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4.8/10
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The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan.The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan.The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan.
Jimmy Aubrey
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Rube Dalroy
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Frank Matts
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Merrill McCormick
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Milburn Morante
- Groceryman
- (uncredited)
Rose Plumer
- Townswoman
- (uncredited)
Al St. John
- Townsman who finds Kate's Body
- (uncredited)
Forrest Taylor
- The Evil One (introduction)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
During the funeral mass of Elwyn (George Zucco), the local Kate (Fern Emmett) accuses him of evilness. Later, his brother Dr. Lloyd Clayton (George Zucco) and tutor of his niece Gayle Clayton (Mary Carlisle) tells her and her fiancé Dr. David Bently (Nedrick Young) that his brother has become obsessed by mysticism and black magic since he traveled to India. During the night, Elwyn comes to Dr. Lloyd Clayton's house and accuses Dr. Clayton of pushing him in a cliff to die. Further, he tells Dr. Clayton that he will revenge, slowly killing Gayle and transforming her in a vampire. Dr. Clayton does not believe in what he has seen and heard, but when Gayle gets mysteriously sick and Dr. Clayton becomes the prime suspect of David and the locals, he finally accepts that his brother is a vampire and tries to find his coffin to destroy him.
"Dead Man Walk" is a creepy low-budget vampire movie visibly inspired in "Dracula", with a good story and acting. The cinematography of the DVD that I watched is a kind of blurred in the scenes in the cemetery, maybe because of a lighting problem in the shot, but the story is told in a dark atmosphere and I liked this underrated film. George Zucco has great performance in his double role. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Mortos Que Andam" ("Dead That Walk")
"Dead Man Walk" is a creepy low-budget vampire movie visibly inspired in "Dracula", with a good story and acting. The cinematography of the DVD that I watched is a kind of blurred in the scenes in the cemetery, maybe because of a lighting problem in the shot, but the story is told in a dark atmosphere and I liked this underrated film. George Zucco has great performance in his double role. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Mortos Que Andam" ("Dead That Walk")
You'll have to look long and hard to find a favorable review of PRC's "Dead Men Walk". However, I think the film has long been condemned unfairly. Granted, its not a classic, but some obvious continuity gaffes aside, it compares favorably I think, with many such similar vehicles turned out by the bigger studios.
The story is a low budget variation of the Dracula theme with the good twin/evil twin plot thrown in. It begins with the funeral of evil twin Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco) who is interred in the family crypt. Good twin Dr. Lloyd Clayton (Zucco again) was apparently responsible for his brother's death. Hunchback Zolarr (Dwight Frye) rescues Elwyn's coffin from its tomb and moves it to an old graveyard where Elywn emerges as a vampire. The vampire then reveals himself to his brother and swears his revenge by slowly draining the life from Lloyd's young ward Gayle (Mary Carlisle). With the help of Mary's beau Dr. David Bentley (Nedrick Young), Lloyd battles his evil twin to their final showdown.
Director Sam Newfield does what he can with a small budget. The misty graveyard and shadowy nights are done as well as could be expected. The film is also aided by the casting of George Zucco in the lead. Zucco was always better than his material and deserved a better fate. As an added touch there is Dwight Frye in one of his last roles as the hunchback, a role patterned after his "Renfield" in 1931's "Dracula". Also. look for PRC's resident comic sidekick Al "Fuzzy" St. John as the citizen who finds one of the vampire's victims and Forrest Taylor who does the prologue.
Better than its reputation.
The story is a low budget variation of the Dracula theme with the good twin/evil twin plot thrown in. It begins with the funeral of evil twin Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco) who is interred in the family crypt. Good twin Dr. Lloyd Clayton (Zucco again) was apparently responsible for his brother's death. Hunchback Zolarr (Dwight Frye) rescues Elwyn's coffin from its tomb and moves it to an old graveyard where Elywn emerges as a vampire. The vampire then reveals himself to his brother and swears his revenge by slowly draining the life from Lloyd's young ward Gayle (Mary Carlisle). With the help of Mary's beau Dr. David Bentley (Nedrick Young), Lloyd battles his evil twin to their final showdown.
Director Sam Newfield does what he can with a small budget. The misty graveyard and shadowy nights are done as well as could be expected. The film is also aided by the casting of George Zucco in the lead. Zucco was always better than his material and deserved a better fate. As an added touch there is Dwight Frye in one of his last roles as the hunchback, a role patterned after his "Renfield" in 1931's "Dracula". Also. look for PRC's resident comic sidekick Al "Fuzzy" St. John as the citizen who finds one of the vampire's victims and Forrest Taylor who does the prologue.
Better than its reputation.
Put me down in agreement with the reviewers here who enjoyed this film. No, it's certainly not remotely great and I have seen much better vampire flicks, but the terrific Zucco, decent writing, and competent acting from the rest of the cast make it slightly better than average.
In regard to Zucco, I have seen him in many films and he never fails to do a good job, regardless of what he has to work with. In this movie, he's the glue that holds this plot together from beginning to end. The way he makes the two brothers distinctive is to be lauded. Privately, he might have hated this genre of movie, but you wouldn't have known it from the gusto that he gives his dual role.
It's always good to see Dwight Frye, even though this wasn't his best performance. He played countless crazy or weird characters throughout his career, yet they usually differed due to his unique characterization he gave to each role.
Some here have complained about the sound and other defects in the quality of the film, which isn't fair since the vast majority of us have seen this film only from public domain copies. For example, the copies of "It's a Wonderful Life" that I saw as a kid weren't half the quality of the actual master that we now see around the holidays. Until a worthy copy shows up, I'll refrain making a judgment on that aspect of "Dead Men Walk."
All in all, the movie is entertaining. If you like horror movies from that era, you probably wont be disappointed.
In regard to Zucco, I have seen him in many films and he never fails to do a good job, regardless of what he has to work with. In this movie, he's the glue that holds this plot together from beginning to end. The way he makes the two brothers distinctive is to be lauded. Privately, he might have hated this genre of movie, but you wouldn't have known it from the gusto that he gives his dual role.
It's always good to see Dwight Frye, even though this wasn't his best performance. He played countless crazy or weird characters throughout his career, yet they usually differed due to his unique characterization he gave to each role.
Some here have complained about the sound and other defects in the quality of the film, which isn't fair since the vast majority of us have seen this film only from public domain copies. For example, the copies of "It's a Wonderful Life" that I saw as a kid weren't half the quality of the actual master that we now see around the holidays. Until a worthy copy shows up, I'll refrain making a judgment on that aspect of "Dead Men Walk."
All in all, the movie is entertaining. If you like horror movies from that era, you probably wont be disappointed.
George Zucco, whom I had never heard of until now, stars as a kindly doctor and his evil twin brother who is hell-bent on Satan worship, and having a hunchback assistant (because you need that). His Satan-worship even seems to make him immune to death! You might not find some aspects of the film to be original. I mean, a hunchback? And the good twin and bad twin dichotomy? Nothing new there (though newer in 1943 than today). So put this one on the pile with all those other films...
But wait! Whoever provided the imagery really cared about the scenes they wanted to show. The opening is one of the more powerful scenes you'll find in a film of its era. A book called "History of Vampires" burns slowly in a fireplace (forshadowing the later destruction of the occult book collection) while a super-imposed face speaks to us from beyond the grave.
Yes, you'll have to be tolerant of older films with no color and the less technologically advanced filming procedures. If not, you might be snoozing in a matter of minutes. But true fans of the old days will enjoy this one and all the way to the end you may not be able to guess which brother - if either one - will survive this epic battle of good versus evil.
But wait! Whoever provided the imagery really cared about the scenes they wanted to show. The opening is one of the more powerful scenes you'll find in a film of its era. A book called "History of Vampires" burns slowly in a fireplace (forshadowing the later destruction of the occult book collection) while a super-imposed face speaks to us from beyond the grave.
Yes, you'll have to be tolerant of older films with no color and the less technologically advanced filming procedures. If not, you might be snoozing in a matter of minutes. But true fans of the old days will enjoy this one and all the way to the end you may not be able to guess which brother - if either one - will survive this epic battle of good versus evil.
This is a neat little picture. Period. Sure it has an incredibly low budget. Yep, it is dark and grainy. It sure does creak in some places too. But it has a couple of fine performances by George Zucco as twin brothers. One brother has killed his evil twin to rid the town of his malevolence. The dead brother returns, with the aid of a much older and very tired looking Dwight Frye, as a vampire out to avenge his death and destroy anything that matters to his brother. Zucco does fine in both roles. He makes probably the most urbane vampire in film. The budget really hurts as the vampire just fades out and in, but it also adds to the charm of this little studio film. Frye also does a decent job returning to a much more subdued Renfield-type role. The other actors are not that bad, and the story actually had me interested till the end. Fern Kemmett in particular gave a nice performance as a superstitious woman. Some shots in the film are very atmospheric. There is a great scene in a cemetery, and the finale was orchestrated quite well. The two Zuccos fight in flames as Dwight cries from under a very heavy marble altar. Great Stuff!
Did you know
- TriviaShot in six days.
- GoofsIn the film, George Zucco differentiates the two characters by wearing glasses for the good doctor, and none for the evil one. Apart from when he forgets - most notably when, as the good doctor, he bends over not wearing any glasses, but when he stands up again (different cut) he suddenly is wearing them again.
- Quotes
Elwyn Clayton: [to his twin brother, who has hunted him down] You don't wait for Death; you come to meet him!
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Horror: Blood-Drinking Beings (1996)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- La venganza de la tumba
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 4 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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