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Blood of the Vampire (1958)

5.7 | Aug 25, 1958 (GB) | Horror, Science Fiction | 01:27

Nothing Like It This Side of Hell!

A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad Scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.

Featured Crew

Director
Producer, Director of Photography
Producer
Original Music Composer
Editor
Hairstylist
Makeup Artist
Production Manager
Production Design, Art Direction

Cast

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Donald Wolfit
Doctor Callistratus
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Vincent Ball
Dr. John Pierre
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Barbara Shelley
Madeleine Duval
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William Devlin
Kurt Urach
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Andrew Faulds
Chief Guard Wetzler
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John Le Mesurier
Chief Justice
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Bryan Coleman
Monsieur Auron
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Cameron Hall
Drunken Doctor
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George Murcell
First Guard

Reviews

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Wuchak
6 | May 06, 2024
**_“Vampires? We don’t need no stinkin’ vampires”_** In 1880 Carlstadt, Düsseldorf, a doctor (Vincent Ball) is sentenced to life-in-prison for malpractice in performing an emergency blood transfusion, which had never been done successfully. Instead of being sent to the prescribed penal island, he’s curiously transferred to a prison for the criminally insane where the director (Donald Wolfit) wants him to perform blood-typing research for some unknown reason. "Blood of the Vampire" (1958) was obviously inspired by the success of Hammer's “The Curse of Frankenstein” because the producers hired the same scriptwriter, Jimmy Sangster, and it includes elements of both that flick and “The Horror of Dracula,” which started filming shortly after this one. While it lacks Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, it’s on par production-wise and certainly different enough to stand on its own. It's worth seeing just for the beautiful Barbara Shelley, who plays the doctor’s fiancée and was only 25 during shooting. She went on to appear in Hammer Films’ “The Gorgon,” “Dracula, Prince of Darkness,” “Rasputin: The Mad Monk” and “Five Million Years to Earth,” aka “Quatermass and the Pit.” Victor Maddern is effective as the Quasimodo-like assistant, Carl. The extensive make-up he had to wear gave him a headache. The milieu of the grim, grimy and hellish prison hospital no doubt inspired “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” sixteen years later. The movie runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot at Alliance Film Studios Twickenham, southwest of London. GRADE: B-