Hollywood Legends Of Horror Collection (1932 - 1939: Doctor X (1932)/Mask Of Fu Manchu (1932)/Mad Love (1935)/Mark Of The Vampire (1935)/The Devil-Doll (1936)/The Return Of Doctor X (1939)/MGM/Warner Archive DVD Set reissue)

Picture: B Sound: B Extras: B Films: B+/B/B/B+/B/B

PLEASE NOTE: This DVD set is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.

If you're a fan of classic horror films like I am, then the names Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff and Fay Wray all mean something to you. Brought together in one great collection of six films on DVD, the Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection (now reissued by Warner Archive) is a must-watch for fans of classics. Films in the set include Doctor X (1932), The Return of Doctor X (1939), Mark of the Vampire (1935), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Mad Love (1935), and The Devil-Doll (1936).

Doctor X (1932)

Michael Curtiz's Doctor X is a fun psychological chiller that is sure to send a chill up your spine. With a great cast including Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray (King Kong), the film is in many ways a take-off of Frankenstein and is a great entry in the 'evil mad doctor' genre.

A monster lurks through 1930's New York as newspaperman Lee Taylor 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 cliffside mansion of Dr. Xavier, where the doctor and his colleagues are conducting a bizarre experiment.

The Return of Doctor X (1939)

Humphrey Bogart stars in the lesser sequel to Doctor X that picks up on some of the same story beats but still manages to be a fun and effective followup. Directed by Vincent Sherman, the film also stars Rosemary Lane, and Wayne Morris.

New York newspaper reporter Walter Garrett (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 threatens to sue the paper for all its worth. Determined to investigate and pretty sure of what he saw he finds out that she has been meddling around with the sinister Doctor X - who has been draining his victims of their blood to aide in a dark new experiment.

Mark of the Vampire (1935)

Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi's un-official followup to Dracula, The Mark of the Vampire is a black and white treat that fans of bloodsuckers won't want to miss. Co-starring Lionel Barrymore and Elizabeth Allan, this is one of my all-time favorite vampire flicks and really stands the test of time and will hopefully find its way onto high definition Blu-ray soon.

Sir Karell Borotyn appears to have been killed by Count Mora, a vampire believed to haunt the local village. Now, his daughter Irena is the count's next target. Enter Professor Zelen, an expert on vampires who's sent in to prevent her death. At the same time, secrets are revealed surrounding the circumstances of Sir Karell's death that may lead to stunning revelations.

The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)

Before Christopher Lee famously played Fu Manchu in a series of British feature film productions, Boris Karloff took on the role in what I think is one of his best films after the Universal Frankenstein films. Devious and diabolical, Fu Manchu is one of the screen's most controversial villains and fuses science fiction, horror, and adventure into one mix. The film also stars Lewis Stone and Karen Morley. Though it may be a little politically incorrect for today's sensitive crowd, I think a remake featuring the Fu Manchu character could make for an interesting big budget spectacle.

Commissioner Sir Nayland Smith of the British Secret Service asks Sir Lionel Barton to travel to the edge of the Gobi desert to find the mask and sword of the infamous Genghis Khan. Nayland is particularly concerned that he do so before Dr. Fu Manchu (Karloff), who is hell bent on world domination. Captured and tortured by Fu Manchu, Barton is forced to speak up on the information about the ancient relics that he is withholding. But when Khan's mask and sword are found by another party, it takes everything to stop Fu Manchu from succeeding in his plan.

Mad Love (1935)

Peter Lorre stars (in his first American role) in Mad Love - an interesting film that is said to have had some influence on Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and possibly even some on Hitchcock's Vertigo. Also starring Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy, and Sara Haden the twisted love story involves a knife throwing serial killer, an odd wax figure, and strange body part transplants.

Doctor Gogol (Lorre) is a renowned surgeon who is obsessed with stage performer Yvonne Orlac (Drake), seeing her perform every night in a Grand Guignol-inspired play. He is disappointed to learn that she is leaving the show to join her husband, famed pianist Stephen Orlac (Clive), on a much delayed honeymoon. The Orlacs no sooner set off than they are involved in an accident where Stephen's hands are crushed. She begs Dr. Gogol to do anything to save her husband. He decides to graft new hands and uses those from a recently executed prisoner, the vicious Rollo the Knife Thrower. When Stephen regains the use of his hands those around him find that he has also undergone a personality change and is now prone to violent fits of temper and quickly becomes an expert at knife throwing, putting Yvonne's life in danger.

The Devil-Doll (1936)

Another great film from Director Tod Browning, this one focusing on lethal 'little people' that was no doubt the inspiration for The Puppet Master films. While a little dated, the film is still pretty creepy with more of the signature style that Browning brought to all of his work. The film stars Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry B. Walthall, Frank Lawton, and Rafaela Ottiano to name a few.

After nearly two decades behind bars, two prisoners escape - the ex-Parisian banker Paul Lavond (Barrymore) and the mad scientist Marcel (Walthall) - who has been intense in his research for the miniaturization of animals and human beings in an attempt to ''improve'' the resources of mankind. Once Marcel's wife dies, he decides to take his experiments to new and terrifying heights!

Each of the films look as good as they can on DVD with restored black and white transfers that sport the 1.37:1 aspect ratio or 'fullscreen' with masters used for the previous issue of the set. The sound mixes are all in mono, lossy Dolby Digital tracks, that are nothing grand but do the job well, making the films looks and sound decent but not as good as they would if they had been updated to Blu-ray. Hopefully, we will see this same set in high definition in the months or years ahead as it would be a nice compliment to Universal's Monsters films that have mostly been converted to the superior format.

Special Features include...

Commentary Tracks

Trailers

This is a great set that is well worth the price for any classic horror fan!

For an earlier look at this set, try this link...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4451/Hollywood's+Legends+of+Horror+Collection+(Doctor

To order this Warner Archive DVD set, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

http://www.wbshop.com/

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/