The Vampire

A lost classic! And a lost....well, decent b-movie
Classic horror fans rejoice! Return of Dracula, though previously available on VHS, has been out-of-print for years. If you've never seen it, it's a suprisingly well-done black & white horror film from 1958.

In a plot that, oddly enough, echoes Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, Count Dracula (a sublime Francis Lederer) relocates to California to live with supposed relatives. And although it's unrelated to the Hammer Films' Dracula films of the same period, it certainly holds its own against those more-polished efforts. The vampire's demise is somewhat graphic for the time.

The Vampire, while arguably the lesser film here, is by no means a waste of time. John Beal generates sympathy as a small-down doctor afflicted with the "disease" of vampirism. Fifties genre favorite Kenneth Tobey is on hand as the local sheriff. While both of these films are basically drive-in stuff, The Vampire's...

Classic Double Bill Now On DVD.
I have waited for years to see these titles on DVD and at last they are finally here. Anyone who grew up watching late night horror shows on local TV probably saw these films at one time or another especially THE RETURN OF DRACULA. Both were made by Gramercy Productions a division of Levy-Gardner-Laven, an outfit that produced shows for television in the 50's and 60's (most notably THE RIFLEMAN and THE BIG VALLEY).

What sets these 2 films apart from other B-movie horrors of the era are the use of once major stars (Francis Lederer, John Beal) who were really good actors, maximum use of their minimum budgets (like Val Lewton in the 40's), and the fact that both screenplays were written by a woman (Pat Fielder who did Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT) which gives a slightly different perspective to the proceedings where you wind up caring more about the characters most notably John Beal in THE VAMPIRE. Unlike Val Lewton's pictures these are 1950's films and both contain some...

LITTLE GEM CALLED THE RETURN OF DRACULA COMES TO DVD AS A DOUBLE FEATURE!
This little known gem 'The Return Of Dracula is making it's debut on DVD! It's about time and as a bonus it's on this double feature disc with 'The Vampire'! The Return Of Dracula is a very solid Vampire movie with good pacing and decent atmosphere. The acting is above average for this sort of movie and it has one of the most memorable endings in vampire movie history. Francis Lederer is menacing as the count with his black eyes and his deep facial lines. I did notice in one instance that when one of Dracula's wives got staked the picture turned to color to show the blood......Something I missed as a kid growing up with B&W TV and watching these on Creature Feature. I didn't remember that much about either of these films until I watched them on an HD Channel and then checked the quality on the DVD. Both prints seem to be in very good condition, but unfortunately the disc has no extras. 'The Return Of Dracula' is a much better film than other, but 'The Vampire' is hard to hate and it's...

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