The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

A scientist, aided by an old hag & her two sons - a malicious dwarf and a brutish moron, kills virgin brides, steals their bodies, & extracts gland fluid to keep his ancient wife alive and young.

Director:

Wallace Fox

Writers:

Sam Robins (original story), Gerald Schnitzer (original story),

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. George Lorenz
Luana Walters	...	Patricia Hunter
Tristram Coffin	...	Dr. Foster (as Tris Coffin)
Elizabeth Russell	...	Countess Lorenz
Minerva Urecal	...	Fagah
Angelo Rossitto	...	Toby (as Angelo)
Joan Barclay	...	Alice Wentworth
Kenneth Harlan	...	Editor Keenan
Gwen Kenyon	...	Peggy Woods
Vince Barnett	...	Sandy
Frank Moran	...	Angel
George Eldredge	...	Mike (as George Eldridge)

Storyline

Dr. Lorenz, a mad scientist, wants to keep his elderly wife young. He does this by kidnapping young females and extracting fluid from them. He then injects this fluid into his wife. What a diabolical guy!

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Plot Keywords:

mad scientist | orchid | bride | dwarf | coffin | 

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Taglines:

Keeper of the Grotto of Torture!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

A hulla eltűnik

Company Credits

Production Co:

Banner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed 13 March - 1 April, 1942, the fourth of Bela Lugosi's nine Monogram features.

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Goofs

When getting ready for bed, Pat unbuttons her jacket, but in the next shot the jacket is buttoned again and stays buttoned for the rest of the scene - because she changed her mind about going to bed.

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Quotes

Dr. Foster: These young girls, whether dead or alive, are being used by Lorenz in some manner as human guinea pigs to sustain his wife in a youthful state.
Keenan: Oh, that's preposterous.
Patricia Hunter: It's nothing of the kind. Scientists are finding out every day that glands and hormones have a lot to do with life and health.
Dr. Foster: The glands in our bodies help to determine the condition of our teeth, the texture of our hair.

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Connections

Featured in Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997)

User Reviews

The Corpse Vanishes (1942) **

I had watched THE CORPSE VANISHES (1942) a couple of years ago but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised as to how watchable and engaging it was the second time around. Who'd have thought that such fare was worth a second look? If anything, I found CORPSE to be even livelier than GHOST (which did get to be repetitious and feel constrained by its one setting): although it is never explained why Lugosi is married to an 80-year old woman (except maybe to get into high society given that she's a "Countess") or why she needs to be youthful (it's not like she's parading her "look" anywhere except at the Lorenz household), the film offers an amusing throwback to those 30s hard-boiled reporter movies and predates such rejuvenation-themed horror movies as I VAMPIRI (1956).

I found the film to be quite atmospheric and enjoyable: it was nice to watch Lugosi surrounded by such familiar faces as Elizabeth Russell (from several Val Lewton films), Angelo Rossitto (one of Tod Browning's FREAKS [1932]) and Vince Barnett (who had a memorable supporting role in Hawks' SCARFACE [1932]) among others. That said, the campier elements of the film were sometimes too silly for words: Lugosi whipping his moronic assistant, the proverbial funereal organ-playing, the even more hilarious sight of Lugosi and Russell sleeping in coffins and the final shoot-out with the police in which, of all people, it's Lugosi's dwarfish henchman who gets it!

In the end, I guess I wouldn't mind watching Lugosi's other stuff from this period but I doubt if it will make me enough of a fan to go out and purchase them in their best available prints on DVD.