The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

Director:

Wallace Fox

Writers:

Sam Robins (story) and
Gerald Schnitzer (story) ...

Release Date:

8 May 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

KIDNAPPED BRIDES Are The Victims Of His Terror! Prepare to shudder when you see the strange practices of this doctor who sacrificed beautiful women for the sake of a mad love! (original poster)

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Orchid | Mad Scientist | Bride | Dwarf | Coffin

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Lorenz
Luana Walters	...	Patricia Hunter, Reporter
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	...	Keenan
Gwen Kenyon	...	Peggy Woods
Vince Barnett	...	Sandy, Photographer
Frank Moran	...	Angel
George Eldredge	...	Mike

Also Known As:

The Case of the Missing Brides (UK)

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:H (re-rating) (1946) | UK:PG (video rating) (1995) | UK:R (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #8276)

Company:

Banner Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Dr. Lorenz: You see, our dreams, our minds play strange tricks on us sometimes!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Corpse Vanishes (#2.4)" (1989)

Bela is being naughty again!

Modest, insignificant but nevertheless amusing black & white horror that stars Bela Lugosi as a (surprise surprise!) sinister doctor who kidnaps young girls on their wedding day. Not for the cause of science this time, but to donate eternal youth and beauty to his wife, the countess. He breeds a special type of orchids (that's right, he's also a horticulturist) that paralyzes the girls and he picks up the bodies with a fake hearse. The screenplay doesn't really bother to explain what exactly happens to these girls afterwards and neither are we informed about Bela's relation with the family of misfits that lives in his mansion and works for him. In fact, "The Corpse Vanishes" is one giant incoherent mess yet I can't bring myself to bash it entirely. The basic plot idea is good, there are some moments of creepiness (when the female journalist discovers the dungeon, for example) and the acting performances are overall decent. Lugosi is on automatic pilot here but I especially liked the countess character! She's a hostile and egocentric shrew and I loved how she got so hysterical all the time. What can I say…I have a thing for evil women.