THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (1943)
Nobody does a vampire like Bela Lugosi. The evil glint in his eye, the Hungarian accent, and the deliberate body language. It's a definitive piece of cinema history, forever type-cast but forever legendary. But what is the definitive vampire film from his years in the cloak? It's not Dracula, since despite his mesmerising performance there's a stilted and censored third act to deal with. It's not Mark of the Vampire because despite the stylish undead sequences it's a meandering affair, with a nonsensical final twist. So this might just be it, a film in which the all the pieces fit together. But this is a bold claim, so let's take a trip into the tombs of old and see what's scurrying about inside.
During the First World War a doctor in a Sanatorium, Professor Saunders, (Gilbert Emery) treats a patient suffering from the usual signs of a vampire attack. She dies in a delirious state, but this leads Saunders and the owner of the clinic, Lady Jane Ainsley, (Frieda Inescort) to discover the vampire's crypt. The doctor's granddaughter has also been attacked, leaving them no choice but to stake the ghoul and end the nightmare. But although the vampire seems to be destroyed, and his wolf-man slave Andreas (Matt Willis) is saved in the process, this is only the beginning. After the Second World War has started, blood drinking menace Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi) is resurrected and vows revenge on the doctor and his relatives.
It's a hokey start, even if the wolf-man appliances are pretty good. Lady Jane's sudden decision to tell this story doesn't make a lot of sense, and it leads to her being a murder suspect. Why now so many years later? Perhaps it's because Professor Saunders has passed away. But of course Sir Frederick Fleet of Scotland Yard (Miles Mander) finds no body linking her to the staking, so her apparent confession leads nowhere. But despite the strangeness of the vampire's resting place being unearth in a war time blitz, and the comic relief characters who find it, this is a fairly straight laced affair. What makes it effective that these lighter elements are brisk, so it plays out with a consistent tone.
Lady Jane is a refreshingly stoic lead, an older maternal figure looking out for her semi-adopted grandchildren. There are no screaming scenes or forced romances here. Simpering fiancées and plucky reporters are out for once. She's also an important member of an elite circle, helping both detective investigations and escaped doctors from Europe. Andreas, free of his curse for now, is a sympathetic character who she's spent time to help. He's the tragic conflicted creature, and Fleet is the constant sceptic. Everyone is perfectly pitched, even if the latter does tend to be overly outraged once too often. It's never overly comedic, but there are still a few tongue in cheek moments occasionally.
Lady Jane's fugitive doctor of course never arrives, and it transpires that Tesla has taken this identity in order to put his own plans into action. Bela Lugosi plays this as you'd expect, Vlad by any other name, taking back his slave and beginning his revenge. The pair face off in a battle of nerves just once, but he gets plenty to do. It's all the typical kind of hypnosis and dramatic speeches, but what's not to like? It's hardly as though Universal where giving him an appropriate amount of roles like this. He delivers a darker persona which works well, adding a cruel touch that leans into the subjugation of his thralls. How Tesla became a vampire is perhaps glossed over too quickly, but it's a small missed opportunity.
The central roles elevate what is a lower budget feature. Graveyard sets are recycled, footage of war-time aircraft is rarely convincing, and everything is covered with mist to hide the deficiencies. Sometimes there's even fog indoors. But while there are no grand optical effects or matte paintings, it does manage to capture the old 1930s atmosphere. Unlike certain 1940s horror sequels which feel drab or plain, this manages to be spooky and stylish. The scale is certainly small, and exterior shots are minimal. Lady Jane talks about a big musical performance but it's never shown. Tesla doesn't have any big transformations. But at least he gets a satisfying death, in a conclusion that takes the sillier aspects of Andreas' character and lend it pathos.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948)
On the other end of the spectrum, this is all done for laughs. But not in a completely farcical way, meaning this is also a highlight of monster movie cinema in the 1940s. Bela Lugosi is Dracula, for real this time. Lon Chaney Jr. is Larry Talbot, the actual Wolfman. The title character is certainly not being played by Boris Karloff, but what can you do. It's still a fairly high quality affair for something so ridiculous sounding. The animated title cards are a sign of things to come, and there are some great effects and some great sound stages. Transformations into wolves and bats are present and correct. And fortunately beyond the wackier moments the trio of monsters are depicted in an appropriate manner.
Chick (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) are baggage handlers, who take a strange consignment to a local haunted house attraction. Larry Talbot has been tracking this and tries to stop the crates containing Dracula's coffin and the Frankenstein creature. But various shenanigans ensue and things go awry. There's a lot of mugging and slapstick as you'd expect. Some of the funniest moments come from the premise that Wilber has the perfectly compliant brain, just what the monster needs. Why Dracula wants a servant like this is unclear, but Lugosi gets a lot of the best lines as a result. Wilber's lack of awareness when two women are clamouring for his attention, both for their own means, also offers plenty of laughs.
As a horror film it's spooky enough, but of course all the gags push any darker elements to the sidelines. Still, there are some effective vampire moments and a few scenes get more sinister than you might imagine. There's even a surprisingly brutal stunt when the whole brain transplant goes wrong and the creature breaks loose. It's a good mixture that balances all the disparate elements well, never going too far in either direction. Bela is older, but gives it a wry touch of black comedy as Dracula posing as yet another doctor. Chaney is still the sad werewolf and it still works. Some of the jokes fall and bit flat, and some of the over acting can be exhausting. But it's consistently entertaining without any real lulls. A surprise cameo at the end puts the icing on the cake.
4/5
