The Vampire's Ghost

The Vampire's Ghost is 1945 American horror film directed by Lesley Selander, written by Leigh Brackett and John K. Butler, and starring John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart, Grant Withers, Emmett Vogan and Adele Mara.[1][2][3] It is loosely based on the 1819 short story "The Vampyre" by John Polidori. The film was released on May 21, 1945, by Republic Pictures.

The Vampire's Ghost
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLesley Selander
Produced byRudolph E. Abel
Screenplay byJohn K. Butler
Leigh Brackett
Story byLeigh Brackett
StarringJohn Abbott
Charles Gordon
Peggy Stewart
Grant Withers
Emmett Vogan
Adele Mara
CinematographyRobert Pittack
Bud Thackery
Edited byTony Martinelli
Production
company
Distributed byRepublic Pictures
Release date
  • May 21, 1945 (1945-05-21)
Running time
59 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Roy Hendrick (Charles Gordon) returns to the village of Bakunda after a short absence to find that there has been a series of strange murders where each victim was bitten the neck and drained of blood. The local Natives are certain it is the work of a vampire, but Roy, his girlfriend Julie Vance (Peggy Stewart) and her father Thomas Vance (Emmett Vogen) who runs a local plantation do not believe in such superstitious nonsense.

They go to see Webb Fallon (John Abbott), a newcomer to the area who runs a nightclub and knows a lot about the occult and the local voodoo customs. It is soon apparent that Fallon is indeed a vampire. A native stabs him with a silver tipped spear, and at this point Fallon tells Roy the truth about himself, making Roy his slave with the curse of the undead. Roy must do his bidding and can not tell anyone the truth about Fallon.

Fallon kills Lisa (Adele Mara), a dancer in his club and a troublesome sea Captain named Barrett (Roy Bancroft). Hendrick is helpless to stop him until the local Priest gives him the strength to conquer Fallon's hold on him. Fallon, realizing that everyone is on to him now, takes Julie to a nearby Temple of Death where he plans to make her his eternal vampire bride. The heroes race to Temple, stop Fallon in the nick of time and burn the vampire's body in the temple.

Cast

Production

The film was an early screen credit for Leigh Brackett. Her former agent, Hugh King, had gone to work at Republic as a story editor and got Brackett a job on it as writer. Brackett later recalled, "they were doing this horror film. They decided to cash in on the Universal monster school, and I had been doing science fiction, and to them it all looked the same — "bug-eyed monsters." It made no difference."[4][5] Shortly afterwards Brackett was hired by Howard Hawks to write The Big Sleep.

Filming started in October 1944.[6]

Brackett later said she worked three weeks on the script with another writer. "They shot the film in ten days and that was two days over schedule (laughing). They fired the cameraman after the second day because he was taking too much time. But uh, it was not the greatest film ever made."[7]

Reception

The success of this and The Phantom Creeps encouraged Republic to make another two horror films, Valley of the Zombies and The Catman of Paris.[8]

References
  1. "The Vampire's Ghost (1945) – Overview". TCM.com. 1945-04-13. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  2. "The-Vampire-s-Ghost – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  3. "The Vampire's Ghost". Afi.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  4. Myers, Scott (November 26, 2015). "How They Write A Script: Leigh Brackett". Go Into the Story.
  5. McGilligan, Patrick (1997). Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s. University of California Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780520209084.
  6. Schallert, E. (Oct 2, 1944). "'Boys' ranch' needs donlevy, metro insists". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165566093.
  7. "Classic Leigh Brackett & Edmond Hamilton Interview". Tangentonline. 12 December 2009.
  8. Schallert, E. (May 7, 1945). "Rossini life story will be picturized". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 165571670.
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