Day 23 in my 31 Days of Vampire Movies feature brings us a sort-of sequel to the original Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. Only this time, they can’t use the name Dracula. Instead, we have The Return of the Vampire.
This movie was made by Columbia Studios, intended as a sequel to the original Dracula, but there was that whole pesky copyright thing, and Universal threatening to sue them into the Stone Age, so they did a quick switch up so they wouldn’t lose their pants in a lawsuit. This time, Lugosi plays vampire Armand Tesla (but again, its Dracula. We all know its Dracula) who gets staked by do-gooders during World War 1, but is released from his tomb by a bomb during the Blitz in World War 2. He takes on the identity of a scientist fleeing Nazi Germany and ingratiates himself to the descendants of the man who led the crusade against him in World War 1. So it’s up to intrepid Lady Jane Ainsley and her cohorts to stop Tesla before he destroys her family.
As far as monster movies from the 1940s go, this is one of the better ones. The characters are all likable, and Lugosi as always gives a mesmerizing performance as Tesla. The comedy bits are a bit hokey but standard for the time, but the plot itself is interesting and the use of the London Blitz gives the movie an urgent and precarious setting and atmosphere that other movies of the time lacked. Its not going to blow your mind, but it’s worth a watch just to see Lugosi in what would be his last top-billed role.