Mark of the Vampire (1935)

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Guy Endore (screenplay) and
Bernard Schubert (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

26 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Plot:

When a nobleman is murdered, a professor of the occult blames vampires; but not all is what it seems.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Professor | Police Inspector | Spiderweb | Engagement

US TV Schedule:

Wed. June 6

4:45 PM

TCM

Cast

Lionel Barrymore	...	Professor Zelen
Elizabeth Allan	...	Irena Borotyn
Bela Lugosi	...	Count Mora
Lionel Atwill	...	Inspector Neumann
Jean Hersholt	...	Baron Otto Montay
Henry Wadsworth	...	Count Fedor Vincenty
Donald Meek	...	Dr. Doskil
Jessie Ralph	...	Midwife
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Jan (as Ivan Simpson)
Franklyn Ardell	...	Chauffeur - Barney
Leila Bennett	...	Maria
June Gittelson	...	Annie
Carroll Borland	...	Luna Mora (as Carol Borland)
Holmes Herbert	...	Sir Karell Borotyn
Michael Visaroff	...	Innkeeper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lionel Belmore	...	(scenes deleted)
Robert Greig	...	Fat Man (scenes deleted)
Baron Hesse	...	Bus Driver (scenes deleted)
Doris Lloyd	...	(scenes deleted)
Eily Malyon	...	Sick Woman (scenes deleted)
Torben Meyer	...	Card Player (scenes deleted)
Henry Stephenson	...	(scenes deleted)
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Grandmother (scenes deleted)
Guy Bellis	...	Ronnie - Englishman at Inn (uncredited)
James Bradbury Jr.	...	Fourth Vampire (uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	Coroner (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Gypsy Hag (uncredited)
John George	...	Gypsy (uncredited)
Rosemary Glosz	...	Innkeeper's Wife (uncredited)
Mrs. Lesovosky	...	Old Woman at Inn (uncredited)
Jane Mercer	...	(uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Christian Rub	...	Deaf Man at Inquest (uncredited)
Clare Verdera	...	Englishwoman at Inn (uncredited)

Directed by
Tod Browning

Writing credits
Guy Endore		(screenplay) and
Bernard Schubert		(screenplay)
H.S. Kraft		contributing writer (uncredited) and
Samuel Ornitz		contributing writer (uncredited) and
John L. Balderston		contributing writer (uncredited) and
Tod Browning		story "The Hypnotist" (uncredited)

Produced by
Tod Browning	....	producer
E.J. Mannix	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe

Film Editing by
Ben Lewis

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
William Tuttle	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Sharrock	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Harry Oliver	....	associate art director
Edwin B. Willis	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
G.A. Burns	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)
James Graham	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
T.B. Hoffman	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Michael Steinore	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Tutwiler	....	photographic effects camera (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Clarence Sinclair Bull	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jimmy Rowe	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Charles Salerno Jr.	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bela Lugosi	....	costumes: Count Mora (uncredited)

Music Department
Jack Virgil	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Edward Ward	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Harry Sharrock	....	stand-in: Carroll Borland (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1935) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1936) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (on '3 Superstars of Shock') (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection")

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Czech

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1935) | Canada:F (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #725)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Throughout the film, Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) has an unexplained bullet wound on his temple. In the original script, Count Mora was supposed to have had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Luna, and to have committed suicide. After filming began, however, MGM deleted references to the crime (and any remaining references may have been deleted when 20 minutes of footage was removed after the film's preview). Because director Tod Browning's previous film, Freaks (1932), had been a box office disaster, Browning was unable to object to any changes made by the studio.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Luna is walking in the foggy night, her head hits some of the fibers simulating the fog and lifts most of the misty background that surrounds her.

Quotes:

Prof. Zelin:We must all die. There's nothing terrible about death, but to live on after death, a soul earth-bound, a vampire. You don't wish any such fate for your beloved.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bloodsucking Cinema (2007) (TV)

One of the Best Supernatural Films

This was one of the best vampire films of the classic black-and-white era. Essentially a composite remake of "Dracula" and an earlier film called "London After Midnight" with some bizarre twists, in terms of ghoulish settings and atmosphere, particularly the cemetery scenes, and Lugosi and Borland wandering in the night, this film is second to none. There is no doubt that Bela Lugosi was the classic Dracula of the early sound period. If I were to make a list of his best 10 films, this would be one of them along with the 1931 "Dracula", the 1943 "Return of the Vampire", the 1940 "The Devil Bat" and others. Carol Borland's role as "Luna"sets the standard for "Vampira" of the 1950s and "Elvira" of the 1980s as well as "Morticia" of the Addams Family on TV. She does an excellent job in the role of a "creature of the night". And of course, Bela Lugosi as Count Mora is without peer. The entire cast including Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill, Elizabeth Allen, Jean Hersholt, and others do an excellent job.

10/10.

Dan Basinger