The Return of the Vampire

"Your fate is to be what you are, as mine is to be what I am."
                                            -Dr. Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi)
                                              The Return of the Vampire (1943)

The previous line is from one of my favorite horror movies of all time. I try to make sure I watch it at least once every October. Besides being entertaining, it is notable that it is one of the few films that Bela Lugosi made where he actually portrayed a vampire. This gem from Columbia also went against several of the tried and true bloodsucking legends in that the chief vampire hunter was a woman, he went after a little girl and an adult man, and he turned his human slave into a werewolf. This werewolf was unusual in that he spoke perfect english and didn't kill anyone. This movie is also unusual in that he was staked in the first part of the film and not with a wooden stake but a metal spike. As a lot of studios did during WWII, they gave a it a war background to help boost ticket sales (the story began at the end of WWI and leapt forward in time to 1941 for the second part. Stock footage of fighter planes was used as well.) and the London blitz played a pivotal part in resurrecting the vampire. As I said before, it is one my favorite horror films and is very entertaining. My heroes at TCM usually schedule it each October. Also there is a brief comic moment with two graveyard workers, one of whom is played by Billy Bevan, a contract player for Mack Sennett Studios during the 1920s. All in all its a great film and I  could think of a lot worse ways to spend an hour and a half.