The Return of the Vampire

Dir. Lew Landers

69 Minutes

USA 1943

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno, Miles Mander, Matt Willis

***1/2/*****

As the second wave of Universal horror continued (though would soon be coming to an end), Columbia found themselves eager to get into the mode as well and theirThe Return of the Vampire quite nicely combines a series of interests culling from the other studios vault: wolf men, vampires, and Bela Lugosi. It is striking to note that despite being inextricably linked to the vampire role, Lugosi had not actually played a vampire in the years between Dracula and Return (even the direct Dracula sequels coming from Universal, the highly erotically charged Dracula's Daughter and the more tepid, Lon Chaney starring Son of Dracula, only referred to him as dead from Van Helsing's stake, and he would not actually return to that role until Abbott and Costello dipped their toes into the horror well). But he gives his vampiric character here a great energy, and there seems to be an amount of fun being had by Lugosi that is absent from many appearances in this direct time period. 

At first, the narrative is a complete cacophony of events and modes, with Lugosi's vampire Armand Tesla awaking following a bomb during the London Blitz. Setting out to get revenge on the descendants of the family who buried him in 1918, Tesla assumes the part of a scientist who has just escaped from a concentration camp and, with the help of his hypnotized wolf-man servant, puts his plan into effect. The war setting is a nice touch, and the concept of artificial technologies leading to the awakenings of horrific figures seems to be a preparation for the anxieties that would consume the narratives of horror films of the 50s. But there is a real energy to the action of this picture, and an urgency in the way the horror is pushed. It is an oddly exciting piece despite always knowing the motions of where things will be going. It is a solid effort from Columbia, and feels a little bit more thoughtful than the more assembly line (though still entertaining) efforts coming from the bigger studio at the time.

October 21st, 2019