As soon as I saw the Monogram logo followed by the cast listing of Bela Lugosi
and a bunch of unknows I knew I was in good hands. He made more than a few
films for the Poverty Row studios and they were cheap, about an hour in running
time, have a script that came out of a shredder and are silly fun. Mainly
because of Lugosi whose simple presence can raise any film. A few of his
glowering looks and I come away happy, This one has a few other slightly
freaky aspects that added to my pleasure.
Virginal brides are dying at the alter just around the time they say "I do"
and then they don't. Live that is. Or maybe they do. In either case their
bodies are spirited away for nefarious reasons. Bela as Dr. Lorenz is waiting
outside with a hearse and a mad grin. He needs these women for the best of
reasons. For love. His wife the Countess (Elizabeth Russell) is aging quickly
and only some sort of liquid taken from the deep recesses of the girl's body
can put a spring in her step, a smile on her face and reverse the ageing.
In a way it is a sweet romance of a married couple still in love, devoted
to one another who sleep in open coffins next to each other - separate ones
of course - you know the Hays code - no sharing the same coffin.
Like every mad scientist he has his not socially acceptable assistants.
Angel (Frank Moran) is a lunkhead with a face that looks to have taken
an acid bath and who likes touching the girl's bodies either sleeping or
dead. He is not fussy that way. And Toby (the 2 foot 11 inch Angelo Rossitto)
who snarls when he is not growling. He welcomes guests like Bela's own Hervé
Villechaize. The Countess is no treat either as she goes into trances
and smacks the help around. Probably not a lot of rummy played at nights.
A female newspaper reporter Patricia (Luana Walters) tracks him down because
orchids like the ones he grows have been found on all of the bodies. She
has to spend the night. It was a bad night with night visitors, Bela watching
her like a ham sandwich and bodies in the drawers. Or was it just a nightmare?
You get a lot here for your money if you only spent a quarter.
