Reviews & Ratings for
The Vampire's Ghost More at IMDbPro »

13 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Good vampire film, 20 November 2005

Author: vtcavuoto from United States

"The Vampire's Ghost" is an underrated film. Don't expect a lot of effects or Gothic settings-this film carries itself without it. That may be a drawback to some viewers. The acting is good and the jungle scenes add an interesting touch. Some genre expectations(i.e. inability to go out in the sun)are thrown out. John Abbott is fine in the lead role. He plays a sympathetic figure at the beginning but starts to show his sinister side. He runs a dive by the waterfront which covers his true identity. When murders are committed, the natives start to blame him. The manner in which he is killed is a change from most vampire movies and the ability to regain his strength via moonlight is an original one. "Vampire's Ghost" is a film that is worth a look. Note-Movies Unlimited has a very good copy of this film but it is on VHS only. You could always have it transferred to DVD.

12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Overlooked and under-appreciated Vampire film., 5 September 2006

Author: Dewey1960 from United States

Republic Pictures cranked out a ton of "B" pictures in virtually every genre during the 1940s, many of which were (at best) barely watchable. There were, however, any number of mystery and horror titles which rose above the typical meager standards and achieved a special kind of wonderfulness all their own. One such example is THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST, a low budget horror film written by the legendary science fiction and horror scribe Leigh Brackett. The tale benefits from the exotic locale of an African plantation with the peculiarly mannered John Abbott starring as Webb Fallon, a centuries old vampire now living in Africa running a seedy saloon. The incidents in the film are quite unusual, most notably an exotic dance performed by Adele Mara in Fallon's saloon. A strange and atmospheric little gem that should appeal to fans of esoteric "B" films. Disregard all of the wrong-headed and annoyingly condescending critical evaluations in the conventional film guides (Leonard Maltin, John Stanley, etc); this film is definitely worth your time and attention.

11 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Different, effective little film, 22 September 2003

Author: coyote13

I've wanted to see this movie for many years, ever since I read that Leigh Brackett had written the script for it. And, now that I have, I'm pleased to find out that it was worth the wait. Produced cheaply, by a second (or even third) rate studio, it replaces budget with story and characterization. John Abbott's Web Fallon (possibly the first sympathetic and world-weary vampire portrayal in the movies), harks back to John Polidori's Lord Ruthven (and Rymer's Sir Francis Varney) as his antecedents, and not the classic Stoker/Lugosi Dracula--one of the very few times the big screen has acknowledged there were literary vampires before Stroker.

It's too bad this one has basically slipped between the cracks and has become almost impossible to find.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Displays some originality and is pretty effective, 13 July 2009

Author: prichards12345 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The Vampire's Ghost is an involving and atmospheric movie; John Abbott gives a melancholic and compelling portrayal of an Elizabethan vampire cursed to live out his existence preying on those who cross his path.

The film is set in Darkest Africa, amidst voodoo drums and restless native tribes. Abbott plays Webb Fallon, owner of a bar frequented by sailors and bar-flies, and possessing an uncanny ability to win at cards. The surrounding countryside is all a shiver as a series of vampire killings have taken place. Indeed the movie is permeated by the sounds of drums in the jungle. And at the climax Fallon is even trapped by the use of them giving away his location!

The doom-laden air Fallon gives off is very reminiscent of Gloria Holden in Dracula's Daughter, but the script contains several original touches, including an atmospheric sequence where the wounded Fallon is revived by being placed directly in the moonlight. The movie proceeds in a stately yet logical manner, and one can almost detect the influence on the lethargic vampires of Anne Rice. Although cheaply made by Republic Studios, this a fine little B flick well worth the trouble of seeking out.

6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A tight little second feature, 25 July 2002

Author: VernC

Vampire's Ghost is one of those gems that pops up now and again among the old B's. The vampire is multi-dimensional rather than unmitigated evil. There are some metaphysics mixed into the story. If you find this one on late night cable give it a watch.

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST (Lesley Selander, 1945) ***, 14 April 2006

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

While the title hadn't struck me as being familiar when I read Michael Elliott's positive review here, I later found out that it was in fact listed - albeit meriting only a single sentence! - in "Horror Films", a compendium of the genre written by Alan Frank and which basically served as my introduction to many horror classics as a child.

As Michael has said, the script (co-written by Leigh Brackett, future collaborator of the great Howard Hawks) is unusually literate for a low-budget horror film of the Forties, suggesting that its main influence may have been the Val Lewton horror cycle being made contemporaneously at RKO; though it never quite achieves their level of quality, it was a very pleasant surprise and it ought to be better known and, more importantly, seen (alas, given its virtually non-existent reputation and the fact that it's a Republic production, whose catalogue has recently been acquired by Paramount, its official release on DVD anytime soon seems a highly unlikely prospect...though I would love to be proved wrong).

Anyway, the combination of vampirism and voodoo is an intriguing one - though we don't really see much of either. The largely unknown cast responds remarkably well to the fanciful proceedings (which offer some new and interesting variations on the standard vampire lore) - but it's John Abbott as Fallon, the world-weary and rather sympathetic bloodsucker who obviously steals the show. The film features a number of effective sequences during its brief (a mere 59 minutes!) but thoroughly engaging running time: a booby-trap shotgun is fired and the bullet goes right through Abbott (shades of SON OF Dracula [1943]) and lodges itself in the arm of one of the natives; only the vampire's clothes are reflected in a mirror (an effect borrowed from Universal's Invisible Man films) and when he looks at it, the mirror shatters of its own accord; the vampire attacks which mainly rely on Abbott's uneasy glare for their impact; the climax set in an ancient temple.

Looking at Lesley Selander's busy filmography (but whose work I had never seen before now), I'm left with the assumption that he was one of the innumerable unassuming journeyman directors who specialized in B-movies and Westerns in particular (at least 6 of his films are called "Fort Something Or Other"!); as a matter of fact, he inserts the obligatory poker game, followed by a bar-room brawl, even in THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST - having made Abbott the unlikely proprietor of a tavern (albeit using this identity merely as a cover for his true and sinister self). Still, given my enthusiastic reaction to the latter, I'm willing to give his FORT ALGIERS (1953; which has been available for some time at my local DVD outlet, without generating much interest to me personally) a chance - even if I'm pretty sure it won't be anywhere near as satisfying...

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Actually quite good on it's own terms, 25 June 2011

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

John Abbot is a vampire in the African Jungle who runs a gambling den and feasts on the natives. When things begin to turn bad for him he takes control of a man who discovers his secret and then tries to run off with a woman he fancies.

A much derided film in many circles reveals itself to be an okay little thriller which works more for it's off beat setting then anything else. Sure it's slightly different than most other vampire takes and Abbott is certainly an unsexy vampire, but at the same time it kind of works on it's own terms. High art it's not, a spooky distraction for an hour it is.

10 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
A True Gem, 28 February 2008
Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY

Vampire's Ghost, The (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Unique version of a vampire tale from Republic has been forgotten over the years due to its rarity but this here certainly needs to find a new crowd. A 400-year-old vampire (John Abbott) living in Africa sets his sight on a new girl but the voodoo locals and her boyfriend try to stop him. A very intelligent script by Leigh Brackett makes this head and shoulders more original than the Dracula films being delivered by Universal and Columbia. The film throws in all sorts of new ideas surrounding the legend of vampires and that's what makes this film so interesting even if it does drag a bit at 59-minutes. Abbott is wonderful in his role and his strange look is all the more fitting. Nice atmosphere and a terrific mood help overcome the low budget.

6 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Peggy Stewart in Vampire's Ghost., 21 June 2009
Author: Mike Newton (frontrowkid2002@yahoo.com) from Hamilton OHIO

I had never seen or heard of the Vampire's Ghost until I attended a Western film festival where Peggy Stewart was a guest star. She was a popular Western heroine at Republic, making films with Bill Elliott, Sunset Carson and Allan Lane. When they announced they were going to run it, she made a face and said, "Oh no, you're not." Peggy never attends screenings of her old films because it brings back memories that make her cry. She says she always recalls what went on behind the scenes and would rather talk with the fans. When I saw it, I recall one particular scene where she is supposedly walking in a trance. She had shoulder length hair and a beautiful face. It's no wonder her co-workers and fans love her. At the awards banquet, they presented her with a plaque which had the figure of a ghost on it. She got a big laugh out of that.

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Vampires... In Africa?, 5 October 2011
Author: gavin6942 from United States

In a small African port, a tawdry bar is run by a old man named Webb Fallon (John Abbott). Fallon is actually a vampire, but he is becoming weary of his "life" of the past few hundred years.

This film has no one you ever heard of attached -- writer, director, actor, producer. It is completely without anyone worth mentioning. Yet, the film was well-made and looks crisp. Other films of the 1940s, with bigger stars, have not stood the test of time. This one has done so just fine.

The story is actually pretty good, and although it is not given much time to develop, works well with the time it has. There are not many African horror films out there, let alone African vampire films... and being made in 1945, one could make an interesting point about colonization, too. I will not try, however.

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