A stylish and well-made film, with German Robles, playing Dracula in all but name, giving a more impressive vampire performance than Carlos Villares in Universal's Spanish-language Dracula. Curiously, some reviewers have suggested that this film influenced Hammer's Dracula, which is mere wishful thinking: El Vampiro was released in October 1957, when Hammer's Dracula was already in pre-production. It's very unlikely that Hammer or Lee were even aware of this film's existence, and Lee is on record stating that he deliberately did not watch any other film in preparation for his role. Their performances do have something in common, however: both Robles and Lee show that it is possible to give a sinister and credible portrayal of a vampire without resorting to the leering, posing and over-ripe delivery of Lugosi.
Review of El vampiro
