Watching Malcolm McDowell in Caligula last week was a trip. His performance isn't what one might call good, but he certainly is fascinating to watch, simply in light of the amount of energy he's putting out in every scene in the film. Of all the places to find McDowell, many didn't expect him to show up in what was touted as a porn crossover (produced by Penthouse's Bob Guccione, no less). Imagine my surprise on Sunday night when I tuned into The David Cassidy Story on NBC, only to see McDowell portraying the teen idol's late father Jack Cassidy. This credit seems even stranger than his Fantasy Island gig. Honestly, McDowell shows up in the strangest places.

Here, for the record, are my top picks for McDowell video rentals: Stanley Kubrick's ode to dystopia, A Clockwork Orange (1971); if... (1968), Lindsay Anderson's legendary cult movie about a student revolt; Time After Time (1979), a forgivably silly film about H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper through time (McDowell is neatly upstaged by his then-squeeze Mary Steenburgen); and yes, Tank Girl (1995) is a mad trendy movie, and it sums up McDowell's career of late (playing dimensionless baddies) but he has so much fun chewing up all the hi-tech scenery as to make this one entirely worth the rental. :

--Matthew Hays