“Henry, why didn’t the bats die?”
Dr. Campbell had been experimenting with vampire bat blood before his death. On his death bed he gives his colleague, Paul Beecher (John Beal), a bottle of the pills. Paul takes them home. Dr. Beecher suffers from migraines. During an episode his daughter Betsy (Lydia Reed) mistakenly substitutes Dr. Beecher's migraine tablets for the vampire bat blood pills. His next patient is Marion Wilkins (Ann Staunton). Paul’s migraine is worse so he asks Marion to come back the next day. The next day he gets a call telling him that Marion is worse. When he tries to examine her she appears terrified of him and suddenly dies. On her neck are two puncture wounds.
Worried about the pill his daughter gave him he returns to Campbell’s lab. He runs into a colleague of his Will Beaumont (Dabbs Greer) and another man Henry Winston (James Griffith). Paul learns that Dr. Campbell's research involved regressing animals’ minds to a primitive state, then reversing and advancing the process. To add to that the pills are highly addictive. The next morning, Henry is found dead. On his neck are the same puncture wounds. Cause of death capillary disintegration.
Paul is beginning to realize that during periods of blackouts he is responsible for the series of local murders. He sends Betsy to stay with a relative. Then he confesses to Will that he believes he is the person that is killing people. Will believes that Paul is delusional. He agrees to stay with Paul to humor him. Will locks the pills in a drawer. Later that night Paul transforms into a monster and attacks Will. He disposes of Will’s body in a furnace.
The next day, Sheriff Buck Donnelly (Kenneth Tobey) goes to Dr. Campbell’s office to talk to Will. At the lab Donnelly finds an audio recorder. On it is a recording of Will's murder. Will is begging Paul not to kill him.
“The Vampire” was released in 1957 and was directed by Paul Landres. John Beal does an impressive job as the tortured Dr. Beecher. His acting is top notch. The make-up may not be that great, but the transformation shots are quite good. Eerie and very effective. It’s a low budget affair and not too well known. A kind of a hidden “B” movie gem.
Dr. Beal is more of a Jekyll and Hyde than a Vampire. He may bite them on the neck but it is not loss of blood that kills. It’s the serum in his blood that acts as a virus causing the capillary disintegration. Part Jekyll and Hyde, part Vampire, all monster. Granted it’s not the best monster movie ever but I enjoyed it.