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1939 was the year that John Wayne broke out of Poverty Row Westerns and became a full-fledged movie star on the strength of his larger-than-life portrayal of the Ringo Kid in John Ford's "Stagecoach." The second Ford pushed in on Wayne twirling that Winchester rifle, the American Western went from being churn-and-burn programmers to the stuff of big-screen myth. The movies would never be the same.

Wayne had to work hard to get to this point, which, 86 years ago, meant making four or five movies a year to keep your name on the marquee. So while "Stagecoach" was a groundbreaking film, he still had other standard-issue oaters in the pipeline that had to get threaded through a projector before he got on with the business of making more A-list movies.

One of these movies was "Allegheny Uprising." Directed by Hollywood journeyman William A. Seiter and written by pulp plugger P.J. Wolfson,...

No film of the Hays Code era revels in its own perversity quite like Mad Love (1935). Mad science, body horror, insanity, obsession, executions, gaslighting, sadomasochism—it’s all here and presented with unparalleled excellence of craft. Though it may seem tame compared to pre-Code fare like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Freaks, and Island of Lost Souls (both 1932), it manages to just barely sneak its lurid subject matter by the censors under a layer of dark humor, exceptional cinematography, and a masterful performance by Peter Lorre in his first American film.

After Dracula proved to be a huge success for Universal, other Hollywood studios became eager to get in on the horror game, though many of these studios felt the genre was beneath them. Metro Goldwyn Mayer was considered the most prestigious of the golden-age studios, famous for its big budget musicals, epic spectaculars, and boasting “more stars than there are in the heavens.

What a Halloween treat! Karl Freund stopped directing after this classic, which is a shame — it’s German expressionism’s most exciting foray into classic Hollywood horror of the ’30s. Peter Lorre is incredible as Dr. Gogol, making himself as creepy and repulsive as possible while retaining a giddy audience sympathy. It’s Grand Guignol all the way — macabre, funny and irresistible. The screenplay toys with uncomfortable Body Horror and psychological weirdness; Colin Clive must contend with becoming the recipient of murderous hands. Frances Drake is the beauty that drives Dr. Gogol mad, and comedian Edward Brophy is a highlight in a non-comedic scene. “I have conquered science. Why can I not conquer love?!”

Mad Love

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1935 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 68 (86) min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 21.99

Starring: Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy, Sara Haden, Edward Brophy, Henry Kolker, Keye Luke, May Beatty, Billy Gilbert,...