The Vampire (1957)

A kind, small-town doctor mistakenly ingests pills made from vampire bat blood and they turn him into a dangerous fanged creature.

Director:

Paul Landres

Writers:

Pat Fielder (screenplay), Pat Fielder (story)

Stars:

John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Beal	...	Dr. Paul Beecher
Coleen Gray	...	Carol Butler
Kenneth Tobey	...	Sheriff Buck Donnelly
Lydia Reed	...	Betsy Beecher
Dabbs Greer	...	Dr. Will Beaumont
Herb Vigran	...	George Ryan, Police Sergeant
Paul Brinegar	...	Willy Warner
Ann Staunton	...	Marion Wilkins
James Griffith	...	Henry Winston

Storyline

Dr. Matthew Campbell has been experimenting on methods to regress the mind to primitive instincts so that we can find methods to improve our brains and not get taken in by cheap horror movie hogwash. He's developed a drug made from vampire bat blood and has begun treating himself with it. But instead of improving his mind, he's become ill and addicted. He dies, but not before trying to warn fellow doctor Paul Beecher. Fortunately for us, he dies before he can say more than that pills are to blame. While still at Campbell's house, Paul finds a bottle of pills and pockets them. He's also got another bottle of pills in his other pocket that he takes for frequent migraine attacks. He goes home, puts his jacket on a rack, and then he's struck with a migraine. He asks his daughter to give him the pills in his jacket pocket, and of course she gives him the pills of evil. He is instantly addicted and he must take one pill every day. Each time he takes a pill he turns into a hairy and very ...

---

Plot Keywords:

metamorphosis | death of protagonist | shot to death | death by gunshot | death by shooting | 

---

Taglines:

It claws! It drains blood!

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Paul Landres apparently liked the character name "Dr. Paul Beecher" so he used it twice - as the main lead in this film and as a small supporting character in his follow up "The Return of Dracula" (1958) starring Francis Lederer.

---

Goofs

At movie's end, when the detective departs; he doesn't retrieve his revolver.

---

Quotes

Carol Butler: Paul, why do you want to take your own life?
Dr. Paul Beecher: I have no choice!

---

Connections

Featured in Vincent Price's Dracula (1986)

User Reviews

A fun example of 50s drive-in Horror films

I continued my winter horror film viewings today with 'The Vampire'. A more descriptive name for it might have been 'Dr. Jeykll and The Vampire' or 'The Vampire Virus'. I'm kidding of course, yet it does borrow heavily from the Jeykll and Hyde story. Here a kindly small town Dr. accidentally takes an experimental drug. He becomes addicted to it. Each night at about 11PM it causes him to change into a hideous creature with a taste for blood. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's right down my alley. The kind of movie that must have been shown on double features at 50s drive-ins. I can imagine it playing with 'Frankenstein's Daughter' on the marquee. Teenage boys probably loved it cause their girl would want to be hugged tight during the show. These horror films have a special place with me, they bring back childhood memories. I was too young to have seen it at theaters during its first run. It was the sort of movie I'd watch on the late night horror shows in the 60s and early 70s. Yet, I some how missed ever catching this gem. It's the type of late night movie my mom would complain "You're going to have nightmares if you watch that !". Of course I would watch it anyway if I could. The feature monster had silly yet scary makeup that looks like the boogeyman kids imagine in the bedroom closet. Kenneth Tobey gets a chance to once again hunt down the monster like he did in 'The Thing'. He makes a good no nonsense type tough-guy any self respecting monster should hide from on site. My only regret was we didn't wait till after dark to watch it. That would have been more fun than an afternoon viewing. If you are a fan of 50s drive-in horror films, and I sure am, you should love this. I give it a 6 out of 10 rating.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

Filming Locations:

10300 block of Woodbine Ave. Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gramercy Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1