Mark of the Vampire (also known as Vampires of Prague) is a 1935 horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Béla Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt and directed by Tod Browning. It is a talkie remake of Browning’s 1927 silent London After Midnight with the characters’ names and some circumstances changed.

Mark of the Vampire was originally 75 minutes, but was cut back to 60 minutes by MGM. Reportedly this was due to incestuous overtones – then unacceptable by the standards of the Production Code – between Count Mora (played by Lugosi) and his daughter. However, the audio commentary on the DVD makes no mention of incest but suggests that much of what was cut was comic material, particularly surrounding the maid.

Trivia:

Large South American bats were imported for the picture.

Preview reviews list a running time of 80 minutes, indicating that considerable footage was cut prior to the film’s release. This would explain why many credited actors are not seen in the final print.

The film was banned in Poland, and censors in Hungary excised the screams, shots of bats and other gruesome scenes.

Throughout the film, Count Mora (Bela Lugosi) has an unexplained bullet wound on his temple. In the original script, Count Mora was supposed to have had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Luna, and to have committed suicide. After filming began, however, MGM deleted references to the crime (and any remaining references may have been deleted when 20 minutes of footage was removed after the film’s preview). Because director Tod Browning’s previous film, Freaks (1932), had been a box office disaster, Browning was unable to object to any changes made by the studio.

Edward Ward scored the trailer

The Hand is a 1981 psychological horror film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on the novel The Lizard’s Tail by Marc Brandell and a remake of the 1946 film The Beast with Five Fingers. The film stars Michael Caine and Andrea Marcovicci. Caine plays Jon Lansdale, a comic book artist who loses his hand, which in turn takes on a murderous life of its own. The original film score is by James Horner, in one of his earliest projects. Despite its lackluster release, it became a cult film due to its elements of psychological horror (which was later exercised in Jacob’s Ladder, The Uninvited and the Silent Hill games) as well as Caine’s only performance as a deranged amputee victim in contrast to his more heroic and sane roles in other films, which resulted Warner Bros. releasing the movie on DVD on September 25, 2007.

Trivia:

Oliver Stone initially wanted Jon Voight to play the lead role, but was turned down by him. Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman also declined the role.
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Michael Caine said in a TV interview that the only reason he did this film was to earn enough to put a down payment on a new garage he was having built.

Bride of Frankenstein (advertised as The Bride of Frankenstein) is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to the influential Frankenstein (1931). Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff as The Monster, Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of his mate and Mary Shelley, Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein and Ernest Thesiger as Doctor Septimus Pretorius.

The film follows on immediately from the events of the first film, and is rooted in a subplot of the original novel, Frankenstein (1818). In the film, a chastened Henry Frankenstein abandons his plans to create life, only to be tempted and finally coerced by the Monster, encouraged by Henry’s old mentor Dr Pretorius, into constructing a mate for him.

Preparation began shortly after the first film premiered, but script problems delayed the project. Principal photography started in January 1935, with creative personnel from the original returning in front of and behind the camera. Bride of Frankenstein was released to critical and popular acclaim, although it encountered difficulties with some state and national censorship boards. Since its release the film’s reputation has grown, and it is hailed as Whale’s masterpiece. Modern film scholars, noting Whale’s homosexuality and that of others involved in the production, have found a gay sensibility in the film, although a number of Whale’s associates have dismissed the idea.

Trivia:

Not long before filming began, Colin Clive broke a leg in a horse riding accident. Consequently, most of Dr. Frankenstein’s scenes were shot with him sitting.

When filming the scene where the monster emerges from the burnt windmill, Boris Karloff slipped and fell into the water-filled well. Upon being helped out, he realized he had broken a leg in the fall. The metal struts used to stiffen his legs (for the famous “monster lurch”) helped keep the bones in place until they could be properly set.

The musical soundtrack for this film proved so popular, it was used again in the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials starring Buster Crabbe.

Editing after previews resulted in the loss of a subplot in which Karl imitates the Monster’s murderous modus operandi to eliminate his miserly aunt and uncle and direct the blame away from himself.

Shot in 46 days at a cost of approximately $400,000.

Boris Karloff sweated off 20 pounds laboring in the hot costume and makeup.

In the opening and closing credits the cast list says “The Monster’s Mate” followed by a question mark.

The “body count” in the original cut was 21. This was trimmed to 10 after pressure from the censors.

Director James Whale originally did not want to do a sequel to Frankenstein (1931). For a time, Universal considered producing a sequel without Whale’s involvement. One possible story included an educated monster continuing Henry’s research, while another chronicled Henry’s creation of a death ray on the eve of a world war. However, after 4 years of badgering by Universal, Whale agreed to do the film.

Director James Whale was once derided by a disgusted audience member for laughing during a screening.

Production of this sequel to the original Frankenstein (1931) was publicized as early as 1933 by both Universal Studio press releases and the trade paper “Daily Variety”, but director James Whale did not begin work on it until late 1934. With a budget under $300,000, it was originally entitled “The Return of Frankenstein”.

One of James Whale’s criteria for taking up the director’s reins on the film was that he would have complete artistic freedom. This was easily achieved, as Universal’s studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. was vacationing in Europe at the time.

As a result of audience reactions from the film’s preview screenings during the first week of April 1935, the film was extensively re-edited. Many scenes were deleted and trimmed, and at least one, the scene where the Monster stumbles into the Gypsy Camp, was added in. As a result of the editing, the original uncut film was approx. 15 minutes longer than its official release length of 75 minutes.

Valerie Hobson, who plays Dr. Frankenstein’s fiancé/bride in the film, was only 17 years old when she appeared in the film (Colin Clive, who portrayed Dr. Frankenstein, was 35.)

Elsa Lanchester was only 5’4″ but for the role was placed on stilts that made her 7′ tall. The bandages were placed so tightly on her that she was unable to move and had to be carried about the studio and fed through a straw.

Boris Karloff protested against the decision to make The Monster speak, but was overruled. Since he was required to speak in this film, Karloff was not able to remove his partial bridgework as he had done to help give the Monster his sunken cheek appearance in the first film. That’s why The Monster appears fuller of face in the sequel.

Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the girl The Monster accidentally kills in the original Frankenstein, appears uncredited as another young girl.

It is considered inaccurate to refer to the Monster by the name “Frankenstein” rather than “Frankenstein’s Monster”, however in the prologue, Lord Byron actually does attach the name Frankenstein to the monster.

The original trailer promises “a lifetime of entertainment in two hours”. The final edit ran 75 minutes.

Though virtually all of Billy Barty’s scenes (as the little baby in the bottle) were deleted, he can still be briefly glimpsed in a wide shot of all the bottles on Dr. Pretorius’s table (as well as in still photographs).

Elsa Lanchester’s shock hairdo was held in place by a wired horsehair cage.

Elsa Lanchester said that her spitting, hissing performance was inspired by the swans in Regent’s Park, London. “They’re really very nasty creatures,” she said.

The role of the monster’s mate was originally offered to Brigitte Helm but she had recently married and refused to leave Germany. Louise Brooks was another actress considered by James Whale for the role.

“The Bride”, the most obscure of Universal Studios’ Classic Monsters, is on screen for less than five minutes and is the only “Classic Monster” never to have killed anyone.

2007: The movie’s line “We belong dead” was voted as the #63 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere magazine.

During the “bottle” sequence in Dr. Pretorius’ apartment, the Doctor, while showing Dr. Frankenstein the miniature “devil” character, makes a wry comment that he sees a “certain resemblance” between him and his tiny creation. In fact, the miniature devil in the bottle was played by Peter Shaw, who was actually actor Ernest Thesiger’s stand-in/film double in the picture.

The tiny mermaid in Dr. Pretorius’ bottle was Josephine McKim, a member of the 1924 and 1928 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swim Teams and one of the four members of that team to win the 1928 gold medal in the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay. McKim was also Maureen O’Sullivan’s body double in the infamous nude swimming scene of the previous year’s Tarzan and His Mate (1934).

Claude Rains was offered the role of Dr. Pretorius but he was unavailable due to filming Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935).

There was an epilogue to this movie featuring Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley, but it was cut from the final film.

Elsa Lanchester was not the only person to have a dual role in this film. In addition to her role as Minnie, Una O’Connor also appeared in the prologue, as Shelley’s maid who is holding the leash as the dogs go off screen.

Doctor Pretorious’ full name is “Septimus Pretorious”; this is actually Latin and means “royal seven”, a reference to the seven deadly sins – as well as an indicator of his true nature.

One of the cast cut from the film after the preview was Helen Parrish, who played a “Communion Girl.”

Part of the SON OF SHOCK package of 21 titles released to television in 1958, which followed the original SHOCK THEATER release of 52 features one year earlier.

Billy the Kid vs. Dracula is a 1966 American low-budget horror/western film directed by William Beaudine. It was released as a part of a set, along with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter.

Trivia:

This film, and its companion piece, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966), were the final films for William Beaudine. This marked the end of a career that included approximately 250 (known) films beginning in the silent period.

Shot in eight days.

Jack Lewis actually wrote the script for “Billy the Kid versus Dracula” (1966), but sold all rights to credited screenwriter Carl K. Hittleman for $250.

Despite the film’s title, Carradine doesn’t play Dracula. He plays a nameless American vampire in the old west, 1880 or so. The name “Dracula” is never mentioned in this movie.

The Toxic Avenger is an American cult classic comedy horror film first released in 1984 by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with moviegoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the famed Bleecker Street Cinemas in New York City in late 1985.

The film has generated three film sequels, a stage production, and a children’s TV cartoon.Two less successful sequels: The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie were filmed as one movie. Director Lloyd Kaufman realized that he had shot far too much footage for one movie, and reedited it into two. A third independent sequel was also released, entitled Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, and a fourth sequel, The Toxic Avenger 5: The Toxic Twins, has been announced. An animated children’s TV series spin-off, Toxic Crusaders, featured Toxie as the leader of a team of mutated superheroes who fought against evil alien polluters. The cartoon series was short-lived and it was quickly cancelled. New Line Cinema had planned a live action movie based on the cartoon, but the deal fell through.

Trivia:

Jennifer Prichard and Robert Prichard fell in love on the set and got married.

Look for future Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei as an extra (coming out of a shower).

The violent-looking crushing of a child’s head in the movie was accomplished by injecting a melon with corn syrup and red food dye. A wig was placed on the melon and it was fitted onto a dummy. Though cheap, the effect is highly unsettling.

The scene where the seeing eye dog gets shot received the most complaints by Troma up to that time.

Patrick Kilpatrick who played Leroy (the face-painted criminal at the Mexican restaurant) quit the film after having to point a shotgun at a baby.

The fast food robber who has his arm ripped off actually only had one arm. In the scene one can see that his right arm is a prosthetic, as he never moves or uses this arm until Toxie rips it off.

The rollbar installed in the car that is wrecked off of a cliff malfunctioned, almost killing the stunt driver.

The crew reportedly ate the large sandwich that Pat Ryan lay on top of for his role as The Mayor.

Mark Torgl caught fire from the police officer’s flaming hands. You can see the fire drop on him during an overhead shot.

While shooting in Shinbone Alley, a homeless man stole a prop gun from one of the trailers and threatened the crew.

The spinning newspapers were simply newspapers placed on a spinning cheese rack.

Although Andree Maranda was dating one of the film’s main producers, she won her part through an audition.

It took four hours to get Mitch Cohen into the Toxic Avenger costume. While wearing it, he could only eat through a straw.

The head-crushing scene was based on a time when Lloyd Kaufman was backing a car out of his garage and accidentally hit his younger sister. Nobody was harmed, but the memory haunted him for years.

The seeing eye dog that was shot had been trained to glide across the floor on command and its “guts” were spaghetti covered in gray paint.

The sheep that Mark Torgl had to kiss was infested with lice, but he did not find that out until after the scene was shot.

A deleted scene, which is available on the DVD, shows Toxie throwing a Peanut Butter and Drano sandwich, smacking the face of Sara’s next door neighbor. Playing Sara’s next door neighbor is Mitch Cohen without his Toxic Avenger make-up.

The monster Melvin turns into was never actually referred to as the Toxic Avenger by any actor in the film besides the narrator. They did not have a name for the character as the film was being made. This is proved further by the kids in the film wearing t-shirts that say “I love the monster hero”.

After going behind the scenes on Rocky (1976), Lloyd Kaufman decided to make a movie in a health club with his friend Michael Herz. After reading a magazine article with the headline “Horror Film Is Dead”, Troma decided to change it into a horror movie. The film’s working title was “Health Club”, and lobby cards bearing this title can be viewed on Troma’s website.

Sleepwalkers (also known as Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers) is a 1992 American horror film based on an unpublished Stephen King novel and adapted by Mick Garris.

Trivia:

The house of the Sleepwalkers is the same one used in the TV series “The Waltons” (1972).

The actors who play Tanya’s mom and dad, Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward were also the mom and dad in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986); in real life they are married to each other.

Cameo: [Mark Hamill] One of the police officers who enters the house at the beginning.

Several different famous horror directors make cameo appearances in this movie:

Cameo: [John Landis] Lab technician.

Cameo: [Stephen King] The graveyard caretaker.

Cameo: [Joe Dante] Lab assistant.

Cameo: [Tobe Hooper] Forensic technician.

Cameo: ['Clive Barker'] Forensic technician.

Based on an unpublished Stephen King story.

In the graveyard scene, one of the tombstones reads “Jenny Hicks”. Jenny Hicks was the assistant to the director of the movie.

Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British horror comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather. At the same time he has to cope with an apocalyptic uprising of zombies.

The film is the first of what Pegg and Wright call their “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” with Hot Fuzz as the second and upcoming The World’s End as the third.

The film became a surprising critical and commercial success in the UK, and particularly in the US, receiving a very positive response and developing a very devoted cult following soon after its theatrical release.

Trivia:

Many of the Zombie extras are fans of the TV series “Spaced” (1999), which also starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and was also directed by Edgar Wright. They were recruited through the Spaced Out fan web site to be in the film.

The phrase “fried gold” originated behind the scenes of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Edgar Wright’s sitcom “Spaced” (1999) and was mentioned several times on the DVD commentaries for that series. It makes several fan-pleasing appearances in the film.

Frequent references are made to Big Al’s claim that dogs can’t look up. This is a reference to the commentary to the second series of “Spaced” (1999) in which Simon Pegg (Shaun) and Edgar Wright talk about Nick Frost (Ed)’s claim that the difficulty in shooting a scene with a dog was due to the fact that dogs can’t look up.

When Shaun, Liz, David, Dianne, Barbara and Ed run into the alternative ‘gang’ as they make their way to the Winchester, there are quite a few comedy partnerships brought together again. Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes – Tim and Daisy from “Spaced” (1999). Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman – Dawn and Tim from “The Office” (2001). Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig – Bernard and Fran from “Black Books” (2000). Julia Deakin and Nick Frost are, of course, in Spaced too, as Marsha and Mike respectively.

The zombie that Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) find in their garden is Mary, the checkout girl from the film’s credit montage. A short story detailing her transformation into one of the undead was featured in issue 1384 of the classic British sci-fi comic 2000AD. The issue went on sale 7 April 2004. The strip was called “There’s Something About Mary” and was written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (the film’s co-writers) with art by Frazer Irving.

The game that Ed (Nick Frost) is playing throughout the movie is Timesplitters 2 (2002) (VG).

Shaun (Simon Pegg) complains that Ed (Nick Frost) isn’t his boyfriend, then says, “Thanks, babe.” In season one of “Spaced” (1999), a conversation begins in a similar manner between the two actors (“All right, babe?”). This was, however, a total mistake. The writers used the same joke again, forgetting they had used it in Spaced.

Because of the timing and the indisputable similarity of the names, the distributors were forced to hold the film back until two weeks after Dawn of the Dead (2004) was released in the UK.

In the beginning of the film, when Shaun is riding the bus, the young man in front of him is listening to music. The song that can be heard is the dance club classic “Kernkraft 400″ by Zombie Nation, which itself is a track from the 1984 Commodore 64 game “Lazy Jones”.

When Shaun and the group are running out of Liz’s flat they are all carrying weapons of some kind, but only Shaun actually hits any zombies. This was because only the cricket bat that Shaun was carrying was a padded fake, all the other items were real and would have hurt the extras playing zombies if they had been hit with them.

John and Bernie run the Winchester. These are the real names of the landlord and landlady who used to run Simon Pegg’s local pub, the Shepherds in Highgate. John used to make toasted sandwiches for regulars, hence the reference to “the Breville out back.” Pegg and Nick Frost were regular attendees of the Shepherd’s Thursday night quiz, hence the line “we do the quiz” when Shaun is knocking on the Winchester’s door. Chris Martin of Coldplay, who plays a zombie in the film, also used to attend quiz night.

The “pyjama zombie” had his voiced dubbed over by Simon Pegg.

When Shaun’s girlfriend objects to going out to the Winchester he suggest a few other pubs, one of which is the Shepherds, which actually used to be Simon Pegg’s local pub in Highgate until it was closed and reopened as a themed bar.

Shaun berates Ed for calling the creatures zombies (which they are, of course). This may be referring to the fact that many zombie movies (including Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Resident Evil (2002)) never mention the word “zombie” at all. More likely this is a reference to Danny Boyle, director of 28 Days Later… (2002), and his insistence that it isn’t a zombie movie.

At one point, a zombie can be glimpsed wearing a yellow cycling helmet and lycra shorts. He’s played by comedian Michael Smiley, who made appearances in “Spaced” (1999) as a bicycle courier named Tyres.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) director George A. Romero was given a private viewing of the film near his home in Florida. During the scene in which Ed (Nick Frost) yells into the phone, “We’re coming to get you, Barbara,” Romero was oblivious to the fact it was a direct lift from his film Night of the Living Dead (1968) and only found out later after a phone conversation with director Edgar Wright.

On the DVD (at least the region-two and region-one versions), there is a feature that plays an edited version of the scene where Pete yells at Shaun and Ed for playing the music too loud (“I’ve got to go to fucking work in four fucking hours!”) that has been dubbed over for television airings, thus replacing all obscenities. “Fuck” is replaced with “funk,” “prick” becomes “prink.” The feature has the fitting title “Funky Pete” and is found in the alternate bits section.

According to writer-director Edgar Wright in the DVD commentary, when Ed attempts to cheer Shaun up at the Winchester with plans of binge drinking, he is actually summarizing the events of the next day (Z-day) entirely in drinking references.

All of the newsreaders and television presenters are real people portraying themselves.

While flicking through the Yellow Pages, Shaun finds the number for an Italian restaurant named Fulci’s, a reference to Italian horror director Lucio Fulci.

Nick Frost (Ed) allegedly kept his genitals shaved throughout the production to create a genuine need to scratch that the character demanded.

Most of the posters in Shaun’s living room are of artists on the Ninja Tune record label. These include Funki Porcini and the Herbaliser.

The non-featured zombie extras were paid the princely sum of £1 a day for their troubles.

A poster in Shaun’s flat is an image from the Edgar Wright-directed video for Psychosis Safari by the Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Members of the band feature as zombie extras and a song of theirs, “Mr. Mental”, is featured on the soundtrack album.

When Noel (Rafe Spall) rings Ed (Nick Frost), Ed calls him Noodle, which is the name of one of the teenagers in an episode of “Spaced” (1999). Noel also says, “E-Ball says you’re holding,” which is a reference to director Edgar Wright, whose nickname is E-Ball.

The word “fuck” is used 77 times in this movie.

The Batoru rowaiaru (2000) (Battle Royale) poster in Shaun’s living room is designed by Fred Deakin of Airside, as is the green poster with the flowers and girl in Liz’s flat. Deakin is also a member of the band Lemon Jellÿ, which provides music for the soundtrack.
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George A. Romero, creator of the films that this movie pays homage to and lampoons, was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s work that he asked them to appear in Land of the Dead (2005), the fourth part of his Dead series, in cameos as zombies.

Mary, the zombie in Shaun’s backyard, works at Landis Supermarket. This is a nod to John Landis, who directed An American Werewolf in London (1981), and to the British chain of convenience stores named Londis.

Just when Shaun is exiting the Indian-run deli, which is tuned to a radio station playing songs from Indian movies, the song stops and a newscaster begins speaking in Hindi. The content of the news, when translated in English, is, “People are waking up from their graves.”

David Walliams auditioned for the role of David.

When the army shows up outside the pub, Joe Cornish can be glimpsed as a zombie being gunned down, shown in his video diary on the DVD. He’s being shot in the back, facing toward the camera.

When Shaun and his friends are trying to get inside the pub, horror writer and Frightfest organizer Alan Jones can be seen as a zombie walking past the phone box. He’s the bald one in a checkered shirt.

Director Cameo: [Edgar Wright] during the Remembering Z-Day montage, there is a long shot of the zombies walking through a park; Edgar is the one in black who falls over himself.

Among the voices in the news reports you hear on television and radio you hear David Walliams on a TV news broadcast, Mark Gatiss on the radio, Keith Chegwin hosting the “Fun Dead” programme, and Rob Brydon voicing the “Zombies From Hell” show at the end. Also, the voice heard at the end dismissing the infected monkeys being the cause is Edgar Wright.

Almost all bit-part characters can be seen later in the film as zombies

Shaun walks past a road sign for Weston Park which is a street in Crouch End, London, the same locale as “Spaced” (1999) and where Simon Pegg now lives.

One of the zombies seen in the film previously featured in a TV ad for the Mini as a zombie.

When Shaun is on the phone with Fulci’s Italian restaurant, the voice of the host is Edgar Wright doing a terrible Italian accent.

Northern Irish rock band Ash donated 3 songs used in the film: “Meltdown”, “Orpheus” and “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” featuring Chris Martin. These songs were donated for free as Edgar Wright’s girlfriend, Charlotte Hatherley, played guitar and sang backing vocals for Ash at the time.

The original script called for Shaun to beat Mary and the hulking zombie with a girl’s bicycle.

The garden scenes were originally a lot longer, featuring a hanged man zombie and a woman being eaten by her own dog (The dog was intended to be played by “Spaced” (1999)’s Colin).

The pyjama zombie was originally scripted to walk along the pole it was impaled upon, which is why it is hanging off the end when Diane is doing zombie lessons.

The rifle they use in the Winchester is, naturally, a Winchester model 73, the gun that won the west.

Shaun’s last name is Riley. It can be seen on a poster ad from Shaun’s Disc jockeying days.

Shaun tells Liz that he’s going to take her to “the place that does all the fish”. When he opens the phone book you can see that the restaurant is literally called ‘The Place That Does All the Fish’.

The Mephisto Waltz is a 1971 American horror film about an occult-murder mystery. It was directed by Paul Wendkos and starred Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins, Bradford Dillman and Curt Jürgens.

Trivia:

Has the singular distinction of being the only theatrical film produced by Twentieth Century-Fox during the entire calendar year of 1970, this due to financial reversals incurred by the studio when several of its recent films failed at the box office.

The mask worn by the black dog is that of William Shatner, the same style mask worn by Michael Myers in the original Halloween (1978).

I Vampiri is a 1956 Italian horror film loosely based on the story of Elizabeth Báthory. Directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, the film stars Gianna Maria Canale as Giselle du Grand, Carlo D’Angelo as Inspector Chantal and Dario Michaelis as Pierre Lantin.

I Vampiri was the first sound era Italian horror film. Mid-way through production, director Riccardo Freda left the project, and was replaced by the films cinematographer Mario Bava.The film was released in the United States in 1963 under the title The Devil’s Commandment and has since been released under more titles including Lust of the Vampires and The Vampires.

Trivia:

• This was the first Italian made horror film of the sound era.
• Director Cameo: [Riccardo Freda] autopsy doctor
• Italian censorship visa #23894, dated April 3rd 1957.

The Return of Dracula is a 1958 horror film directed by Paul Landres.  Starring Francis Lederer (as Count Dracula), Norma Eberhardt, Ray Stricklyn, Jimmy Baird and Greta Granstedt.

Plot: After a vampire leaves his native Balkans, he murders a Czech artist, assumes his identity, and moves in with the dead man’s American cousins.

Trivia: