan.

The Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection is an extremely satisfying set of horror and horror-related films. The screenwriting, acting, directing, photography, art direction, and set design for all six films are exquisite. Hopefully, the success of this collection, as well as that of the earlier The Val Lewton Horror Collection, will see further collections become available. Still awaiting collection are James Whale and Universal's The Old Dark House (1932), White Zombie starring Bela Lugosi (1932), and Michael Curtiz's The Mystery of the Wax Museum, among many others of the classic era.

The cover art to Warners' Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection features images of horror legends Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart. Humphrey Bogart ... what the heck? Yes, although Bogart was about as much a legend of horror as John Wayne was a musical comedy star, he did appear in one horror film ("The Return of Dr. X") included in this collection. Maybe it is a little erroneous and misleading to describe Bogie as a legend of horror but thankfully Warners' has included his one and only rarely shown thriller. The other films included in this collection feature Hollywood's true horror legends in an array of interesting roles.

"The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932) may not be a real horror film but it does have the incomparable Boris Karloff in fine form as the demoniacal Fu Manchu. This engaging pre-code film features some delightfully racy scenes and insinuations. A young Myrna Loy as Fu Manchu's lascivious daughter is especially entertaining. Her very obvious goal of making the young male lead her own personal sex slave would surely have been censored from the script just a few years later.

MGM reunited Bela Lugosi and his "Dracula" director, Tod Browning, for 1935s "The Mark of the Vampire." This film was a remake of Browning's own silent classic "London after Midnight" which had starred Lon Chaney (and has been lost for 40 years). The image of the vampire had solidified in the public consciousness in the form of Lugosi's Dracula. MGM, obviously hoping to profit from the Dracula image, hired Lugosi to play the lead vampire character in a departure from the horrific and creepy, shark toothed vampire Chaney played in the original film. The final result is a well-mounted and moody horror offering with all the eerie trappings you'd expect from a 30s thriller including lots of fog, cobwebs, shadows and screams.

Maybe the best 30s horror flick included on this set is MGM's "Mad Love" from 1935. This film features a very young (and very creepy) Peter Lorre as a demented surgeon who torments a highly-strung concert pianist played by Colin Clive. Clive seems even more neurotic here than in his role as Henry Frankenstein in Universal's first two Frankenstein films. Lorre has been lusting after Colin's wife and uses a horrible accident as a means to destroy Clive's life and steal his bride. This is a first class horror film from MGM that rivals Universal's best horror classics.

The two Warner "Doctor X" films have no connection other than a similarity in title. The first film is a pretty slow-moving and dated 1932 thriller. "Doctor X" was filmed in an early two-strip Technicolor process, just like 1933's "The Mystery of the Wax Museum," and is presented here in a restored color version. Even if it is a bit creaky, "Doctor X" is an interesting Hollywood artifact and worth at least one viewing. 1939's "The Return of Doctor X" is the one with Bogie. It's more of a B-movie but very fun to watch with Bogart as the villain of the title.

Rounding out this collection is Tod Browning's 1936 "Devil Doll" from MGM. This one features Lionel Barrymore as a vengeful soul who miniaturizes humans to do his bidding. It's an interesting addition to the set but by no means the primary reason to purchase the collection.

As you would expect from Warners' all the films are high quality transfers from the best available material. There are some trailers and film commentaries (not for all films though) including one with the late film director Vincent Sherman. Overall this set is highly recommended to fans who wish to add to their film libraries of horror films from Hollywood's golden age.

Side note: Some other reviewers have commented on the absence of the Warners' Karloff film "The Walking Dead" (1936). I too was mystified until I realized that this may have been done deliberately. Perhaps Warners has the future intention of offering their own collection of Karloff films. Since both Universal and Columbia released Karloff sets this fall I would guess Warners would have held back. If they choose to release their own set they would only need to take "The Walking Dead" and add "West of Shanghai" (Warners 1937), "The Invisible Menace" (Warners 1938), "British Intelligence" (Warners 1940), "Devil's Island" (Warners 1940), and maybe even "You'll Find Out" (RKO 1940). Let's hope Warners does put out a nice salute to Boris.

Everyone has already covered this one well. A couple of notes about the prints, though. DR. X(1932) is taken from an original 2 strip Technicolor print restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Warner chose to include the print, which is far from perfect, so that we can see it in the original 2 strip color. Apparently, the Warner archive contains only a B/W print of this film. The UCLA print is very rare and is a treasure. Same can be said for MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM(1933), available on the flipside of the separately available HOUSE OF WAX(1953) DVD.

MASK OF FU MANCHU(1932) contains some previously censored materials, which is an updated print compared to the previous video incarnations.

RETURN OF DR. X(1939), which I agree has nothing to do with DR. X(1932), is a nice addition. A very unusual role for Bogart, who apparently hated this film.

Glad that Warner has released these on DVD. Not the best horror, by any means, but some interesting films with interesting casts.

Warner's was headed in the right direction with this collection of classic horror, but somehow "The Return of Dr.X" was considered a "classic" when it's not. The only thing to really recommend this low budget thriller was the early film appearance of a young Humphrey Bogart as the mad doctor. And it has nothing to do with the included 1932 "Dr.X". This pre-code film is a classic although a creaky one. It's filmed in the early two-tone Technicolor and features some wonderfully bizarre sets and a grisly plot line involving mutilation and cannibalism. It also features Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill and a truly wild transformation scene with Preston Foster turning himself into the "full moon killer" via "synthetic flesh". Unfortunately, there's too much comedy relief and the print is scratched throughout. That's a bummer because the story itself is fun and I could only imagine what a great experience it would be with a good clean print. Still, it's a must see for the positives that I have mentioned. My next favorite is 1935's "Mad Love" with the great Peter Lorre as the mad Dr.Gogol menacing Frances Drake and tormenting Colin Clive. It's a beautiful print and worth the wait to have it on DVD. The films come two to a disc with each disc in it's own neat slim keep case with the original poster art on the covers for each film. The other films are fun too with wonderful casts ( Barrymore, Lugosi, Karloff et al.) and look good. All the films have commentaries. My only wishes were a better print of "Dr.X" and 1933's "Island of Lost Souls" included instead of "Return of Dr.X". Now, THAT would have been a classic horror collection. But it's still a worthwhile investment for classic horror lovers. Enjoy.

From the moment LEGENDS OF HORROR was announced I was looking forward to it with great expectation but I already had a few qualms regarding it. As has been well covered elsewhere Boris Karloff's THE WALKING DEAD from 1936 should have been included in the set but I can live with THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X for a few reasons. 1) It does offer Humphrey Bogart the opportunity to show what a good actor can do with what for him was a thankless role. 2) The director Vincent Sherman was still alive to provide commentary on the making of the film as well as background on Bogie and others. 3) Most important of all it shows how censorship imposed on the movies in 1934 changed the style and content of the first great cycle of horror films.

The way the films are coupled is another issue. I understand the reasons for coupling Karloff and Lugosi together from a marketing standpoint but thematically MARK OF THE VAMPIRE should have been coupled with THE DEVIL DOLL as both are Tod Browning films which were heavily cut by MGM reflecting the aftermath of the FREAKS debacle. THE MASK OF FU MANCHU and MAD LOVE would have fit together nicely as portraits of over the top manaical mad doctors which are beautifully photographed with fascinating art direction.

Finally there are the commentaries themselves. I have already talked about Vincent Sherman on RETURN OF DOCTOR X as being of historical interest. The other commentaries are a mixed bag. Greg Mank's one for THE MASK OF FU MANCHU is a prime example of how it should be done. He is obviously watching the film as he narrates telling us what to look and listen for which greatly enhances the viewing experience. On the other hand Kim Newman's and Steve Jones' commentary on MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, while demonstrating that they know their stuff, comes across as very distracting as they don't coordinate what they are saying with what is going on during the film. And why is there no commentary for THE DEVIL DOLL? It was Tod Browning's last great film and has a colorful history of its own (it's a curious combination of Browning's THE UNHOLY THREE and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO).

Nevertheless this is a first rate set of rarely seen 1930's horror films done the way it should be that no early horror fan should be without. It is attractively packaged and features great transfers for the most part (the color print of DOCTOR X looks as good as can be expected). It's also a joy to have the 6 minutes of censored footage restored to THE MASK OF FU MANCHU in all of its politically incorrect glory. Now Warners should get to work on Volume 2 with the same sort of packaging. It could include THE WALKING DEAD, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, KONGO (or better yet a restored version of WEST OF ZANZIBAR), FREAKS, and a double feature of John Barrymore's SVENGALI and THE MAD GENIUS.

These films are such gems, each of them, and the restored prints are so beautiful, that this collection should not be missed whether you are a seasoned archivist or just discovering the Universal Horror Canon. The bonus features are sparse, comprising mostly commentary tracks from film historians and critics (although one,The Return of Dr. X, which stars a very creepy Humphrey Bogart, has commentary that includes the 100-year-old director!) and sometimes the theatrical trailer. But The Mask of Fu Manchu alone is worth thet price of the set for the chance to see, uncut, its pre-code craziness, high camp and very overt erotic and sadomasochistic overtones!
Barrymore, Atwill, Karloff, Lugosi, Lorre, Myrna Loy, Fay Wray... the list goes on. Whatever they're asking for this delightful box set, it's a pittance. It doesn't get much better than this.The Boris Karloff Collection (Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key)The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)

HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS OF HORROR COLLECTION, from Warner Home Video, restores the pleasure of Halloween horror to children of all ages. These six gems are from a 1930's era when horror movies were downright fun and not slasher films.

We have six movies on three slim volumes. DOCTOR X (1932, Warners) is a two-color Technicolor delight about moon killings at a lab inside the estate of Lionel Atwill on Long Island. Lee Tracy is the wise-cracking reporter, and Fay Wray is Atwill's daughter. Preston Foster is also in the cast. The password is "synthetic flesh." On the same disk is RETURN OF DOCTOR X (1939, Warner), a 62 minute programmer most notable for Humphrey Bogart's performance as a zombie. Both of these movies come with audio commentaries by film scholars.

Volume two has Karloff as a Chinese warlord sadist and Myrna Loy as his Oriental play thing in the wonderfully campy and outrageously politically incorrect MASK OF FU MANCHU (1932, MGM). Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, and Bela Lugosi star in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935, MGM). Tod Browning directed this sound remake of his own "lost" silent LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927). It is a lot of fun, with a twist ending. Both movies come with film scholar audio commentaries.

Volume three may be the best, with the macabre and eerie MAD LOVE (1935, MGM). Concert pianist Colin Clive loses his hands in a train accident at the same time that killer Edward Brophy dies by guillotine. Psychopath Peter Lorre grafts Brophy's hands onto Clive's, with bizarre results. Karl Freund (THE MUMMY) directed with great visual flair. And Tod Browning's THE DEVIL-DOLL (1936, MGM) is an outright lulu. Lionel Barrymore, falsely convicted of a crime and sent to Devil's Island, escapes after several years, with a plan to miniaturize toys for psycho revenge. He wants confessions from the true killers. Wait until you see Lionel dressed up as a sweet old lady committing homicide. The climax is dazzling and the ending, with Maureen O'Sullivan and Frank Lawton as lovers, is unexpectedly romantic. Both movies have theatrical trailers, and MAD LOVE has an audio commentary.

The three disks all have beautiful color poster art covers, plus a very colorful box. Play the set over three nights and realize how subtle and eerie horror films can be. Make them to antidote to the FRIDAY THE 13TH and SAW slasher films. Return to an era when horror movies were downright fun.