13 Nights of Shocktober: Mark of the Vampire

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, for the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 1: Vampire Night 

"The vampire. He is still somewhere within this house."

Mark of the Vampire

If you’ve seen the Universal Studios 1931 classic Dracula enough times, consider the 1935 film Mark of the Vampire for a change of pace. Many things about Mark of the Vampire are similar to Dracula, beginning with the director and vampire: Todd Browning and Bela Lugosi, respectively. Aside from Lugosi playing a vampiric count who lives in a castle, there is also the character of the eccentric occult expert, Professor Zelin, who is similar to Dracula’s Professor Van Helsing. As many similarities as there are to Dracula, this is actually a remake of the silent film London After Midnight, which Browning also directed. MGM was known for star studded prestige movies, not for horror movies and with Mark of the Vampire they were no doubt trying to recreate Universal’s success with the genre. This would explain the copycat elements, which are not as irksome as they might seem. Mark of the Vampire is still very enjoyable and its entertainment value is its own.

After an aristocrat is found murdered with two holes on his neck, both his friend and his doctor believe he has been killed by a vampire but Inspector Neumann (Lionel Atwell) believes something else is at play. When the aristocrat’s daughter, Irena (Elizabeth Allan), seems to be the next victim, the eccentric Professor Zelin (Lionel Barrymore) is called in to help. It takes a while for Zelin to enter the story (just like Van Helsing in Dracula) but once he does it is clear that Lionel Barrymore is the real star and he becomes the movie’s driving force. There is not much “action” in the modern sense but Barrymore’s dialogue delivery conveys an urgency that creates its own kind of excitement. Most people today know Lionel Barrymore as mean, old, corrupt Mr. Potter from Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, so it’s interesting to see him as a take-charge hero.

Unlike Dracula, the vampires (Lugosi as Count Mora and Carroll Borland as his “daughter” Luna) are more side characters with the story’s focus on the human characters. Lugosi approached the role of Count Mora as a different take on his signature Dracula. Count Mora is nearly completely silent and comes across as more of a monster, lacking the sinister allure of Lugosi’s Dracula.

There is plenty of old-fashioned spooky atmosphere thanks to the frightened villagers, the sets, especially the abandoned castle where Count Mora and Luna reside, and fog, lots and lots of fog. Of course, many of the effects are dated (fake bats have never looked good in any era), but they are just what you want to see in a horror movie from the 1930’s.

There is a plot twist late in the film which might cause some eye rolls or frustration but it works in large part because it still leads to a satisfying conclusion. Also, it is a trick played on one particular character, not the audience, and helps solve the mystery. Like many classic era horror movies, Mark of the Vampire is just over an hour long but packs in so much it feels like a full-length feature.

Mark of the Vampire airs on TCM Tuesday, October 20^th at 7:45AM CT.