BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (1956)
Director: Ed Wood
Image Entertainment

I get shivers of excitement down my spine when I think of all the films in "The Wade Williams Collection" that will be coming to DVD through Image! The ball started rolling with a collection of Ed Wood titles such as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, GLEN OR GLENDA, and JAILBAIT.

My personal favorite is BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, featuring the aged Bela Lugosi in probably his last significant part in a film. He plays Vornoff...Dr. Eric Vornoff... (the name? It will mean little to you) as a nutty scientist conducting radiation experiments on humans in an attempt to create a race of atomic supermen to conquer the world. He is aided by Lobo, the bald and hulking brute played by Tor Johnson.

The doctor works in a cheap lab with walls made out of cardboard and uses a photographic enlarger as a substitute for some sophisticated piece of machinery. He's even got a rubber octopus (which doesn't move) to dispatch his enemies.

As bad as this movie is, it could have been better with tighter editing. Not much better, mind you...but still better. As it is, we've got lots to laugh about in a vintage 50s drive-in classic which shouldn't (and couldn't) be taken too seriously.

The picture quality on this DVD is good, and I don't think that I've ever seen it look better. The sound is crisp and clear.

There is a chapter index, as well as theatrical trailer. One can always find things to wish for, such as a newsreel of Lugosi exiting the hospital after his voluntary visit for drug addiction, but I'm damned happy I got the film preserved on disc just the same. I wait patiently (okay, so maybe I'm not so patient!) for the entire Wade Williams library to make its way to my DVD player. (Joe Karlosi)

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