Yes, the bloodsucking vampire is back in the form of its most popular portrayer, Bela Lugosi, but this time, he's not Dracula, but an 18th Century scientist whose research on vampirism turned him into Mr. Toothy. 200 years go by before he is destroyed by a spike in the heart, and his wolf man like assistant (Matt Willis) returns to normal. But when the blitz hits London, his grave is unearthed, and two well-meaning (but stupid) gravediggers pull the stake out of his heart. Before you can say "I Bid You Welcome", Lugosi is once again out looking for unvolunteered plasma, and soon his wolf assistant is back at his beck and call. So not only do the British have living monster Hitler to fight, but a non-dead monster as well.
Lugosi is perfectly cast, being so adept as Dracula that he can swing his cape and bare his fangs better than Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine were doing over at Universal in his old role. Matt Willis goes down the road of another famous Lugosi role by being the perfect "Igor" type, while Freida Inescort and Nina Foch are appealing heroines. Inescort is particularly memorable as the doctor who makes the vampire's demise her main concern in life. Add on a spooky cemetery with the London fog and you've got a neat little "B" horror yarn that briefly took Lugosi away from the "Z's" he was doing over at Monogram and bit parts at the majors. Even in his 50's, Lugosi cuts a dashing figure, and it's nice to see him as the vampire again even if his character of Armand Testa isn't the Bram Stoker villain.
Lugosi is perfectly cast, being so adept as Dracula that he can swing his cape and bare his fangs better than Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine were doing over at Universal in his old role. Matt Willis goes down the road of another famous Lugosi role by being the perfect "Igor" type, while Freida Inescort and Nina Foch are appealing heroines. Inescort is particularly memorable as the doctor who makes the vampire's demise her main concern in life. Add on a spooky cemetery with the London fog and you've got a neat little "B" horror yarn that briefly took Lugosi away from the "Z's" he was doing over at Monogram and bit parts at the majors. Even in his 50's, Lugosi cuts a dashing figure, and it's nice to see him as the vampire again even if his character of Armand Testa isn't the Bram Stoker villain.