Saturday, April 16, 2016

Movie review - "The Corpse Vanishes" (1942) **1/2 (re-viewing)

Bonkers, fast paced and fun - perhaps the best of Bela Lugosi's "Monogram Nine". It benefits from a story which, if unrealistic, at least has energy and oomph - someone is killing brides on their wedding day and a feisty female reporter goes to investigate. Turns out the culprit is Bela Lugosi, who like all the best crazy cinema villains, has a strong motive: he uses the bride's blood to keep his wife young.

Basically it's a vampire movie without actually being a vampire movie. Luana Waters is fun as the feisty reporter on the case, Lugosi is entertaining, Elisabeth Russell is fine as his wife and there's lots of delight along the way, such as a dwarf in Lugosi's family and some crazy dialogue.

Waters should have offered herself up as a bride at the end but at least Lugosi kidnaps her and puts her on the slab. Unlike many Monogram films the momentum actually sustains. I don't want to over praise this - it's still cheap and shoddy - but it is definitely among Lugosi's best at Monogram.

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