Monday, April 4, 2011

DEAD MEN WALK / PRC - 1943


Welcome everbloody to Mondo Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. Welp, it's back to the forties tonite with this little vampire tale from our old friend PRC, and is above average for them! Plus, Dwight Frye plays hunchback helper, Zolarr!!

The story goes... The twin brother of a kindly small-town physician (both played by George Zucco) returns from the grave for vengeance as the doctor had secretly killed him because he served Satan! Forrest Taylor plays The Evil One, the floating head in the fireplace at the beginning. Love how he refers to the viewers as clinging to their puny conceit when it comes to things that go bump in the night!..

The creepy music is by Leo Erdody, who had 40 composing credits between 1941-8. Other movies he worked on are MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE, BABY FACE MORGAN, HITLER--DEAD OR ALIVE, QUEEN OF BROADWAY, THE BOSS OF BIG TOWN, GIRLS IN CHAINS, DANGER! WOMEN AT WORK, JIVE JUNCTION, BLUEBEARD, DETOUR and THE FLYING SERPENT!

Awrat then, bunky, lettuce bring in our teeny, tiny lil' Dungeon 'GO' Button Pusher and palsy-walsy, yes, der ein und nur, Rufus The Gnat!!!.. Hoo-Rah!! Wif'out further interruptions and delays, here's our Eariffic Earclip!.. DEAD MEN WALK!

Here's evil magician Elwyn, twin brother of the good doctor, Lloyd Clayton. Lloyd had pushed Elwyn off a cliff in order to end his wicked ways, thinking it was for the better good.

It's amazing how Dwight Frye's looks changed in the 12 years since he played Renfield in DRACULA! He definitely had gained some weight...

Zolarr carries out his duties as the hunchback helper for vampire Elwyn. The evil twin had been to many mystic places around the world, aquiring secrets of the occult for his own use.

Soon, Elwyn appears before his murdering brother to inform him about all the trouble he has planned for him!

Even though the good doctor doesn't believe in the legend, when his niece, Gayle, falls ill with a mysterious malady, he begins to believe that his evil brother could possible be, yes... A vampire!!

I love how this person blends in with the foilage... Reminds me of the creature hiding in the bushes in FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE!

Al St. John plays the hippie who finds a dead body in the woods.

Zolarr follows the doctor, who's looking for Elwyn's hiding place...

Two nice shots of Dwight as he does his thang!

During the final encounter of good twin versus evil twin, all HELL breaks loose!!

Zolarr is pinned down by a podium as the blazing fire creeps closer, and closer, and closer, and closer...

All anyone can do, including you, is watch through this window as the place burns to the ground!

Ghoulnight Everbloody!..

4 comments:

  1. George Zucco is always great but this is his finest moment.

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  2. somehow I could always imagine George Zucco uttering the line.."No Mr. Bond..I expect you to die!"

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  3. Overworked and underpaid, I got the date mixed up, so it was up for about 5 minutes last night, but I noticed it still stayed on the links even tho I deleted it! I figgered you'd notice!

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