Curse of the Undead

A black-clad, gaunt stranger (Michael Pate) arrives in town, becomes a farmhand for a pretty rancher (Kathleen Crowley), eventually turns out to be the vampire terrorizing the countryside. This really is a clever, moody piece, another well-done 1950s Universal-International terror film, featuring good performances, creepy music, and an astonishing climax.

The combining of westerns with horror has not always made for great films. I mean, who can forget "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" and "Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter". The exception is "Curse of the Undead". This 1959 picture stars Eric Fleming as a frontier preacher who is confronted with a vampire in the form of a hired gun, portrayed with sinister, yet sympathetic overtones by Michael Pate.

The plot has some holes in it. For example, Michael Pate's character commits suicide after murdering his brother, which in turn condemns him for all eternity as a vampire...I mean, I have never heard of this premise for a person becoming one of the "undead". Also, the vampire of this movie can walk around in the daylight with seemingly no ill effects, and everyone knows that vampires absolutely cannot be exposed to sunlight, or they will be destroyed.

Despite these minor flaws, the movie actually has a good story and some good acting by Fleming as the preacher, Pate as the vampire/gunslinger, and Kathleen Crowley as the love interest caught between the two. I highly recommend this movie.

Whilst no one could lay claim to this film being a classic, it is unusual and entertaining enough to warrant viewing, and deserves credit for being different to the norm. Obviously shot on a very limited budget, it is nevertheless smartly scripted, and has a dark and brooding atmosphere which is helped enormously by the black and white photography. Whilst some of the acting is not exactly top-drawer, the film benefits greatly from an excellent performance by Michael Pate, whose menacing presence as the vampire, Drake Robey, still manages to elicit a certain degree of sympathy with the character's plight. It would also be unfair to overlook Eric Fleming's earnest portrayal of the brave preacher. He brings the correct degree of upright integrity to the character, and the film is certainly better for having these two actors in tow. This rarely seen film is worth catching, and is very much novel of its kind.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Edward Dein; Produced by Joseph Gershenson for Universal-International Pictures release. Screenplay by Edward and Mildred Dein; Photography by Ellis Carter; Edited by George Gittens; Music by Irving Gertz. Starring: Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, Edward Binns, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon and Jimmy Murphy.

The first combo Western-horror film, in which a vampire, dressed in black, terrorizes the West in the guise of a gunfighter and is faced-down by an iron-willed man of the cloth. Transference of the vampire legend is well-done and Pate is exceptionally good as the fast-draw Drac.

This western is one of the strangest in movie history and its weirdness is only surpassed by the infamous "Terror of Tiny Town"-- the first (and only) all-midget western! After all, this is a western about...VAMPIRES!!!

When the film begins, there is the usual sort of plot--a local baddie is trying to take control of surrounding ranches. However, what you come to realize is that that potential range war is actually being orchestrated by a third party. Drake Robey is in actuality a vampire and is using his vampirey skills to create chaos. However, along the way he finds himself falling for a local hottie. The only thing standing between her is the local preacher...the only one who has learned Robey's dark secret.

This is just one strange mash-up--vampires AND cowboys! Strange...but also reasonably interesting and worth seeing despite a few actors who aren't exactly talented. See this one...just to see one of the most unique films to come out of Hollywood.