Blood of the Vampire (1958)

A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Cass

Writer:

Jimmy Sangster

Stars:

Donald Wolfit, Vincent Ball, Barbara Shelley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Wolfit	...	Doctor Callistratus
Vincent Ball	...	Dr. John Pierre
Barbara Shelley	...	Madeleine Duval
Victor Maddern	...	Carl
William Devlin	...	Kurt Urach
Andrew Faulds	...	Chief Guard Wetzler
John Le Mesurier	...	Judge
Bryan Coleman	...	Monsieur Auron
Cameron Hall	...	Drunken Doctor
George Murcell	...	First Guard
Julian Strange	...	Second Guard
Bruce Wightman	...	Third Guard (as Bruce Whiteman)
Barbara Burke	...	Housekeeper
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Tall Sneak Thief
Hal Osmond	...	Small Sneak Thief

Storyline

A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad Scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | sawed off shotgun | blood transfusion

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Taglines:

He begins where Dracula left off!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Dämon mit den blutigen Händen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artistes Alliance Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shooting began October 21 1957, shortly before Hammer started filming "Horror of Dracula." Both features were scripted by Jimmy Sangster.

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Goofs

Bryan Coleman is credited as Brian Coleman in the credits.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Scream Queens (1996)

User Reviews

Not to be forgotten

What should make this film a classic is the opening vampire staking scene. The greatest staking scene in movie history, with Kiss Of the Vampire second. I have this film on a 1978 VHS release with excellent color, and I also saw it in the theatre at the time. It's strong effective stuff. As some say, it can also be draggy in the middle. The laboratory scenes of working on blood samples may be dreary. But it has vicious dogs released on escaping prisoners, sneaking and climbing up into the maiden's room, a deformed hunchback, a good climactic scene, and great colorful sets. Good Gothic. The same producers also made The Hellfire Club, Jack the Ripper, and The Flesh and the Fiends (about Burke and Hare). I'd like to know which video releases have faded color and which have good.