Gramercy Pictures. Released by United Artists. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: July 1957. No record of any British or Australian theatrical release. 6,737 feet. 75 minutes.
Re-issue title: MARK OF THE VAMPIRE.
SYNOPSIS: A dying scientist gives a doctor some pills which he takes by mistake. To his horror, he discovers the pills have turned him into a human vampire.
COMMENT: This efficient little horror thriller has earned itself something of a cult reputation. Why? Because Beal, who is generally rather a lethargic performer, actually comes alive as a vampire. Because Kenneth Tobey is a cult figure, thanks to his lead role in The Thing (1951). Coleen Gray has a fair standing in cult circles as well.
Director Landres manages to bring off a few genuinely frightening effects. And if we can't have Spencer Tracy or Fredric March as Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde (they both figure in my book on Academy Award-Winning Films of the 1930s), I'm stuck with numerous clones, so we may as well have one of the lesser-known cult favorites.
OTHER VIEWS: Yet another picture suggested by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this is a modest yet gripping thriller, well directed, and featuring an effective music score.
Re-issue title: MARK OF THE VAMPIRE.
SYNOPSIS: A dying scientist gives a doctor some pills which he takes by mistake. To his horror, he discovers the pills have turned him into a human vampire.
COMMENT: This efficient little horror thriller has earned itself something of a cult reputation. Why? Because Beal, who is generally rather a lethargic performer, actually comes alive as a vampire. Because Kenneth Tobey is a cult figure, thanks to his lead role in The Thing (1951). Coleen Gray has a fair standing in cult circles as well.
Director Landres manages to bring off a few genuinely frightening effects. And if we can't have Spencer Tracy or Fredric March as Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde (they both figure in my book on Academy Award-Winning Films of the 1930s), I'm stuck with numerous clones, so we may as well have one of the lesser-known cult favorites.
OTHER VIEWS: Yet another picture suggested by Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this is a modest yet gripping thriller, well directed, and featuring an effective music score.