Thanks to tometheridge57 for recommending this one to me. Directed by Todd Browning, who had helmed Dracula just four years earlier Mark of the Vampire is another film where Bela Lugosi stars as a bloodsucker.
The story, frankly, isn’t that interesting. It involves a gothic castle, some folks showing up dead with bite marks on their necks and blood drained from their bodies, and a professor who has come to investigate the matter. There is a plot twist in the final act that I won’t spoil but that I found rather unappealing. But it oozes style and gothic charm. The castle sets are fantastic and the monster effects are quite wonderful.
Legosi doesn’t have that big of a role, but he’s wonderful, even if he is essentially reprising his role as Dracula. Lionel Barrymore plays the professor and I have really come to love him in just about anything he does.
So, if you’ve seen all the Dracula movies but still need a Legosi as vampire fix, this movie is for you.
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the 30’s horror movies are paced more like stage drama, and rely heavily on dialogue more than action, to convey the story….if you can take it slow and follow the dialogue carefully, they are finely crafted cinema treasures…highly recommended Karloff 30’s: “The Old Dark House” 1932, directed by James Whale and “The Ghoul” also from 1932….Frank Zappa on horror movies: “the cheaper, the better”…the 40’s war era saw lower budgets, faster paced scripts, less classics, more potboilers, popcorn movies, and escapist fare….however especially at Universal, the old-world atmosphere drips from the screen in every shot….a Lugosi must-see is the 1943 Columbia cheapie “Return of the Vampire” in which we see the Vampire, the Werewolf, and the Nazis !?!?!
I’m a big fan of 1930s cinema in general, and certainly their horror movies. I’ve not seen a huge amount of films from that decade but I’ve been trying to remedy that over the last few years. I’ve seen The Old Dark House and liked it quite a lot. Have not seen The Ghoul so I will definitely check that one out. Thanks for the recommendation.