The Vampire's Ghost

Vampire's Ghost is one of those gems that pops up now and again among the old B's. The vampire is multi-dimensional rather than unmitigated evil. There are some metaphysics mixed into the story. If you find this one on late night cable give it a watch.

While the title hadn't struck me as being familiar when I read Michael Elliott's positive review here, I later found out that it was in fact listed - albeit meriting only a single sentence! - in "Horror Films", a compendium of the genre written by Alan Frank and which basically served as my introduction to many horror classics as a child.

As Michael has said, the script (co-written by Leigh Brackett, future collaborator of the great Howard Hawks) is unusually literate for a low-budget horror film of the Forties, suggesting that its main influence may have been the Val Lewton horror cycle being made contemporaneously at RKO; though it never quite achieves their level of quality, it was a very pleasant surprise and it ought to be better known and, more importantly, seen (alas, given its virtually non-existent reputation and the fact that it's a Republic production, whose catalogue has recently been acquired by Paramount, its official release on DVD anytime soon seems a highly unlikely prospect...though I would love to be proved wrong).

Anyway, the combination of vampirism and voodoo is an intriguing one - though we don't really see much of either. The largely unknown cast responds remarkably well to the fanciful proceedings (which offer some new and interesting variations on the standard vampire lore) - but it's John Abbott as Fallon, the world-weary and rather sympathetic bloodsucker who obviously steals the show. The film features a number of effective sequences during its brief (a mere 59 minutes!) but thoroughly engaging running time: a booby-trap shotgun is fired and the bullet goes right through Abbott (shades of SON OF Dracula [1943]) and lodges itself in the arm of one of the natives; only the vampire's clothes are reflected in a mirror (an effect borrowed from Universal's Invisible Man films) and when he looks at it, the mirror shatters of its own accord; the vampire attacks which mainly rely on Abbott's uneasy glare for their impact; the climax set in an ancient temple.

Looking at Lesley Selander's busy filmography (but whose work I had never seen before now), I'm left with the assumption that he was one of the innumerable unassuming journeyman directors who specialized in B-movies and Westerns in particular (at least 6 of his films are called "Fort Something Or Other"!); as a matter of fact, he inserts the obligatory poker game, followed by a bar-room brawl, even in THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST - having made Abbott the unlikely proprietor of a tavern (albeit using this identity merely as a cover for his true and sinister self). Still, given my enthusiastic reaction to the latter, I'm willing to give his FORT ALGIERS (1953; which has been available for some time at my local DVD outlet, without generating much interest to me personally) a chance - even if I'm pretty sure it won't be anywhere near as satisfying...

"The Vampire's Ghost" is an underrated film. Don't expect a lot of effects or Gothic settings-this film carries itself without it. That may be a drawback to some viewers. The acting is good and the jungle scenes add an interesting touch. Some genre expectations(i.e. inability to go out in the sun)are thrown out. John Abbott is fine in the lead role. He plays a sympathetic figure at the beginning but starts to show his sinister side. He runs a dive by the waterfront which covers his true identity. When murders are committed, the natives start to blame him. The manner in which he is killed is a change from most vampire movies and the ability to regain his strength via moonlight is an original one. "Vampire's Ghost" is a film that is worth a look. Note-Movies Unlimited has a very good copy of this film but it is on VHS only. You could always have it transferred to DVD.

I've wanted to see this movie for many years, ever since I read that Leigh Brackett had written the script for it. And, now that I have, I'm pleased to find out that it was worth the wait. Produced cheaply, by a second (or even third) rate studio, it replaces budget with story and characterization. John Abbott's Web Fallon (possibly the first sympathetic and world-weary vampire portrayal in the movies), harks back to John Polidori's Lord Ruthven (and Rymer's Sir Francis Varney) as his antecedents, and not the classic Stoker/Lugosi Dracula--one of the very few times the big screen has acknowledged there were literary vampires before Stroker.

It's too bad this one has basically slipped between the cracks and has become almost impossible to find.

John Abbott plays Webb Fallon, a centuries-old vampire currently earning a living as a dive owner in an African locale called Bakunda. Coinciding with his arrival is, of course, the expected outbreak of curious murders. The heroes don't put two and two together right away, but they DO figure him out, and head into the heart of the jungle, while he attempts to obtain a female companion for his further journeys through the years.

"The Vampire's Ghost" is more intelligently handled than some films of its type, no doubt the result of the craftsmanship of the celebrated Leigh Brackett, who co-wrote the script based on her own original story. Still, it can't help but spend some time going over some of the standard rules involving vampires, with which so many people are familiar by now.

Although a low budget production (you never do believe that the sets and actors are actually in Africa), the filmmakers, led by director Lesley Selander, make up for this with a presentation that is dependent on mood and characterization. Like many an old-school horror film, it relies on suggestion and subtlety. All we need to see are the frightened reactions of various victims. Abbott, whose buggy eyes are hard not to fixate upon, gives people such a cold stare that they meekly submit to his presence. This, even though he's not a particularly intimidating specimen physically.

The cast is good overall - Charles Gordon as the young hero, the pretty Peggy Stewart (who's still alive and still working) as the leading lady, Grant Withers as a helpful priest, Emmett Vogan as Stewarts' father, the stunning Adele Mara (whose exotic dance is a highlight), and Roy Barcroft as an unlucky gambler / skipper. But Abbott tends to command most of the attention, giving a performance that is world-weary and somewhat sympathetic. Webb doesn't particularly care for his continued, haunted existence.

This viewer didn't think the pacing was that tedious; the film maintained his interest for a modestly enjoyable experience running only an hour long.

Seven out of 10.