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Bela
Lugosi Double Feature
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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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Corpse
Vanishes
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3 |
Devil
Bat
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4 |
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5 |
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By
the 1940s the glory days of horror icon Bela Lugosi were a thing
of the past. A decade after the box-office smash Dracula
he was relegated to supporting or even bit parts by the major
studios. But Lugosi could still get top billing in ultra-low
budget films cranked out by "poverty row" production
companies like Monogram and PRC. In 1999 Roan Group released
two of the more well known pictures from this period in Lugosi's
career, The Devil Bat and The
Corpse Vanishes, on a single DVD. As both flicks feature
Lugosi as a mad scientist whose evil plans are thwarted by intrepid
journalists, the double feature disc could easily be subtitled
"Bela Lugosi vs. The Reporters."
First up: The
Corpse Vanishes (1942). A series of bizarre deaths is
making headlines. Healthy, happy brides are dropping dead at
the altar, their bodies inexplicably stolen immediately afterward.
Hard-charging female reporter Pat Hunter (Luana Walters), herself
a witness to the latest death, is determined to get to the bottom
of the mystery. She picks up on a vital clue: All the dead brides
wore an unusual orchid corsage during the weddings. In each
case the flower was delivered to the church — by person or persons
unknown — just prior to the ceremony. To find out more about
this rare species of orchid, Pat decides to interview a top
European botanist, one Professor Lorenz (Lugosi), who happens
to live in the area. Lorenz, of course, is behind each of the
body snatchings. The missing brides aren't even really dead
— merely paralyzed in a catatonic state by the strange properties
of the professor's specially cultivated orchids. Absconding
with the bodies, Lorenz takes them back to his ramshackle country
estate where he extracts glandular fluid from their necks to
prepare youth-restoring injections for his crazy wife. Known
only as "the Countess", Mrs. Lorenz looks 30 but has the internal
organs of an 80-year old. Both she and her eccentric hubby prefer
to sleep in coffins (though they're not vampires). Aiding them
in their kidnapping scheme is a coterie of weirdo house servants,
including a freaky old lady and her two sons, a retarded gimp
and a sinister dwarf (Dracula vs. Frankenstein's
Angelo Rossitto).
Newshound Pat teams up with the handsome, conveniently single
Dr. Foster (Tristram Coffin) to uncover the fiendish plot. (A
physician assisting Lorenz with his research, Foster doesn't
know jack about the bride-snatching or the true nature of the
Countess' illness.) To get the proof she needs, Pat convinces
her editor to spring for a phony wedding — a trap designed to
smoke out Lorenz and catch him red-handed. Will he take the
bait? And even if he does, could the mad scientist have other
tricks up his sleeve? By no means a good movie, The
Corpse Vanishes will bore all but Lugosi fans to rigor
mortis. Not much is done with the weird characters or situations.
It's very cheap looking. (Well, this is Poverty Row,
after all.) And Bela's actually a little too restrained here.
He doesn't really have an opportunity to go over the top — something
that's always fun to watch. Compared to the disc's 2nd feature,
The Devil Bat, he gets much less
screen time and never has any truly juicy lines to deliver.
(No "You will strike... to kill!" here.) Corpse's
supporting cast is certainly superior, however. While somewhat
abrasive at first, Walter's gung ho lady reporter is rather
likable and by the climax of the picture you'll be rooting for
her.
With The Devil Bat (1940),
a bargain basement cheapie from PRC (Producer's Releasing Corporation),
Lugosi once again demonstrates his ability to triumph over crappy
material. The script and effects are just awful, so naturally
ol' Bela comes out smellin' like a rose. Like so many films
in which Lugosi appeared, the best thing about The
Devil Bat is merely the fact he's in it. The loopy plot
helps, though.
Lugosi headlines as Dr. Paul Carruthers, a scientist working
for the rich and powerful Heath family. (Bela's character has
a strangely American name given his thick Hungarian accent.)
Manufacturers of popular skin care and beauty products, the
Heaths have reaped millions from the formulas developed by Carruthers
over the years. To all appearances the Doc is a loyal, dedicated
employee, a kindly gentleman who's "loved by everyone in town."
We're talking Lugosi here, folks — of course nothing could be
further from the truth. For years Carruthers has nursed a nasty
grudge against his employers. While the innovative products
he's developed have made the family filthy rich, the Heaths
snobbishly think he should be happy with the relative pittance
they pay him. Now Carruthers is ready to wreak vengeance upon
those he so vehemently despises. The means of his revenge? A
giant mutant bat, electrically zapped in the Doc's secret lab
to many times its normal size. (When hanging upside down, the
thing looks like bits of papier-mâché and fur stuck on a clothes
hanger. Stock footage close-ups of a chittering fruit bat are
clumsily inserted as Bela speaks lovingly to his creation.)
The creature has been conditioned to home in on a special chemical
developed by Carruthers and attack anything bearing its scent.
As the Heaths are known for personally trying all the products
their company markets, the devious doctor has whipped up a special
new aftershave made with his bat-luring formula. It's all too
easy getting the Heath boys to slap on a dash of the new lotion.
"Put it on the tender parts of your throat," the Doc
helpfully advises.
Were it not for Lugosi, The Devil
Bat couldn't even get off the ground. The other characters
are either bores, nonentities or simply annoying. Dave O'Brien
(Reefer Madness) plays the reporter
this time out, who latches on to Carruther's plan while trying
to get the big scoop on the Heath murders. His sidekick photographer,
"One Shot" McGuire (Donald Kerr), is an irritating idiot who
one hopes will become bat chow, to no avail. (Funny, ain't it,
how so many "comic relief" characters in these old pics are
anything but.) While sniffing out the mystery the reporter takes
time to romance the heir to the Heath fortune, daughter Mary
(Suzanne Kaaren)... thus taking screen time away from Lugosi.
Whenever he's absent the picture can be a real chore to sit
through. The bat attacks are good for a chuckle, though — gliding
on wires and screeching like a vulture, the huge puppet is caught
by each of the victims like a forward pass.
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The
Roan DVD is a very bare-bones affair. A few paragraphs of onscreen
liner notes are the only extras. An older style single layer disc,
you have to flip it over to play the 2nd feature. The movies are
quite short but a generous number of chapter stops are provided:
15 for Corpse, 16 for Bat.
Naturally such cheaply made, 60-year old flicks aren't going to
look exactly pristine.
Speckling abounds, and there's a few seconds of print damage
(a ragged, vertical line) near the beginning of Corpse.
The same film is also incredibly dark in a number of spots, particularly
when Pat is snooping around in Lorenz's basement — it can be hard
to tell what's going on. (In an odd way, though, this actually
works to the benefit of some scenes... The picture is so dark
that Lugosi's "disembodied" head seems to float in the inky blackness.
Weird!) But even with their numerous faults, these transfers are
the best looking versions I've ever seen. Sound is surprisingly
good for both features. Devil Bat
is definitely the superior of the two in audio/visual quality.
2/14/02 |
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