Tonight I watched a twisted little picture from a studio called Producers Releasing Corporation, or PRC for short. PRC is listed in Wikipedia as a "prime example of what was called a Poverty Row studio", and as far as this film is concerned, the description is accurate. The budget is ultra low, but as we are aware, art is more about creativity than money, and we've gotten good results before from Poverty Row. This time, the result was surprisingly good.
The movie was called "Dead Men Walk", which sounds more like a crime story, but it's actually about a Vampire. Our old friend George Zucco stars in a dual role as twin brothers - one good, the other evil. The movie begins with an oration by an unknown but imposing gentleman, a creepy, gaunt looking guy whose face is obscured by flames. He lectures us on the folly of disbelief in matters concerning the Underworld. He tells us that our skepticism will lead us to our doom. "Hey wait a minute, buddy"!, I was thinking. "Don't include me with the skeptics. I believe in all that stuff"! :)
I just didn't wanna be condemned by this dude before the movie even started. He looked like he meant business.
Following the Dire Warning was a funeral scene, at which a priest is eulogizing George Zucco's twin brother. Zucco is a small town doctor. His late brother (also played by Zucco) was.....well, there's no other way to put it : he was a Satanist. I told you this was a twisted movie. At the funeral, the priest is about to consign the brother's body to the grave, when who should speak up but Dwight Frye!
Frye, as you probably know, played a weirdo in both "Frankenstein" and "Dracula", so his horror bonafides are set in stone. Also, the Alice Cooper group wrote a song about him for their "Love It To Death" album in 1971, but back to the movie :
As George Zucco's brother is being lowered into the ground, Frye suddenly exclaims that he was murdered. He points an accusing finger at the good George Zucco, the brother still living, who responds that he "had to do it - it wasn't murder and you wouldn't understand". The funeral proceeds, however, and no one further questions the outburst between Frye and Dr. Zucco.
Later that night, Dwight Frye goes to the cemetery, removes the casket of the Evil Zucco brother from it's crypt, and carts it to another location on the grounds. It's obvious why he is doing this.
Evil Zucco is Undead.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Dr. Zucco is on a mission. He's ridding the place of his brother's presence, throwing out his belongings and burning all his books, which were all about Satanic rituals and Witchcraft. But while he is in the middle of this purging, who should appear in the window but the evil brother himself! Remember, he's Undead. Therefore it is no problem for him to materialise right through the glass and into the room itself. He grins diabolically at his brother.
"Did you really think you could stop me with a few bullets"?
Man, is George Zucco ever spooky as the Evil Brother! You've gotta see him for yourself, :)
Evil Zucco swears right there on the spot that he will get his revenge against his brother. He will start by attacking their neice on this very night. She lives in the house with her fiance, a straightforward young man who doesn't believe in Vampires. I guess he didn't listen to the warning at the beginning of the movie, but anyway, Evil Zucco is going to slowly drain the niece of her blood over a period of many nights. His victory will then be twofold : First, he will cause his brother to go to prison, because the doctor is already under suspicion for Evil Zucco's death, and when the niece dies in his house, he will certainly be blamed again. Evil Zucco will stage it to look like she was poisoned, and because the fiance doesn't believe in vampires, he will accuse the doctor. Evil Zucco's second triumph will be turning the niece into a Vampire, after which her soul will forever belong to him.
Listen folks, this is one really weird movie. There was a period in the 1940s when Hollywood delved into the subject of Devil Worship, in movies like "The Seventh Victim", which will scare the bejabbers out of you. "Dead Men Walk" doesn't have the budget or story development of that film, but it has everything else. Zucco as the Vampire isn't just a scary-but-suave Count (and I'm not knocking Dracula here), he's downright malevolent and mean-spirited. He's cruel and takes great pleasure in causing his good brother's downfall. Mostly, he is dedicated to his Master, The Devil. The script goes all the way in that respect.
The atmosphere is Vintage Foggy Graveyard, with Dwight Frye sneaking around to move Evil Zucco's body yet again, whenever the doctor gets close to discovering it. Good Zucco knows the only way to stop Evil Zucco is to expose him to daylight, and he is willing to pull him from his casket to do so. But he just can't seem to find him.....
Meanwhile, a mob is gathering at the Sheriff's station. They know about the niece. She is near death and they want Dr. Zucco arrested. Can the Sheriff hold them at bay? Can Dr. Zucco convince the fiance that Vampires are real? Can Dwight Frye keep Evil Zucco hidden?
You will be finding out all of these things for yourself, because there is no way you are gonna want to miss "Dead Men Walk", which is packed full of fiendish frights in it's 64 minute running time. I was lucky to have discovered it at Northridge Libe, as part of a four movie/single dvd collection of "Horror Classics", released on an obscure label. Usually those collections are pretty bad, or filled with movies you've already seen, but this time I uncovered a gem.
"Dead Men Walk" gets Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. It's not a big money production, but for what it is, it's top quality and unique in it's rendition of the Vampire Tale. See it, see it, see it! ////
That's all for now. It's Thursday afternoon, 95 degrees outside with Santa Ana winds blowing and smoke in the air. I'm gonna go to Super King (aka the produce market) to a Truckload Of Veggies, and then head back to Pearl's. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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