The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Wallace Fox

Writers:

Sam Robins (story) and
Gerald Schnitzer (story) ...

Release Date:

8 May 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

KIDNAPPED BRIDES Are The Victims Of His Terror! Prepare to shudder when you see the strange practices of this doctor who sacrificed beautiful women for the sake of a mad love! (original poster)

Plot:

A scientist, aided by an old hag & her two sons - a malicious dwarf and a brutish moron, kills virgin brides, steals their bodies, & extracts gland fluid to keep his ancient wife alive and young.

Plot Keywords:

Orchid | Mad Scientist | Bride | Dwarf | Coffin

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Dr. Lorenz
Luana Walters	...	Patricia Hunter, Reporter
Tristram Coffin	...	Dr. Foster (as Tris Coffin)
Elizabeth Russell	...	Countess Lorenz
Minerva Urecal	...	Fagah
Angelo Rossitto	...	Toby (as Angelo)
Joan Barclay	...	Alice Wentworth
Kenneth Harlan	...	Keenan
Gwen Kenyon	...	Peggy Woods
Vince Barnett	...	Sandy, Photographer
Frank Moran	...	Angel
George Eldredge	...	Mike

Also Known As:

The Case of the Missing Brides (UK)

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:H (re-rating) (1946) | UK:PG (video rating) (1995) | UK:R (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #8276)

Company:

Banner Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When getting ready for bed, Pat unbuttons her jacket, but in the next shot the jacket is buttoned again and stays buttoned for the rest of the scene - because she changed her mind about going to bed.

Quotes:

Fagah: Why do you beat my son so hard?
Dr. Lorenz: Because he's at best an animal, and some day I shall have to destroy him.
Fagah: My poor son!... Why was he ever born?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Corpse Vanishes (#2.4)" (1989)

Mad doctor Bela hunts for victims

This is not Bela Lagosi's best movie, but it's got a good old style approach for some 40's horror entertainment.

Brides are dropping dead at the altar like flies. I think I'd postpone the wedding until after the fiend is caught, but it's a horror movie, so I guess people ignore the danger for some reason. Anyway, Lagosi is a mad doctor, who needs young female blood to keep his aging, sickly wife healthy and happy. He always eludes the Keystone Cops by hiding the bodies in a hearse (who would think of looking for a corpse in a hearse?), and the brides just keep on getting zapped.

No movie like this would be complete without a Lois Lane type female reporter who wants to catch the criminal on her own. Good at solving crime, bad at keeping her mouth shut at all the wrong times, guess who Lagosi picks for his next intended victim. I love the "haunted house" bit where Lois Lane gets stranded by a thunderstorm as a guest at Lagosi's sinister mansion. Hidden passageways, a vampire-like wife, an evil dwarf Igor assistant, and so on. Good stuff.

Fairly well done pacing keeps the film moving, and the story resolves itself in a typical but satisfying manner. If you like old horror movies, this one is worth a watch.