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Blood of the Vampire

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5.7/10 • 41

1958-08-251h 27m

HorrorScience Fiction

Nothing Like It This Side of Hell!

A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad Scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.

Directors
Henry Cass
Writters
Jimmy Sangster
Editors
Jimmy Sangster, Douglas Myers

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Donald Wolfit

    Donald Wolfit

    Doctor Callistratus

  2. Vincent Ball

    Vincent Ball

    Dr. John Pierre

  3. Barbara Shelley

    Barbara Shelley

    Madeleine Duval

  4. Victor Maddern

    Victor Maddern

    Carl

  5. William Devlin

    William Devlin

    Kurt Urach

  6. Andrew Faulds

    Andrew Faulds

    Chief Guard Wetzler

  7. John Le Mesurier

    John Le Mesurier

    Chief Justice

  8. Bryan Coleman

    Bryan Coleman

    Monsieur Auron

  9. Cameron Hall

    Cameron Hall

    Drunken Doctor

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

May 6, 2024

6/10

“Vampires? We don’t need no stinkin’ vampires” In 1880 Carlstadt, Düsseldorf, a doctor (Vincent Ball) is sentenced to life-in-prison for malpractice in performing an emergency blood transfusion, which had never been done successfully. Instead of being sent to the prescribed penal island, he’s curiously transferred to a prison for the criminally insane where the director (Donald Wolfit) wants him to perform blood-typing research for some unknown reason. "Blood of the Vampire" (1958) was obviously inspired by the success of Hammer's “The Curse of Frankenstein” because the producers hired the same scriptwriter, Jimmy Sangster, and it includes elements of both that flick and “The Horror of Dracula,” which started filming shortly after this one. While it lacks Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, it’s on par production-wise and certainly different enough to stand on its own. It's worth seeing just for the beautiful Barbara Shelley, who plays the doctor’s fiancée and was only 25 during shooting. She went on to appear in Hammer Films’ “The Gorgon,” “Dracula, Prince of Darkness,” “Rasputin: The Mad Monk” and “Five Million Years to Earth,” aka “Quatermass and the Pit.” Victor Maddern is effective as the Quasimodo-like assistant, Carl. The extensive make-up he had to wear gave him a headache. The milieu of the grim, grimy and hellish prison hospital no doubt inspired “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” sixteen years later. The movie runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot at Alliance Film Studios Twickenham, southwest of London. GRADE: B-

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  • Blood of the Vampire poster
  • Blood of the Vampire poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
prisonvampiremad scientistlaboratorydiseasescientistblood transfusionheart transplant