Mark of the Vampire (1935)
Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora, or perhaps his daughter, but receive little help from the law. Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with the investigation.
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Simply Perfect
A Masterpiece!
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
"Mark Of The Vampire" has a great cast (even with a few too many comic relief supporting characters), some striking scenes and lots of creepy-crawlies, but the big surprise in the story is also a let-down, as it turns the supernatural into the mundane. Ultimately, this doesn't quite qualify as one of the classics of the genre. But it does make you wonder why Carroll Borland didn't have more roles like this - she is perfect. **1/2 out of 4.
A tiny village in Czechoslovakia is terrorized by a madman running through the streets sucking their victims dry of blood, and the doctor in charge of the investigation leads a series of radical events intended to drive the murderer out of hiding and stop the bloody rampage.This here was a pretty disappointing although still watchable effort. One of the few watchable areas here is the film's rather fine Gothic sensibilities which are rather in keeping with the general tone at the time as these scenes here give this one some rather exciting and chilling moments. The scenes at the castle are rather chilling as the two descend the stairs in such grand fashion where the dusty, cobweb-filled space which looks amazing as their eeriness walking through completes the scene, the group searching the underground crypts for their hiding spot is rather creepy going through the tombs finding the other bodies and being forced to leave them there gives this a highly chilling sequence and the big reveal at the end in the castle's main hallway where they play out the fruition of a rather ingenious plan makes for quite a great time here as the setting is put to great use here. As well, the other few attack scenes here to take advantage of the Gothic atmosphere as the fine scenes of the vampires coming after them in their house by sneaking into the hallways or confronting them in their rooms offers up some really enjoyable moments while the shots of them hulking about in the village countryside makes for some pretty chilling scenes overall here. As well, the other really good aspect here is the concept of the actual twist within this one as there's something to be said for what it aspires to do here. These few issues here are what makes it watchable and enjoyable to hold off the few minor flaws here. Among the big problems here is the fact that this one is really much too short to really get going with anything as there's barely anything here with the vampire. That this one tends to forsake a lot of the the true horror elements potentially found here in this story to instead go for a rather large amount of exposition towards unspoiling the whole twist to the others around the town which holds the pacing down. That also highlights the films' other big flaw in this where the way this one manages to undo itself with the twist here coming into direct contradiction to what happens in the rest of the film as being able to really believe that twist hurts the storyline here and really takes several scenes out of context here in order to make it work. There's little thought to how letting that play out affect the rest of the movie, and with the pacing issues here is what holds this one down.Today's Rating/PG: Mild Violence.
I truly enjoyed the 'Mark of the Vampire," and I consider it one of my favorite Universal horror movies of all time. Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill and Lionel Barrymore make for a superlative movie double play combination. However, I have always wondered who had attacked Fedor, the male love interest in the movie; for he wasn't in on the plot to trick the Baron into re-enacting his crime? On two occasions he mentioned having being in a deep stupor. Could it be that he was a victim of the 'real' Count Mora. Also, how did they clean-up the abandoned castle so quickly to re-enact the crime? It is still a great little film but I wonder if about 10-15 minutes of critical film were lost on the editor's floor.
Mark of the Vampire apparently had a script change at some point in production, which gave it the controversial ending. I'm on the side of the naysayers- this is an above average, minor classic film, but fell flat for me at the last minute.Director Tod browning creates an incredibly eerie atmosphere, the mood is appropriately supernatural and even a bit sad....Count Mora(Bela Lugosi) and his "undead" daughter Luna radiate a convincing fear inducing allure. These are some of the spookiest moments you will ever see in a 30's horror film. The counterpoint offered by actor Lionel Barrymore in his Van Helsing-esque role is very satisfying (some find his character annoying, to me he is the eccentric uncle that everyone wishes they had)....However,the final 10 minutes upends the entire previous action, and the film concludes with a prosaic resolution. This may leave some viewers unsatisfied or even cheated.Overall, a good film that was probably marred by meddling censors. Watch it if only for historical purposes, but please watch it- late at night! Six stars.