MONDO BALORDO is one of the many mondo documentaries that boomed in Italy in the 1960s. This one's narrated by the ever-genteel Boris Karloff, whose dulcet tones add immeasurably to the viewing experience. The rest is the usual concoction of clips culled from news footage, documentaries, et al. What's remarkable about this one is just how tame it feels for the modern viewer, a film where dwarfs, transvestites, and lesbians are described as 'strange' and 'abhorrent'. Elsewhere, there are scenes of women exercising and in their bikinis on the beach; Bedouin prostitutes; debauchery in Hong Kong nightclubs; elephant hunting and turtle butchery; zoo scenes and operations on sick dogs. It's all so dated that it feels like it comes from another world.

Albert T. Viola - yes, the same man who wrote, directed, produced and starred in Preacherman - completed the American version of this film, known as A Fool's World in Italy. There, it was directed by Roberto Bianchi Montero, who also made the mondos Africa Sexy, Orient By Night, Sexy Nudo, Sexy nel Mondo, Universo Proibito and Superspettacoli nel Mondo. He would go on to make So Sweet, So Dead.

Imagine a world "throbbing and pulsing with love, from the jungle orgies of primitive tribes to sin-filled evenings of the London sophisticate." Now imagine those very same words coming out of the mouth of Boris Karloff.

Here are just some of the folks you will meet and sights you will see: a dwarf singer, bodybuilders, bedouin pimps, Japanese models for rent, Indian exorcists, people who can't stop smoking, Jehovah's Witnesses, lottery players, a clone of Valentino, high end rich dogs, a Boreno version of Romeo and Juliet, cults, nightclubs, Luna Park, London after hours and so much more.

MONDO BALORDO, whose tagline promises "intimate shocking scenes of love - man's insatiable hunger.." was slightly reshaped for salivating American consumption. A lively Boris Karloff provides the often humorous narration.

We travel with Boris to all sorts of hidden corners of our weird, kooky world. First we see an Italian rock group in full swing. Their lead singer is Franz Drago, a frantic, almost acrobatic 27-inch tall volcano of energy. Then it's off to Las Vegas, to see Beauty Pageant footage lensed by a boob-obsessed cinematographer. Next stop, a photo session of Asian girls in bondage. "This is for magazines for readers of special tastes..." Karloff purrs. Some of the footage, featuring natives tearing apart hunted animals may turn off some viewers. (Hey, the Mondo films were meant to shock.) An actual African exorcism where a live chicken is consumed, instructions on how to behave at a drunken transvestite party, and a poverty stricken Italian town where citizens visit the cemetery to ask the dead to cast spells on enemies and choose winning lotto numbers, fill the bill. After watching this film, you will think the world is filled only with chicken-eating, gambling drag queens! One scene in BALORDO shows a European freak show where Mr. Karloff tells us "Sometimes the people buying the tickets are the freaks." Tell it like it is Boris!