THE CORPSE VANISHES-1942-Somebody is
drugging then kidnapping newlywed brides. A young headstrong reporter
named Pat (Luana Walters) and her older comic photographer Sandy
(Vince Barnett) try to investigate. It's all a fiendish plot by Dr.
George Lorenz (Bela Lugosi) who extracts bodily fluid from the dead
brides to keep his ungrateful wife, The Countess (Elizabeth Russell)
young and vital. Dr. Foster (Tris Coffin) assists Lorenz in a cure
for The Countess. Lorenz uses drugged orchids and gets help from “my
little family” which includes little Toby (Angelo Rossitto), tough
guy Mike (George Eldredge), housekeeper Fagah (Minerva Urecal; also
in THE APE with Bela) and her brutish son Angel (Frank Moran) who
Lorenz whips. He and his wife also like to sleep in coffins. When Pat
is forced to stay at the doc's place for the night she snoops around
and sees Angel talking to a dead bride. When Foster sees Lorenz
strangle Angel he decides to help Pat by setting up a phony marriage
but instead Lorenz drugs and kidnaps her. Before he can make the
lethal injection Fagah stabs him to death (he killed her son). When
the Countess tries to make the injection Fagah stabs her too.
This is
a typical outrageous Monogram studios Lugosi melodrama with Bela being a
pretty cruel guy. Luana Walters is good as the noisy wisecracking
lead. Too bad she didn't get better roles. Wallace Fox directed
Lugosi in THE BOWERY AFTER MIDNIGHT the same year. He also made
several “East Kids” comedies. Later he made a bunch of westerns
and went into TV. He died in 1958. Sam Katzman was the producer...
Thanks for reading
No comments:
Post a Comment