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Condemned to Live More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 13 reviews in total |
13 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Watch Out for the Wizard's Brother!, 11 September 2000
Author:
BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC
Ralph Morgan plays a kind-hearted doctor, known throughout his community for his wisdom and charity, that has a terrible secret he does not even know. It seems when he was born he was marked by a vampire bat....and now in his middle age the terrible strain of over-work has caused his affliction to surface. He passes out whenever total darkness envelops him and turns into a hideous monster that rips the throats of the townsfolk. This is a pretty good, ole creaky film from Invincible Films(?). It is a low-budget thriller to be sure, but has a lot of heart behind it and is quite a satisfying story. Ralph Morgan, brother of the Wizard of Oz'z Frank Morgan gives an interesting performance. He is adequate as a man torn apart with this terrible malady as he calls it. The rest of the cast is pretty good too with Mischa Auer standing out as a hunchback and Pedro de Cordoba excelling as a friendly doctor. What I really liked about the film was its rather blatant symbolism about the light and the darkness and how each brings out a different persona..
13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Fairly enjoyable movie, 21 March 2004
Author:
Chuck Straub from Mansfield, CT USA
"Condemned to Live" is one of those movies that make you feel sorry for the monster. An unfortunate creature caught up in circumstances beyond it's control. The creature seemed to me to be a cross between a vampire and a werewolf although which one it actually is, is really unimportant to the movies plot. There is a nice assortment of characters and a romantic theme that goes along with the horror story. I thought that it was a pretty enjoyable movie. You do have to consider that it is a 1935 movie made by Invincible Pictures Corp. Old and probably a low budget film. You do have to like older movies to enjoy this one. I thought that it should have a rating of 5+ or a low 6 and decided on voting for the 6. It is worth seeing.
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
This is the wizard's brother, 9 December 2001
Author:
clore-2 from New York
Ralph Morgan, the star of this film, is the brother of Frank Morgan, who played the Wizard of Oz. I just don't want anyone to be misled by the other reviewer's comment. Not that it has anything to do with this film, which is a most interesting film from a Poverty Row outfit. Partially shot on Universal sets from "Bride Of Frankenstein," the film has a most curious appeal. As with most sympathetic "monsters" the Morgan character is doomed - his mother was bitten by a vampire, and his engagement to a much younger woman has evoked his vampiric tendencies, which are more akin to lycantropy than vampirism. The equation is lustful desires bring out the beast, and in this rather subtle (it was made in 1936) implication, the script takes a few ideas from Bran Stoker and Guy Endore. Mischa Auer is also commendable in his role as a hunchback, loyal to Morgan, and who has been keeping Morgan from discovering the truth about himself.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Stagey but Pretty Good, 31 January 2007
Author:
Hitchcoc from United States
The plot of this is very similar to another movie (I believe "The Vampire Bat). Still, it holds its own pretty well. The main character, Paul, was cursed from birth to become a horrible creature with bat-like tendencies. He rips the throats out of people and drinks their blood. He has no recollection of his actions. A young woman who admires him is engaged to marry him, even though he is twice her age (at least). His best friend is aware of what is happening and tries to intervene. He also has a hunchback assistant who tries to keep things from escalating. Eventually the murders are going to be investigated. The black and white film has a nice quality to it. The principle character is a kind man who has helped people for years, especially the downtrodden. He makes a very tragic figure. There is a bit of the Wolfman, imitating Lawrence Talbot. Of course, things must come to a proper conclusion. It's a little slow at times, but the gentle goodness of the characters, contrasted with the evil forced on them, makes it work.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Good story holds up despite aged film style, 14 June 2006
Author:
HEFILM from French Polynesia
I'd never heard of this film but it's worth a look for those who can
put up with 1930's style film-making and especially for genre fans.
The story has elements of Jeckyll and Hyde and it has psychological
overtones of the main monster character that help it. These elements
help keep it fresh despite the hunchback and dated directorial
non-touches and lack of much on screen violence. But the aftermath of
the killings and good acting of Ralph Morgan help. The final scene is
suspenseful as well and of course the whole thing is over pretty
quickly, but still manages, thanks for Karn DeWolf's script to pack in
quite a bit of character complication.
Nice production values but the director, Frank Strayer, shows little
flair. Then again he keeps things moving and the acting is good. Alpha
Video copy I watched was "okay" looking a better source print is
unlikely to turn up, but the movie deserves some restoration and
recognition.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Decent, 13 October 2008
Author:
Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY
Condemned to Live (1935)
** (out of 4)
A Professor (Ralph Morgan) learns that his mother was attacked by a
vampire bat while pregnant with him and soon he begins to fear that he
is the vampire stalking his small town. This film comes from the same
director as The Vampire Bat, which was made two years earlier. If you
enjoyed that Lionel Atwill film then you'll probably enjoy this one as
well. For me, I didn't enjoy the previous film and this one here didn't
work either, although there were a few interesting twists on the
vampire legend. I think the biggest problem for the film is that it's
pretty much all talk from start to finish without very much happening.
Whenever something exciting does happen it's usually off screen and we
only hear about it through more dialogue scenes. Morgan delivers a fine
performance but the rest of the cast are rather boring. The direction
is also off to the point where the film, for me at least, drags quite a
bit and the 65-minute running time seems very long. I enjoyed the
relationship between the Professor and a hunchback but this is about
the only thing that worked for me. It's far from a really bad movie but
it is rather slow and dull. It's also worth noting that the movie was
shot on the same sets as Bride of Frankenstein.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Jekyll and Hyde Meets Dracula but inferior to both, 22 November 2008
Author:
TheFiendsThatPlagueThee from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Years after his mother was bitten by a vampire bat in Africa while
pregnant, a kindly doctor, under cover of darkness, commits dreadful
murders by biting the throats of his victims, but has no memory of the
events afterward, partly because his obligatory hunchbacked servant
helps to cover it up (even when he himself becomes a suspect). The
story is complicated by a love triangle among the doctor, his fiancée
Marguerite and another young man who loves her (David). The movie has a
lot of the required elements-a hunchback assistant, a mob with torches
and pitchforks, a Gothic setting, and a rather grisly ending.
Ralph Morgan's performance was acceptable as was Mischa Auer's as the
hunchback. But I found Maxine Doyle's portrayal of Marguerite to be
quite wooden and her character annoyingly stupid.
It was an interesting concept but the execution here just didn't work
for me. There was a lot of talk, but little action and the film seemed
to last a lot longer than its actual running time. Not that it is
terrible and it might be of interest for those who are fond of the
genre, but for me, it was just "meh".
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
A well-made film that is still entertaining., 29 May 2008
Author:
doctorsmoothlove from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Rating films as from this era can be quite challenging. American horror
films of the 1930's are notorious for unbelievable special effects,
degrading female acting, and incoherent plots. This film is no
exception, but Condemned to Live is still entertaining due to the care
with which it was made. It isn't Karloff's Frankenstein, but it's worth
a viewing.
In an African cave, a pregnant woman is bitten by a vampire bat. It is
implied that her child is born and sent back to a European village. He
becomes a doctor and is quite respected in his town. This prestige has
earned him the admiration of a young woman, Marguerite. However,
Marguerite has fallen in love with her neighbor David, but feels
obligated to marry doctor Kristan. Kristan is visited by a college, Dr.
Bizet who discovers Kristan's affliction: he becomes ferociously
violent when the lights are dimmed and has killed several people.
Kristan does not recall any of these murders and thinks the culprit is
a giant bat. He remains innocent due to his devoted hunchback, Zan,
covering his outbursts. Both are discovered and commit suicide at the
end of the film.
With such a short running time, a lot happens in Condemned to Live, and
most of it happens too quickly. Despite the compressed time, the film
develops an intriguing antagonist. Dr. Kristan is hell-bent on
discovering the perpetrator of the murders, but is unaware of his
involvement in them. While it isn't difficult to see this plot twist,
Strayer's incorporation of Jeckyll and Hyde personality disorder and
vampirism into Ralph Morgan's character add suspense to the film. Zan
also shares traditional horror elements, with his inhuman devotion to
his master and his shrunken appearance. These two also have a fitting
end in their joined suicide. Kristan is a knowledgeable man, and he
knows he must separate himself from the village in order to continue
serving the people.
The special effects are also worthwhile and appear as realistic as one
could expect from a film so old. The bat in the opening sequence
doesn't appear fake given the film's age, which is unlike some films
today (Army of Darkness is a modern film which incorporates absurdly
unconvincing special effects). Morgan's portrayal as a bloodthirsty
killer is also intriguing. He exhibits no obvious traits of being a
vampire, but bites people as if he were. I interpret his desire to bite
as a trait inherited from the bat which attacked his mother. This is
why he prefers biting people on the neck, but isn't a real vampire.
I may have read too much into the film, but a good film allows an
audience to do that. The film does suffer from a low budget, and
certain parts of it are difficult to see. If you find a single disc
version, I would suggest that you watch it, since I've had better
success with them. I've read the plot summary for The Vampire Bat, and
feel obligated to warn you that this film is similar but they both have
around a 5.0 rating on IMDb. Yes, there are several holes in the plot,
but I don't think I can fairly lower the film's score given its age.
While Condemned to Live is dated, it is still a great way to spend 67
minutes of your time.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Vampire Cradle Robbing, 11 August 2008
Author:
wes-connors from Earth
"A small European village is the site of a series of horrible murders,
thought to be the result of some vicious animal attacks. When the local
doctor begins to look into the deaths, he discovers the victims were
really attacked by some type of vampire-like creature. The doctor is
also startled to find the he may be responsible for the deaths, due to
a condition he acquired when his mother was attacked by a creature
while pregnant with him," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.
No need to wonder about the vampire's identity; it's given away during
the first attack. Although the film goes to dullsville with the idea,
it is intriguing to think about a plot involving the offspring of a
pregnant female vampire victim. Instead of interesting, "Condemned to
Live" bores. As does a "love triangle" involving older doctor Ralph
Morgan (as Paul Kristan), fresh-faced fiancée Maxine Doyle (as
Marguerite), and more age appropriate young Russell Gleason (as David).
Ms. Doyle seems unrehearsed.
*** Condemned to Live (1935) Frank Strayer ~ Ralph Morgan, Pedro de
Cordoba, Russell Gleason
CONDEMNED TO LIVE (Frank R. Strayer, 1935) **, 14 October 2011
Author:
MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
To begin with, I acquired this only a couple of hours before I watched
it; I was in no particular hurry to check it out but, knowing I had the
somewhat similar DEVIL BAT'S DAUGHTER (1946) on the schedule anyway, I
opted to go with this one beforehand since, of course, it came first.
Not having been exactly impressed by the director's other, more popular
genre work (namely THE MONSTER WALKS {1932} and THE VAMPIRE BAT {1933}
which, again, this resembles quite a bit), I hardly expected the film
under review to change matters; while presenting a novel (if silly)
spin on the vampire theme, the approach is so stodgy as to defeat its
purpose!
Here, in fact, we have a man (Ralph Morgan, who would return to the
genre with a couple of somewhat better efforts i.e. NIGHT MONSTER
{1942} and the recently-viewed THE MONSTER MAKER {1944}) who transforms
– a' la Jekyll & Hyde and complete with inhuman slurping sounds – into
a bloodsucker (actually preceding in this regard the 1957 THE VAMPIRE
by more than two decades!) because his mother was bitten by a vampire
bat during pregnancy. The irony is that, being an eminent doctor, the
community looks up to him after every new attack (he is himself unaware
of his nightly depredations which occur during periodic blackout spells
– hilariously and repeatedly described as "swooning" to the point that
the film has been disparagingly described by some as CONDEMNED TO LIVE
aka I SWOONED!) As usual, he is about to marry a much-younger girl that
is loved by another man, who is most vociferous about the fact that the
fiend is human as opposed to supernatural.
Incidentally, what triggers Morgan off is complete darkness(!?), so
that he has the townsfolk keep a candle burning at all times of the
night…but, when he begins to feel the blackout coming during a visit to
his girl, she unwisely turns out the lights one by one (which sends him
off in a fury every time!). Eventually, a family friend of Morgan's
comes along and he realizes that the doc is unsettled by his condition
and, suspecting the truth, asks him to release the girl until he is
cured. In the meantime, the attacks continue – with Morgan's devoted
hunchback (future comic Mischa Auer who was also in THE MONSTER WALKS)
always lurking behind to save his master from being apprehended as well
as finding out about his true nature, even if this means that Auer is
himself fingered as the vampire on more than one occasion!
Just as THE VAMPIRE BAT was filmed on standing sets from James Whale's
much-superior THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932; with which it had even shared
leading man Melvyn Douglas), this one uses leftover scenery from that
same genre master's BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) and, it seems to me,
even some from his FRANKENSTEIN (1931), not that these are adopted in
any imaginative way given CONDEMNED TO LIVE's relentlessly talky
approach! In the end, Morgan bows out not by the traditional stake
through the heart but by simply leaping, of his own free will, from a
cliff…followed in quick succession by Auer himself (apparently, the
latter saw no point in living if he cannot be with his beloved master –
make of that what you will!). The film, then, is at least watchable for
trying to be different but, ultimately, it emerges as nothing more than
a curious footnote in the history of the (sub)genre.
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