By JOHN BILLINGER
Tiger Media Network
Halloween. A time of watching spooky movies, and if you want a classic black and white spooky movie, this one is for you.
How about this lineup for a horror film: Werewolves, Vampires, and Nazi Bombs, oh my! That’s the basic concept of 1943’s “The Return of the Vampire.” An old-school horror B-movie? Sure. But it does have Bela Lugosi (in a role not unlike the classic Dracula he’s best known for), and he’s great no matter what he’s in. Oh, and there is a werewolf too. But he’s kind of bland. More of a Jekyll and Hyde type. As for the Nazi Bombs, well, they’re as advertised. Now you’re probably wondering just what is this film about.
Well, in 1918, during the closing days of WWI, vampire Armand Tesla (played by Bela Lugosi) is stabbed and killed by Professor Saunders and his daughter. Tesla has a werewolf assistant named Andreas, who is soon in the custody of the Saunders family. Over the course of the next 25 years, they basically rehabilitate him, and turn him into a normal citizen. He is no longer a werewolf and not under the power of Tesla. Unfortunately for everyone, during a Nazi bombing raid during the Second World War, the stake is removed from Tesla’s body, bringing him back to life. Andreas soon rejoins his old master, becomes a werewolf again, and it’s up to the Saunders family to put a stop to Dracul-I mean Tesla’s reign of terror.
It has been long suggested that this was either meant to be a Dracula adaptation or an unofficial sequel to Dracula. Watching it, you can make some connections. Armand Tesla is obviously Dracula, Andreas is Reinfield, Dr. Saunders is Van Helsing, and so on. Even the title sounds like a sequel or some type of continuation. But no, officially, this is a standalone film. That’s fine with me, though. You get what you want here.
Bela Lugosi as Tesla the vampire is as great as he was in “Dracula.” He didn’t play Drac on film that often. Only twice. He played a similarly dressed character in 1935’s “Mark of the Vampire,” but that character was merely an actor pretending, so it doesn’t count. This makes for a good compensation prize for those who want more Lugosi vampire action. The werewolf, as stated earlier, is kind of lame, he’s got more in common with Renfield or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but he’s completely serviceable.
Where this film really shines is in the visuals. All the shots have the gothic atmosphere you’d expect from a Universal film from the same time period. You could probably fool someone into thinking it was a long-lost Universal monster film. It’s that good. Plus, there’s a whole lotta fog. For whatever reason, the director was like, “Yeah, this is good, but I want more fog. No, no, no, more. Smoke them out.” It might be a bit over-obsessive, but it adds to the atmosphere.
Overall, if you want a spooky, somewhat hokey movie for the Halloween season, “The Return of the Vampire” is some good material to watch. It may not be a major classic, but it’s definitely a fun watch, especially for this time of year.