We tend to think of Jimmy Sangster as one of the mainstays of Hammer Films but he did occasionally work for other people.
Which doesn’t change the fact that this is basically a Hammer film rip off.
One of the first, if not the first, in fact, as it was made on an incredibly tight schedule after the success of Hammer’s first two Gothic horrors, Dracula (The Horror of Dracula) and The Curse of Frankenstein.
Both of which Jimmy wrote, of course.
So I suppose it should come as no surprise that what we got is a combination of the two films (although the plot reminds me more than a little of Hammer’s final Frankenstein, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell).
John Pierre, a young doctor, is convicted of malpractice because he attempted a blood transfusion to save a dying patient. Instead of prison, he is sent to the insane asylum run by Dr. Callistratus (Donald Wolfit), who is busy conducting his own private experiments in the basement and needs John’s help to find a cure for a rare blood disease.
What John doesn’t realize is that Callistratus is conducting nasty experiments on the inmates — and transfusing himself with their blood…
Now this was not the first scientific vampire movie as an American example, The Vampire, came out the year before. and it wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t any others. But it is an interesting twist in a period horror film.
Like most of the Hammer copies is isn’t quite as good as their best work, although this is definitely one of the best copies. It’s helped enormously by the use of the town set from Henry V.
Donald Wolfit is the film’s greatest asset. It’s a shame he never became a great horror icon as he looks the part and gives a beautifully evil performance here. However, he preferred the life of a travelling player and plowed the profits from his occasional movie and TV work back into the theater troupe he managed (he was also the inspiration for the Albert Finney film, The Dresser).
The rest of the cast is reasonably good, although the makeup for Callistratus’s inevitable deformed assistant needed work.
Still, I quite like this one. It’s got a reasonably good script (even if it isn’t as good as Jimmy’s Hammer scripts), good visuals, an interesting idea or two and a great villain.
What more you can you ask for?
Although I do have to wonder what “disease” Callistratus infected himself with to survive having a stake driven through his heart?
Maybe this vampire isn’t quite as scientific as we thought…
rivets on the poster 
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