He begins where Dracula left off!

No woman alive is safe from the most frightening fiend in the history of horror!

A palatable combination of horror and science fiction, Blood of the Vampire takes place in 19th century Transylvania-and never mind that all the locals have cockney accents. British stage star Donald Wolfit, who never spoke when shouting would do, plays the vampiric Dr. Callistratus. Though we see Callistratus being dispatched in traditional stake-through-the-heart fashion during the opening credits, it isn't long before he returns to life, this time in the guise of a prison warden. Using his criminally insane charges as his guinea pigs, Callistratus drains their bodies of blood in order to stay alive. In the film's incredibly busy climax, Callistratus is prevented from carving up the toothsome Madeleine (Barbara Shelley) by his hunchbacked assistant Carl (Victor Maddern). We didn't see the kitchen sink, but we'll bet that that's in here somewhere too. Often mistaken for a Hammer film production (mainly because it was written by perennial Hammer scrivener Jimmy Sangster), Blood of the Vampire was actually produced by the short-lived Artistes Alliance Ltd.


Transylvania in the 19th century. A young doctor John Pierre (Vincent Ball) and his fiancee Madeleine Duval (Barbara Shelley) are terrorized by Dr. Callistratus (Donald Wolfit) who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his mute and hunchback assistant Carl (Victor Maddern), the 'anemic' mad scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.


Release Date:
October 1958


Distrib: Universal International