Smoreni Zmaj
For it's own time and genre, this movie is simply perfect.10/10Multilayered and deeper than in any previous Dracula movie, story is balancing between drama and thriller. Characterization has much more attention than in any other monster movie from this period, acting is solid, and camera, directing and effects are superb. True masterpiece.
JohnHowardReid
It's good to see this entry in Columbia's horror catalog has now surfaced on an excellent Columbia DVD. Admittedly, I didn't expect a great deal of a movie directed by Lew Landers, but this one is very professionally handled by Mr. Landers, assisted by moody photography (including some great special effects work), atmospheric sets, and an intriguing script which doesn't mind breaking some of the rules laid down by Universal's horror specialists. As expected, Bela Lugosi plays the vampire as to the manner born and receives excellent assistance from a first-rate support cast including Nina Foch and Frieda Inescort. (Incidentally, "Foch" is pronounced "Fawsh", and it rhymes with Porsche, the luxury motor car).
ProgressiveHead
This was Columbia Studios attempt at a horror film in the same vein as those Universal were making around this time ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man", "House of Frankenstein" etc.), as it features both a vampire and a wolf man.Bela Lugosi plays a vampire (this time Armand Tesla) and when he is not busy being evil at night and sleeping all day, he is treating patients as Dr Hugo Bruckner. It's up to the strong, determined Lady Jane Ainsley (Freda Inescort) to put all the clues together and rid the world of Tesla's evil ways.There are a few atmospheric scenes typical of this type of film and Lugosi is suitably menacing and hypnotic, but the script isn't very good and many of the performances are quite stilted. For me, it just wasn't much fun unlike most of the Universal monster films of this era which were more satisfying dramatically, and as spectacle.Lugosi would play a vampire once more a few years later in "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" alongside other horror icons Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man, whose design looks much better in those superior films.
lugonian
THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (Columbia, 1944), directed by Lew Landers, was the studios contribution to the horror genre made famous by Universal, acquiring many of its ingredients right down to the services of that studio's very own Bela Lugosi, whose legend began with "Dracula" (1931). By this time of this particular release, Lugosi's career had already reached a period of decline, having starred in a series of cheap imitations of classic horror tales for poverty row studios as Monogram and PRC. While THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE could very well be a pale imitation of a good horror film or a "Dracula" sequel featuring his twin brother accompanied by a werewolf instead of Mr. Renfield, this new idea of a vampire tale, though not entirely original, is actually a pleasant surprise. While it can't compare to the Universal products, this edition improves over their current distribution of program quickies and countless sequels.What a great way to start the evening for a Lugosi flick with its introduction during its opening credits consisting of a young girl fearfully walking back into the darkness as a shadowy figure lurks towards her before belting out a big scream through the super-imposed titles: "The imagination of man at times sires the fantastic and the grotesque. That the imagination of man soars into the stratosphere of fantasy is attested by ... "The Return of the Vampire," followed with this narrative: "This is the case of Armand Tesla, Vampire, as compiled from the personal notes of Professor Walter Saunders, King's College, Oxford. The following events took place in the outskirts of London, towards the end of the year 1918, that began on the night of October 15, particularly on a gloomy foggy night that was well-suited for a visitation by the supernatural" .... Enter Andreas, (Matt Willis) a werewolf, walking through the Priory Cemetery, entering the crypt of his master, Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi), a 200 year-old vampire, who rests in his coffin by day, while living off the blood of his victims by night. Lady Jane Angsley (Frieda Inescort), a sanitarium director, and Professor Walter Saunders (Gilbert Emery), are assigned to investigate the latest female victim resting on a hospital bed with two marks on her neck. Learning of the history of Armand Telsa, a Romanian scientist, Saunders comes to realize he's the vampire in question who must be destroyed, especially after making his little girl, Nikki, his latest prey. Upon entering an abandoned cemetery, Saunders and Angsley come to a vault where they find a coffin with a breathing body inside. Saunders rids this rein of terror by striking a metal stake through his heart. The destruction of Armand Tesla immediately frees Andreas of his curse, transforming him from werewolf to human being. Twenty-three years pass where England is under another blitz, World War II. Saunders is killed in an airplane crash, Andreas is assistant for Lady Jane, while her concert pianist son, Johnny (Roland Varno) is engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Nicki Saunders (Nina Foch). All's well until the abandoned cemetery is bombed by warplanes, leaving many bodies scattered. Two laborers (Billy Bevan and Harold De Becker) are assigned to rebury the dead. In doing so, they remove the stake from a body of one that resurrects later that night, hence the title. Armand Telsa, under the guise of Dr. Hugo Bruckner, stalks once more, returning poor Andreas back into his werewolf slave ("I shall command and YOU shall obey!") and plans for his next mission to terrorize Lady Jane and have Nikki his future bride of the living dead.A neat little thriller that contains many effective scenes to rank this a truly good horror film of its day, from howling sounds of dogs around the cemetery to the vampire's call to his victims through the echoing of his whispers. The highlight where werewolf combats his evil master surpasses the battle between the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the Frankenstein monster (Bela Lugosi of all people) in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (Universal, 1943). While there were further developments with the Universal monsters, THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE contained no sequels, though many imitations from other studios, including Universal itself, continued.Formerly available on video cassette and later placed to DVD, THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE had frequent cable TV broadcasts over the years, ranging from Turner Network Television (1992); American Movie Classics (1998-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (2006-07), usually during the month of October to commemorate Halloween. How appropriate, especially for Bela Lugosi, the Vampire King. (**1/2)
