Well, what do you think to the site? I've got to say I think it's great. Thanks to everybody at Axis, especially Dave and Tim for getting my dream off the ground. Please check out my huge database, which can be used for both research as well as stock searching. It took me over a year to compile, and it's still far from complete!

The work required to run and maintain this site means I'll have to work full time on it, so please buy something from my site in order to keep it totally free!

I will try and get an aka list put up as soon as possible, if in the mean time you can't find a title on the database that's more than 10 years old, please let me know (You may have noticed that a lot of recent stuff is missing, don't worry I'll get around to it).

Film fair regulars must surely be aware that March marks Britain's biggest and best of the year, at Birmingham NEC Arena. For those that don't know, Memrobilia 2002 offers visitors the chance to buy some great movie memrobilia, films and collectables, as well as meeting the stars of the small screen and cinema. Not only that, but you'll get the chance to meet me in person! So get yourselves to Birmingham on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of March.

For the first time in years, it looks like an HSF film, 'The Lord of the Rings', is going to clean up at the oscars. This is great news for thre industry, but I can already see the countless low quality imitations flooding the video market as I write.

Each month I sit through my usual alotment of HSF, the majority of which is low budget junk. I did, however catch William Castle's '13 Ghost', which of course has recently been re-made, and I've got to say I was a little disappointed. Being a bit of Castle fan, I'd been anticipating seeing this again for years. However, I'd forgotten how family orientated it was, and why, in all Castle's films, does the love of money always overpower the supernatural elements?

Other notable films I watched included the great 'Man from Planet X', The silly 'Boy Who Cried Werewolf', and the awful Dr. Goldfoot films. Remember, if you would like to write a review of anything you've seen recently, or a feature on anything related to HSF films, then please E-Mail me.

Well, that's enough ramblings for this month, if you're coming to the NEC I'll see you there, otherwise, I'll tell you all about it next month! - WSS.

Archived Tournaments: Fiendish Phantom Invincible Invisible Man Maddest Mad Sculpter Prosperous Prospero Likely Last Man

Chaney's Hunchback		Laughton's Hunchback

Each Month, We Will Compare Performances of the Greatest Horror Stars of All Time. This Month: Following on from this month's profile, we ask: 'Who was the Ultimate Hunchback?' It's Lon Chaney Sr. Vs. Charles Laughton!

THE RATINGS

Their are five rounds. Each Actor is rated from 0% to 20% in each round. The total combined percentages of the five rounds equals the total rating. The star with the highest total rating goes through to next month!

ROUND ONE - Pedigree

Chaney: Chaney's previous HSF pedigree was limited, but this role established him as the Dark King of the Silent Age. - 18%

Laughton: Previous roles in 'The Old Dark House', and 'The Island of Lost Souls' had seemingly established him as a bit of a genre star, unfortunately, this was one of his last HSF movies - 16%

ROUND TWO - Suitability

Chaney: Physically, Chaney dosen't seem a natural choice for the role, but his amazing make-up techniques and willingness to suffer for his art made him the perfect star for the role. - 19%

Laughton: What can you say? Laughton was simply born to play this role! - 20%

ROUND THREE - Looking the Part

Chaney: His great make-up truely gave Chaney that human-gargoyle look so required for bell rimgers everywhere - 19%

Laughton: Laughton does look the part, but perhaps director William Dieterle relies too much on Laughton's natural ugliness rather than copying Chaney's great make-up techniques - 18%

ROUND FOUR - Acting Ability

Chaney: Chaney was maybe the greatest silent actor ever...if only he'd made it to the talky era. - 19%

Laughton: Another great actor, Laughton impresses, and this time it's in sound! - 19%

ROUND FIVE - The Film Overall

Chaney: Unfortunately, many believe the 1923 version of 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' didn't match Chaney's great performance - it's still a classic though! - 17%

Laughton: A solid gold hit and one of the greatest films ever made, the 1939 version is a real winner! - 18%

TOTALS - It's a close one; both version are great, as are both Laughton and Chaney, but we all want to see a champion!

Chaney: 92%

Laughton: 91%

Chaney lives on to fight another week, when he'll do battle with Claude Rains: who was the greatess Phantom of the Opera!