Vampire der Nacht

These old time films in black and white hold my interest and especially great actors like Lionel Atwell, (Dr. Otto Von Niemann) along with Fay Wray, (Ruth Bertin) and Melvyn Douglas, (Karl Brellschneider). The local town people are experiences strange deaths in their town where the people all have their blood drained from their bodies and there are two small puncture wounds on their necks. Rumors's start to spread that they are caused by bats and some people think it is a vampire which is attacking all the people. Karl is the local policeman in the area and he sets out to try and solve just what is going on and he seeks the help from a local town doctor named Dr. Otto Von Niemann who thinks it could possibly be a local man who seems to love bats and keeps them as pets and he also keeps them in his home and in his coat. This is a great classic film with some comedy mixed in with all this blood sucking.

This was made by a minor ,Poverty Row studio but it stands up well alongside other more lavish Universal productions from around the same time and has a pretty decent cast that provides a touch of quality in the acting department. The title is a misnomer as the evil that bedevils the remote Central European town turns out to be human in origin although the inhabitants of the town firmly believe that the exsanguinated bodies turning up all over the place are the work of vampires .They hound a simple minded young man ,Herman ,( movingly played by Dwight Frye ) to his death claiming he is the culprit while the real villain is unmasked shortly after his death. Neat performances from Lionel Attwill as the town doctor ,Melvyn Douglas as the sceptical local policeman and the aforementioned Mr Frye compensate for a wan and colourless Fay Wray as the love interest and the tedious comic relief of Maude Elune as a bossy old maiden Aunt prone to fits of the vapours .

Its ingredients will be familair to lovers of the vintage horror picture and we get many of the scenes that were a staple of the genre--superstitious villagers wielding torches ,a crazed man of science and the debate between science and folklore but it is expertly welded together and never oustays its welcome

Dwight Frye steals the show in this one as a foolish young man(who seems to be mentally handicapped) who gets himself blamed for vampire-like murders especially after he reveals his love for bats which he likes to stroke and give to unsuspecting friends as 'gifts'!. Besides all of that, there's an entertaining mystery tale involving the above mentioned murders. Underrated.

I take issue with the other reviewer's comments for the simple reason that this is a MYSTERY FILM, not a supernatural one! It is not the only film to have a seemingly "supernatural" explanation ("vampires"), but turns out to be a very mundance one.

Other films that come to mind are Edgar Wallace's "Before Dawn" and the (more famous) "Mark of the Vampire".

The film does a WONDERFUL job in creating a very "spooky atmosphere", similar DRACULA, when Renfield meets the Count on the staircase of his castle, or in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, when the two people look thru the windows of the castle ruins and see a "corpse" playing an organ, while Luna descends using wings! VERY surreal!

If one likes these (often silent) atmospheric touches, THIS film is a MUST!

Norm Vogel

Though not a horror film in the traditional sense, this creepy little film delivers the goods. It seems a vampire is loose in a small German town draining its victims of their blood. Police Inspector Karl Brettschneider, Melvyn Douglas in one of his early roles, is skeptical believing a crazed killer not a vampire is running amok. The only one who believes him is Ruth Bertin (Faye Wray) the inspector's girlfriend and lab assistant to Dr. Otto von Niemann (Lionel Atwill) who though apparently an eminent scientist goes along with the vampire theory. The townspeople suspect the weirdo Herman Gleib, played with his usual frenzy by Dwight Frye who seems to be having a lot of fun with his role. The film contains quite a bit of humor which helps relieve some of the intensity involved with all the murders being committed. One funny part has Gussie Schnappmann (Maude Eburne), Ruth Bertin's aunt, thinking weird Herman has turned not into a bat but into a dog. Maude Eburne and Dwight Frye make a good comedy team.

This budget movie brings in elements from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" with Dr. Niemann using the power of suggestion to make a somnambulist carry out his orders, from "Frankenstein" by using the human blood to help create life in the laboratory, and "Dracula" since the murders are believed by everyone except the inspector and his girl to be the work of a bloodsucker. Thses elements are mixed well by director Frank R. Strayer with a little comedy thrown in for good measure. The concoction works. The restored version I viewed used tinting to increase the spooky atmosphere. So try to see the this version if possible.