The Vampire's Ghost

Republic Pictures cranked out a ton of "B" pictures in virtually every genre during the 1940s, many of which were (at best) barely watchable. There were, however, any number of mystery and horror titles which rose above the typical meager standards and achieved a special kind of wonderfulness all their own. One such example is THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST, a low budget horror film written by the legendary science fiction and horror scribe Leigh Brackett. The tale benefits from the exotic locale of an African plantation with the peculiarly mannered John Abbott starring as Webb Fallon, a centuries old vampire now living in Africa running a seedy saloon. The incidents in the film are quite unusual, most notably an exotic dance performed by Adele Mara in Fallon's saloon. A strange and atmospheric little gem that should appeal to fans of esoteric "B" films. Disregard all of the wrong-headed and annoyingly condescending critical evaluations in the conventional film guides (Leonard Maltin, John Stanley, etc); this film is definitely worth your time and attention.