After Sir Karell Borotin is found dead in his study, drained of his blood, the local doctor determines that he was killed by a vampire. The coroner and police Inspector Neumann dismiss the suggestion but a year later, Sir Karell's daughter is attacked and bite marks are found on her throat. Neumann calls in the eminent Professor Zelin who thinks the story of vampires is true. The locals are convinced that Count Mora and his daughter Luna are the perpetrators of the crime, creatures of the night that can turn themselves into bats. There may be another solution however and the Professor sets a trap.
Mark of the Vampire is a 1935 horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt, and directed by Tod Browning. It is a talkie remake of Browning's silent London After Midnight (1927), with the characters' names and some circumstances changed.
As written above, "Mark of the Vampire" is essentially a remake of the now lost classic "London After Midnight", although this time Browning enhances the horror elements of the story by focusing on the couple of vampires and their actions instead of the mystery of the plot. The story is pretty convoluted and very clever for its time, with a nice use of black humor (some even see it as a satire of horror films of it's time) and very surprising plot twists to keep the mystery a secret until the end. Sadly (and like always happened to Browning), the film suffered approximately 20 minutes of cuts by the studio, who disliked Browning's idea of incest as background for Count Mora among other things. Unable to fight the studio (as they were still mad at him for "Freaks"), Browning had to let them cut the film, leading to the creation of many plot holes in the already convoluted story, ultimately destroying most of its effect by enhancing its flaws.
With a running time of 1 hr. 1 min. there's no time to be bored. A neat little thriller with good supporting roles from character actors like Jessie Ralph and Donald Meek--with all of the histrionics strictly in broad '30s horror style.
Our blood suckers are played by Bela Lugosi, once again cast in a perfect sort of role for him, and Carroll Borland, whose striking, long haired Luna can easily be seen as a forerunner to characters like Vampira and Morticia Addams. The cast is rounded out with people such as Elizabeth Allan as the distraught Irena, Henry Wadsworth as her suitor, Jean Hersholt as her uncle, the worried Baron, Donald Meek as Dr. Doskill, Ivan F. Simpson as Jan the butler, and comedy relief provider Leila Bennett as Maria the maid.
Browning's history of silent film directing made a definite impact on his style. Really, you could watch this movie on mute and it would still be an eerie, ethereal delight sure to give enjoyment to any classic horror fan. Still and all, this horror flick remains unique, even in this day of souped-up special effects and loosened standards.
Trivia:
Throughout the film, Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) has an unexplained bullet wound on his temple. In the original script, Count Mora was supposed to have had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Luna, and to have committed suicide. After filming began, however, MGM deleted references to the crime (and any remaining references may have been deleted when 20 minutes of footage was removed after the film's preview). Because director Tod Browning's previous film, Freaks (1932), had been a box office disaster, Browning was unable to object to any changes made by the studio.
The film marks one of the first known examples of the 'cat scare', a horror film trope in which there is a strong build up of tension followed by a scare from a harmless cat. This occurs early in the film when Dr. Doskil and Jan are frightened by a cat hiding in a suit of armor.
The film was banned in Poland, and censors in Hungary excised the screams, shots of bats and other gruesome scenes.
Preview reviews list a running time of 80 minutes, indicating that considerable footage was cut prior to the film's release. This would explain why many credited actors are not seen in the final print.
Filmed January 12-February, leaving Bela Lugosi unavailable for the Warner Oland role in Universal's "Werewolf of London." He also has no dialogue, until a brief exchange at the very end.
Jessie Ralph is credited as a midwife, but does not appear in a scene with a baby. She is seen at the beginning of the film collecting firewood in a cemetery. Louise Emmons appears to play a midwife, as she is in a scene with a baby, but her role is uncredited.
Throughout the film, Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) has an unexplained bullet wound on his temple. In the original script, Count Mora was supposed to have had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Luna, and to have committed suicide. After filming began, however, MGM deleted references to the crime (and any remaining references may have been deleted when 20 minutes of footage was removed after the film's preview). Because director Tod Browning's previous film, Freaks (1932), had been a box office disaster, Browning was unable to object to any changes made by the studio.
The film marks one of the first known examples of the 'cat scare', a horror film trope in which there is a strong build up of tension followed by a scare from a harmless cat. This occurs early in the film when Dr. Doskil and Jan are frightened by a cat hiding in a suit of armor.
The film was banned in Poland, and censors in Hungary excised the screams, shots of bats and other gruesome scenes.
Preview reviews list a running time of 80 minutes, indicating that considerable footage was cut prior to the film's release. This would explain why many credited actors are not seen in the final print.
Filmed January 12-February, leaving Bela Lugosi unavailable for the Warner Oland role in Universal's "Werewolf of London." He also has no dialogue, until a brief exchange at the very end.
Jessie Ralph is credited as a midwife, but does not appear in a scene with a baby. She is seen at the beginning of the film collecting firewood in a cemetery. Louise Emmons appears to play a midwife, as she is in a scene with a baby, but her role is uncredited.
Large South American bats were imported for the picture.
The re-releases in Spain was in Madrid (Círculo de Bellas Artes) and Barcelona. Was only in subtitled version.
The re-releases in Spain was in Madrid (Círculo de Bellas Artes) and Barcelona. Was only in subtitled version.
There was a remarkable degree of difficulty in shooting the scene where Carroll Borland flies like a bat. A jockey initially doubled for her but became nauseated on the wires. A bar was placed down the back of her dress running from her neck to her ankles, but it took some time for her and the handlers to get this right. The single shot took three weeks to work (all of this for a scene where Borland is supposed to be an actress pretending to be flying).
When director Tod Browning revealed late in the filming process that the plot dictated that the vampires were really just actors pretending to be vampires, he met with much resistance from the cast and crew. Nobody was more incensed than Bela Lugosi, who pleaded with Browning to let him play a real vampire.
Bela Lugosi has more lines of dialogue in the trailer than in the final film.
When director Tod Browning revealed late in the filming process that the plot dictated that the vampires were really just actors pretending to be vampires, he met with much resistance from the cast and crew. Nobody was more incensed than Bela Lugosi, who pleaded with Browning to let him play a real vampire.
Bela Lugosi has more lines of dialogue in the trailer than in the final film.
An alternate ending with a second twist, in which Lionel Barrymore's character receives a telegram from the vaudeville actors apologizing for not being able to make their train for the castle assignment, was proposed, but Browning rejected it.
