The Return of the Vampire

A Hungarian vampire(Bela Lugosi)poses as Armand Tesla/Dr. Hugo Bruckner and with his werewolf servant Andreas(Matt Willis)brings a reign of terror to WWII London. The vampire seeks revenge on a family who was responsible for driving a stake through his heart almost twenty years earlier. This is an honest old time vampire classic that is worthy of homemade buttered popcorn and a warm blanket to hide under. Lugosi is...well Lugosi, at his eerie best. This chilling and spooky film is directed by Lew Landers and has a talented supporting cast featuring: Nina Foch, Miles Mander, Roland Varno, Frieda Inescort and Gilbert Emery.

Bela Lugosi stars as Armand Tesla vampire, but this is the only movie I've ever seen that had a talking werewolf who carries the vampire's laundry in a package tied up with string. This was the only bad part of an otherwise very good 40's vampire movie. I'll give it an A.

Return of the Vampire is, despite its title not a sequel to Mark of the Vampire. In this vampire movie, a vampire is staked during World War 1 but then in the Second World War, two gravediggers bury him again after an air raid. They don't realise this corpse is a vampire after pulling the stake out his chest. He regenerates and gets a job in a lab. He has the help of a werewolf that can talk and killings once again start... One of the best things about this movie is that talking werewolf. I don't think I've seen another movie with one. Unusual. The cast is lead by Bela Logosi as the Dracula-like vampire. I've never heard of anybody else in this. Return of the Vampire is worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of Bela. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was unique in that the Vampire had a werewolf as his assistant. This werewolf wears a suit, talks, smiles and, in general, acts like a normal human being. The movie was basically a sequel to Dracula but the vampire played by Bela Lugosi could not use the name Dracula because this was a Columbia picture and Universal Studios had the legal rights to the Dracula character. But, it was still Lugosi at his scary, pompous best.

If you're looking for a movie that will give you some good, old fashioned, escapism and not try to preach to or lecture you, you will enjoy this movie. Lugosi, with the aid of Andreas (his werewolf assistant) is once again trying to capture the heart and soul of a young woman. But, the young womans' soon to be mother-in-law is on to Lugosis' plot and a real battle royale is soon underway. This is a down to earth, old time vampire movie which takes place during the WW II years. Enjoy it for what it is and don't take it too seriously. IMHO, the walking, talking, sharp dressing vampire assistant is one of the best parts of the story. Andreas has a real inner conflict while trying to decide whether to help his evil vampire master or to help the heroine rid the earth of this monster.