THE HEAD (1959)
Article #220 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 10-22-2001
Posting date: 3-7-2002

The strange Dr. Ood keeps the head of Professor Abel alive in order to get the formula for the serum that he needs. He also replaces the twisted body of a woman with the beautiful body of a model.

This is one of the stranger oddities I’ve encountered. It’s like a slightly less sleazy version of THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE with elements of HOUSE OF DRACULA and CHARLY thrown in for good measure. Dr. Ood is as bizarre as his name; you find out why near the end of the movie. The house where most of the action takes place is a real treat, with a really bizarre looking staircase. And I’ve been trying to figure out why they have so many shots of Professor Abel from the back whenever he’s talking; it’s almost like they don’t want to show you his face (that is, while he still has a body). I always have a soft spot for movies this weird, and I think there should have been a whole series of Dr. Ood movies. Let’s fabricate a few.

THE ODD DR. OOD – The immediate sequel has Dr. Ood married, but his wife has been horribly scarred in an accident, and he tries to restore her beauty. Unfortunately, his squirrel gland injections turn her into a murderous weresquirrel.

THE OOD COUPLE – Dr. Ood grafts Tony Randall’s head onto Jack Klugman’s body, and Walter Matthau’s onto Jack Lemmon’s. The two hideous creatures battle to the death.

OOD OUT WEST – Dr. Ood moves to the wild west, where he grafts the feet of Rudolf Nureyev, the hands of Orlac, the head of Wyatt Earp, and the trunk of an elephant onto a cactus. This creature then gets into a wrestling match with Tor Johnson.

Y’know, it’s probably a damn good thing I don’t work in the movie business.