THE VIEWING HABITS OF AN ADDLED MIND. In a little thought experiment (very little thought) to show where my brain is at, here is a grouping of the DVD's which I have been watching in the past week of seven days: the slant (owing to the Octoberishness of the month) veers towards horror but there be others amongst them which ain't particularly a-scary:

MAD LOVE is the sick, sick film which saw Peter Lorre's first American film role as the sadist Dr. Gogol who transplants the knife-throwing hands of a murderer named Rollo onto pianist Colin (Dr. Frankenstein) Clive. Lorre also is so in love with Clive's wife Frances Drake that he keeps a wax figure of her in his house and plays his organ for her (boy, this is sure one sicko film). The justly famous scene in which Clive visits a supposedly resurrected Rollo is chilling; Rollo's guillotined head has been reattached and metal hands have replaced the knife-throwers own which now have been stitched onto Colin Clive. DOCTOR X is one of two early two-strip technicolor films by Warner Bros. (the other was Mystery of the Wax Museum) starring suavely villainous Lionel Atwill and luscious Fay Wray. Doctor X, in fact, features Fay Wray's first scream in a horror film! This is another early 30's horror film (this time directed by Michael "Casablanca" Curtiz) which knew how to be sicko! The Moon Killer has been murdering people during the full moon and partially consuming them. That's right, folks, we have a hooded maniac cannibal on the loose! What's more, this killer has found out a way to create synthetic flesh with which he creates a new, gruesome face for himself. Chomp Chomp. THE RETURN OF DR. X is not a sequel to the Lionel Atwill/Fay Wray movie above. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. This time murder victims are being found drained of blood; after which they are seen walking around with incredibly pasty faces. The reason this movie is known at all is because it features Humphrey Bogart in his only horror role. And ole Humph wasn't too happy about it. Notice as Bogart enters the room with his pasty white face and shock of white hair. He's carrying a bunny. That's right, a bunny. And he's stroking it in what must surely be the sole inspiration for Austin Powers' Dr. Evil. TWINS OF EVIL is the third in Hammer Films' lesbian vampire trilogy (and you never imagined there WAS such a thing) based on J. Sheridan LeFanu's novella "Carmilla". This time real-life Playboy centerfolds the Collinson twins star as -- well, twins. Talk about typecasting. And they certainly weren't cast for their thespian skills; only their lesbian thrills -- as the pair cavort in several scenes topless. The film, which also stars veteran vampire hunter Peter Cushing as a puritanical -- well, Puritan, isn't really that bad. It's just not that good either. Lots of neck chomping by vampires keeps things moving. STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR is another Peter Lorre movie. This time, Peter stars as a bizarre little murderer with a scarf who buys a hamburger for a stray dog. He's kind to animals but slits the throats of people. I'm not sure I would argue with him on that point. Anyway, this film is possibly the first film noir ever made. Like the first rock & roll record, it's a little difficult to pin down exactly ONE movie which can claim to be the first film noir but this one has a strong case. The shadowy lighting, the voiceover narration, the delirious dream sequence and the general downbeatness of the whole thing are fascinating. ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC is a Humphrey Bogart war movie which comes in the recent box set. I was totally surprised that I actually thought this was a GREAT movie. I don't like war movies as a rule but this one was great. It has a slam bang first reel in which Bogart's ship is torpedoed and there are fires and explosions all over the place. It's a heart-thumping action sequence which reminded me of another war movie which started similarly about a half century later: Shaving Ryan's Privates -- er I mean Saving Private Ryan. THE MALTESE FALCON is one of the greatest detective films noir ever made and one of my favourite films as well. So any opportunity to watch it again will be seized by yours truly and it's inclusion in the new Bogart box set (along with the earlier 2 versions made (the 1931 version and Satan Met a Lady with Bette Davis -- neither of which are very good) was a perfect chance to watch it again. This movie is indeed the stuff that dreams are made of. MASTER OF THE WORLD stars Vincent Price in a non-horror role as Robor; the Captain Nemo-like fella who has an airship and kidnaps Charles Bronson (if you can believe it) and Henry (Werewolf of London) Hull. This adaptation of a Jules Verne novel by American-International Pictures (those folks who brought you Roger Corman's Poe pictures) is actually quite a lot of fun in a 1960's way.