The Return of the Vampire (1944)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Randall Faye (additional dialogue)
Griffin Jay (writer)

Release Date:

1 January 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Eerie! Terrifying! Chilling!

Plot:

In 1918, an English family are terrorized by a vampire, until they learn how to deal with it. They think their troubles are over...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | WWII | Vampire | Bombing | Lycanthropy

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Armand Tesla / Dr. Hugo Bruckner
Frieda Inescort	...	Lady Jane Ainsley
Nina Foch	...	Nicki Saunders
Miles Mander	...	Sir Frederick Fleet
Roland Varno	...	John Ainsley
Matt Willis	...	Andreas Obry

Runtime:

69 min | Argentina:70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | USA:Approved (PCA #9643)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The text of Tesla's book as shown is: "THE SUPERNATURAL AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS By Dr. Armand Tesla. From the beginning of time, man has been troubled by the uncertainty of death and by the rare and horrible manifestations which occur at intervals in which the dead are known to return from their grave. Such people are known as vampires or werewolves. Scientific men throughout the ages have endeavored to delve into the mystery that has baffled them The most ancient writings have mentioned this strange phenomenon and it has always left the writer baffled. It is a known certainty that these beings do do return to earth and have been known to attack humans. They have at times left horrible marks of their visits. The victim of such an attack by the un-dead insists upon the memory of a horrible dream, or nightmare. In addition, there are lacerations about the size of pin-pricks, on the throat and an almost total absence of blood in the body. They strike with such suddenness that it has been impossible to locate their coming and going and it is usually a case of sudden death to the unfortunate victim. Some tribes have recorded the visits of these beings and scientific research has revealed them to be beyond the realm of superstition. From the beginning of time..." (text begins repeating at this point.)

Goofs:

Continuity: Andreas Obry is breathing in the closing scene, but the rest of the characters speak about him as if he were dead.

Quotes:

Armand Tesla: I sleep... during the day. I am not to be disturbed... during the day.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Monster Mania (1997) (TV)

atmospheric and mesmerizing vampire film

I consider that this movie is better than Bela Lugosi's 'Dracula'. The photographic quality is superior and the music adds a great eery element especially with the thick fog moving about. Lugosi's vampire character with enslaved Matt Willis as the obedient evil werewolf is the perfect model of one evil entity being subordinated by a greater evil entity.