utgard14 Very interesting horror movie from Columbia with a WW2 backdrop. Nazi bombing has unearthed the coffin of vampire Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi). Two bumbling gravediggers remove the stake from Tesla's body, freeing the vampire to once again terrorize London. The vampire here has a werewolf sidekick. Actually, more like a weredog as he resembles some kind of terrier more than a wolf. He even growls and barks like a dog.The cast is very good. Lugosi is Lugosi, of course. Classy Frieda Inescort is excellent as Lady Jane Ainsley, a rare case in the '40s where a woman gets to be the primary vampire hunter. This is the first full-length movie for Nina Foch, soon to become Columbia's B movie queen, For some reason Matt Willis talks normal as a human but in werewolf form he channels Henry Hull. Miles Mander is very good as the skeptical Scotland Yard inspector.Columbia didn't make many horror films in the '40s and this is probably the best of the few. But it does seem to be missing something. While I do like the foggy streets and spooky graveyard, for the most part it's lacking that atmosphere the Universal horrors had in spades. Still, it's very entertaining and unique for the period. The ending is terrific.

AaronCapenBanner Lew Landers directed Bela Lugosi as Armand Tesla, an 18th century researcher into occult matters who ended up becoming an evil vampire upon his death. In 1918, he is tracked down and staked by Lady Jane and Professor Saunders, but 23 years later is accidentally resurrected in a German air raid attack, who then goes on a campaign of revenge against Lady Jane and her family by impersonating a refugee(a Dr. Bruckner). Oh yes, he has a talking werewolf named Andreas(played by Matt Willis) in his power as well... Atmospheric but silly and tedious film has good performances by all, but only the settings of both WWI & WWII give the film any novelty; and that talking werewolf was a bad idea!

slayrrr666 "Return of the Vampire" isn't all that bad of a vampire film.**SPOILERS**Dr. Jane Ainsley, (Frieda Inescourt) manages to kill vampire Armand Tesla, (Bela Lugosi) during the first World War. Years later, when her son John, (Roland Varno) and his fiancée Nikki Saunders, (Nina Foch) are about to be married, the German Blitz on London uncovers his grave, allowing his return. The rest allows for him Tesla to form a plan to avenge his death on Jane, going after John and Nikki. As he gets closer and closer to fulfilling his plan of revenge, Jane fights back against the vampire.The Good News: One of Lugosi's few roles as a vampire, this one wasn't all that bad. The mood and atmosphere created in here is quite nice. The frequent fog-drenched landscapes spread throughout are excellent examples, and set-up some great set-pieces. The early attack in the graveyard is very creepy, and is quite effective. The shadows are also great at generating suspense, and the sequence in the bedrooms are the best, with some great images throughout. The vampire story is actually pretty nice, and it's a nice, clever twist to the traditional elements. The World War II story is a new idea that's brilliantly worked into the film and creates some nice action sequences as well. The initial scenes of the attacks are the best, and it keeps the story from being too clichéd. And when Lugosi is in full vampire mode, it's never a boring feat.The Bad News: There's only a few things wrong with this one, and there not that bad. The film is over so fast that it's hard to really get into it, and could've been stretched out a little bit more. That would've made out the vampire attacks a little more violent, as they're pretty much non-existent. They basically just find the victims after the fact, and it doesn't really show any attacks. The fact that the film really makes no sense is also a problem, and there';s many different examples of things of that don't make sense. Many of them spoil the film, so they can't be revealed, but there's too much in here that doesn't make any sense. But these don't really hurt the film all that much.The Final Verdict: A rather routine vampire film that's at times quite chilling, it rises above and becomes some decent. Anything with Lugosi as a vampire can't be bad, so give it a shot, it isn't all that bad.Today's Rating-PG: Violence

lugonian THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (Columbia, 1944), directed by Lew Landers, was the studios contribution to the horror genre made famous by Universal, acquiring many of its ingredients right down to the services of that studio's very own Bela Lugosi, whose legend began with "Dracula" (1931). By this time of this particular release, Lugosi's career had already reached a period of decline, having starred in a series of cheap imitations of classic horror tales for poverty row studios as Monogram and PRC. While THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE could very well be a pale imitation of a good horror film or a "Dracula" sequel featuring his twin brother accompanied by a werewolf instead of Mr. Renfield, this new idea of a vampire tale, though not entirely original, is actually a pleasant surprise. While it can't compare to the Universal products, this edition improves over their current distribution of program quickies and countless sequels.What a great way to start the evening for a Lugosi flick with its introduction during its opening credits consisting of a young girl fearfully walking back into the darkness as a shadowy figure lurks towards her before belting out a big scream through the super-imposed titles: "The imagination of man at times sires the fantastic and the grotesque. That the imagination of man soars into the stratosphere of fantasy is attested by ... "The Return of the Vampire," followed with this narrative: "This is the case of Armand Tesla, Vampire, as compiled from the personal notes of Professor Walter Saunders, King's College, Oxford. The following events took place in the outskirts of London, towards the end of the year 1918, that began on the night of October 15, particularly on a gloomy foggy night that was well-suited for a visitation by the supernatural" .... Enter Andreas, (Matt Willis) a werewolf, walking through the Priory Cemetery, entering the crypt of his master, Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi), a 200 year-old vampire, who rests in his coffin by day, while living off the blood of his victims by night. Lady Jane Angsley (Frieda Inescort), a sanitarium director, and Professor Walter Saunders (Gilbert Emery), are assigned to investigate the latest female victim resting on a hospital bed with two marks on her neck. Learning of the history of Armand Telsa, a Romanian scientist, Saunders comes to realize he's the vampire in question who must be destroyed, especially after making his little girl, Nikki, his latest prey. Upon entering an abandoned cemetery, Saunders and Angsley come to a vault where they find a coffin with a breathing body inside. Saunders rids this rein of terror by striking a metal stake through his heart. The destruction of Armand Tesla immediately frees Andreas of his curse, transforming him from werewolf to human being. Twenty-three years pass where England is under another blitz, World War II. Saunders is killed in an airplane crash, Andreas is assistant for Lady Jane, while her concert pianist son, Johnny (Roland Varno) is engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Nicki Saunders (Nina Foch). All's well until the abandoned cemetery is bombed by warplanes, leaving many bodies scattered. Two laborers (Billy Bevan and Harold De Becker) are assigned to rebury the dead. In doing so, they remove the stake from a body of one that resurrects later that night, hence the title. Armand Telsa, under the guise of Dr. Hugo Bruckner, stalks once more, returning poor Andreas back into his werewolf slave ("I shall command and YOU shall obey!") and plans for his next mission to terrorize Lady Jane and have Nikki his future bride of the living dead.A neat little thriller that contains many effective scenes to rank this a truly good horror film of its day, from howling sounds of dogs around the cemetery to the vampire's call to his victims through the echoing of his whispers. The highlight where werewolf combats his evil master surpasses the battle between the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the Frankenstein monster (Bela Lugosi of all people) in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (Universal, 1943). While there were further developments with the Universal monsters, THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE contained no sequels, though many imitations from other studios, including Universal itself, continued.Formerly available on video cassette and later placed to DVD, THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE had frequent cable TV broadcasts over the years, ranging from Turner Network Television (1992); American Movie Classics (1998-2000) and Turner Classic Movies (2006-07), usually during the month of October to commemorate Halloween. How appropriate, especially for Bela Lugosi, the Vampire King. (**1/2)