| Mark Of The Vampire |
| Directed by Tod Browning
Lionel Barrymore .... Prof. Zelin Elizabeth Allan .... Irena Bela Lugosi .... Count Mora Lionel Atwill .... Insp. Neumann Jean Hersholt .... Baron Otto von Zinden Carroll Borland .... Luna Mora Holmes Herbert .... Sir Karell Borotyn This is a very atmospheric movie with a great cast. And for 50 minutes it is one of the more enjoyable 1930's chillers you'll have the pleasure to watch. But ohh the last 10 minutes...ACK! A local European village is seemingly plagued by vampires. Not only is a local villager found dead in the road, drained of his blood, so is Sir Karell Borotyn. He is found dead at his desk the victim of a vampiric attack. His daughter is distraught and is in turn comforted by her father's oldest friend, Baron Otto. Naturally the police are stumped and the locals fear the undead. A year or so later Inspector Neumann calls in the great Professor Zelin to help with the case. Not only does the twitchy, spastic, scenery chewing Zelin arrive but two mysterious people from the past arrive: Count Mora and his daughter Luna. Allegedly there was some sort of incestous relationship between the Count & Luna which led to a murder/suicide of the two. And if they're dead what the heck are they doing roaming around the foggy countryside? To make matters even more complicated, Sir Karell has also been seen in their company! Is the village being invaded by vampires? This movie has a lot going for it. The outdoor night time scenes are just wonderful. Plenty of fog, creepy spooky night sounds of night birds(bats?) and insects to give you a real authentic thrill. Luna is feral and Lugosi is quite majestic creeping about in the night. Atwill is excellent as the policeman. Hersholt is enjoyable as the easily frightened Baron Otto. The pace moves along nicely and for the first 50 minutes you're in for a great spooky ride. On the downside: Elizabeth Allan is rather annoying in her role as the haunted daughter. However she is nothing compared to the thick ham sliced by Barrymore. He twitches and fiddles so much you want to give him Valium to take the edge off. Or maybe you should take the valium instead. SPOILERS!!! Then the bottom falls out for the last ten or eleven minutes. There are NO vampires. It is all a trick staged by the professor, Neumann and the acting troupe of the Moras to fool a confession out of the real killer! But this cop out doesn't work. Sir Karell was killed by something looking like toenail scissors and a heated brandy snifter cupped over the throat wound to drain the blood. IF the snifter held 12 ounces how many times would it have to be emptied and where did the blood go if none was found on the scene? What about the dead villager found in the road drained of blood? I like this movie but the dopey ending ranks right up there with I Bury The Living as the most annoying. It takes what could have been a four star movie and makes it average. |
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