Dead Men Walk (1943)
Dead Men Walk (1943)
Director Sam Newfield, and his brother Sigmund Neufeld again worked with George Zucco on another great poverty row horror film for P.R.C. in 1943, called Dead Men Walk. Dead Men Walk features George Zucco playing two characters, that of Dr. Lloyd Clayton, and his brother Dr. Elwyn Clayton. Lloyd kills his brother because of his brother's involvement in a Satanic cult, but not realizing that his brother would come back from the grave as a vampire. Dr. Elwyn Clayton then preys on his brother's daughter, Gayle, slowly draining her of her blood. However her lover Dr. David Bentley doesn't believe that it could be a vampire and suspects Dr. Lloyd Clayton of slowly killing his own daughter. The film also features Dwight Frye as Dr. Elwyn Clayton's assistant Zolarr. The town's people start a witch hunt against Dr. Lloyd Clayton thinking that he is behind the murders, but a superstitious woman named Kate believes him, and aids him, but the town's people all think she's a nutter. Can Lloyd stop his brother and save his daughter, or will the town's people kill him first?
Dead Men Walk was directed by Sam Newfield and produced by his brother Sigmund Neufeld. The film has an original screenplay written by Fed Myton. The film was distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). Dead Men Walk would also be one of actor Dwight Frye's last film appearances before his heart attack in late 1943, as well as being the last film to feature Mary Carlisle, who would retire from acting after this film. The film would be shot in a mere six days, in true poverty row film tradition, quick fast and cheap. For being a quickie, the film is actually quite good, with some decent acting, story, and cinematography. There were few reviews of the film upon release however because these low budget poverty row quickies rarely drew the attention of critics.
Dead Men Walk stars George Zucco as both Dr. Lloyd Clayton and Dr. Elwyn Clayton, Mary Carlisle as Gayle Clayton, Nedrick Young as Dr. David Bentley, Dwight Frye as Zolarr, Fern Emmett as Kate, Robert Strange as Wilkens, Hal Price as Sheriff Losen, Sam Flint as Minister. The film has a small but good cast, George Zucco is definitely the highlight of the cast. Honestly I was quite disappointed by Dwight Frye's role in this film, definitely not one of the highlights of his career. Most of the other actors are mostly not notable. Though other than Zucco the cast doesn't really stand out, but they work for their roles.
Overall this is an effective low budget b-horror film. It has a nice original story, dealing with occult worshipping, a vampire, a faithful assistant, a creepy old cemetery, and a beautiful young woman who is the victim of the vampire, all of the necessary tropes for a classic b-horror vampire film. This is a fun and entertaining film, definitely not a must see classic, but it is definitely a film that I recommend checking out. For being shot in only six days with a bare minimal budget the film looks surprisingly good, and stands up next to similar films from much bigger studios. Also George Zucco is impressive in this film, and him playing the great double roles of both Dr. Claytons is definitely worth checking out. A great little film, nothing super outstanding, but definitely worth watching, and would find wonderfully in night of black and white horror films on a cool fall evening. If you come across a copy of the film, it shouldn't set you back too much, and is definitely worth adding to your collection, and often times it can be found in collections of public domain horror film dvds.
Dead Men Walk was directed by Sam Newfield and produced by his brother Sigmund Neufeld. The film has an original screenplay written by Fed Myton. The film was distributed by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). Dead Men Walk would also be one of actor Dwight Frye's last film appearances before his heart attack in late 1943, as well as being the last film to feature Mary Carlisle, who would retire from acting after this film. The film would be shot in a mere six days, in true poverty row film tradition, quick fast and cheap. For being a quickie, the film is actually quite good, with some decent acting, story, and cinematography. There were few reviews of the film upon release however because these low budget poverty row quickies rarely drew the attention of critics.
Dead Men Walk stars George Zucco as both Dr. Lloyd Clayton and Dr. Elwyn Clayton, Mary Carlisle as Gayle Clayton, Nedrick Young as Dr. David Bentley, Dwight Frye as Zolarr, Fern Emmett as Kate, Robert Strange as Wilkens, Hal Price as Sheriff Losen, Sam Flint as Minister. The film has a small but good cast, George Zucco is definitely the highlight of the cast. Honestly I was quite disappointed by Dwight Frye's role in this film, definitely not one of the highlights of his career. Most of the other actors are mostly not notable. Though other than Zucco the cast doesn't really stand out, but they work for their roles.
Overall this is an effective low budget b-horror film. It has a nice original story, dealing with occult worshipping, a vampire, a faithful assistant, a creepy old cemetery, and a beautiful young woman who is the victim of the vampire, all of the necessary tropes for a classic b-horror vampire film. This is a fun and entertaining film, definitely not a must see classic, but it is definitely a film that I recommend checking out. For being shot in only six days with a bare minimal budget the film looks surprisingly good, and stands up next to similar films from much bigger studios. Also George Zucco is impressive in this film, and him playing the great double roles of both Dr. Claytons is definitely worth checking out. A great little film, nothing super outstanding, but definitely worth watching, and would find wonderfully in night of black and white horror films on a cool fall evening. If you come across a copy of the film, it shouldn't set you back too much, and is definitely worth adding to your collection, and often times it can be found in collections of public domain horror film dvds.
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