Republic Pictures only made a few horror films, which is a shame because they normally allocated a decent budget ("decent" is relative - I'm talking more than Monogram) and gave things a bit more care. This is an entirely decent vampire film.
It's set in Africa, which means a Hollywood Africa where blacks only have a few lines of dialogue and the focus is on the whites. The star is John Abbott, who I'd never heard of - David del Valle told me about him - a solid hammy British actor. If Karloff or Lugosi had played the part the film would've been a minor classic or at least quite well known. Abbott is fine - he's not a star though.
Abbott becomes obsessed with Peggy Stewart and tries to get Charles Gordon on board. There's a priest who stops him.
It's reasonably logical with some effective moments - not so much scares or shocks but Abbott's manipulation of Stewart. Leigh Brackett co wrote it.
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