I vampiri di Praga

All of the essential ingredients for a good vampire film are here, but I guessed who the culprit was from the beginning (and even his motive), but I wasn't prepared for the nice twist in the surprise ending.

The story about a vampire stalking people in a picturesque village is handsomely photographed by none other than James Wong Howe and the settings rival any of those used in the original "Dracula" film. This time ELIZABETH ALLAN is the frightened heroine while BELA LUGOSI and LIONEL ATWILL fill their standard horror film assignments in fine form.

LIONEL BARRYMORE is Prof. Zelin and seems to have great difficulty in standing on two feet rather than being in a wheel-chair, so early was he inflicted with his rheumatism that forced him to be seated in most of his films by the end of the '30s, notably as Dr. Gillespie in those Dr. Kildare films. He's obviously a replacement for the usual Van Helsing character assigned to solve the vampire mysteries.

With a running time of 1 hr. 1 min. there's no time to be bored. A neat little thriller with good supporting roles from character actors like Jessie Ralph and Donald Meek--with all of the histrionics strictly in broad '30s horror style. One of Tod Browning's better films.

The atmospheric sets and shadowy but crisp B&W photography are beyond reproach.