There is one thing to be said for those horror movies of the 30s-50s: they knew how to get to the point. There wasn’t a lot of time spent on unnecessary set-up, they were treated, for the most part, like short stories, and one of the rules I learned about shorts stories years ago is that you start in the middle. What that means is, you start when things are beginning to get interesting, after the point where you set up the characters and situation and the plot finally starts to unfold, you start the story at that point, as if all the set-up has already been done. THE INVISIBLE GHOST did it. ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES did it. And the latest in our series, DEAD MEN WALK did it.

We start at the funeral of Dr. Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco) where we learn Dr. Clayton wasn’t the most well-liked person in town, and with good reason. We move almost immediately to Clayton’s assistant Zolarr (Dwight Frye) removing the body and revealing Clayton to still be active--albeit in an undead state. Seems Dr. Clayton was a student of the dark arts and has used his knowledge to bring himself back from the dead as a vampire, without the need for another vampiric catalyst. This was one of the two original aspects this movie brought to the genre.

The other is Dr. Lloyd Clayton, also played by George Zucco. In the end, DEAD MEN WALK takes a look at the options, weighing originality against old standard and has decided to split the difference. The plot itself takes what it needs from DRACULA with a few other horror cliches of the times for good measure. The Clayton twins have a niece named Gayle (Mary Carlisle in her final role) and Gayle has a suitor named Dr. David Bently (Nedrick Young). The two are in love, and Gayle is staying with her uncle Lloyd, two points that bring to mind other Lugosi films BLACK DRAGONS and THE INVISIBLE GHOST. A local is murdered, and then the creature decides to make Gayle its slave, so in a plot point out of that other Lugosi movie about the Transylvanian guy, Gayle begins to weaken day by day while the two Drs., her uncle and her lover, try to figure out why as she seems to be perfectly healthy, other than those two puncture marks on her neck.

This is where the second original aspect I mentioned comes in. Before Dr. Bently discovers Elwyn’s state, he suspects Lloyd of trying to kill Gayle, and soon the locals gather a lynch mob to storm the estate and save the day. I liked this part of the story as it threw a bit of true suspense in there. We know how the story is going to turn out, Lloyd will confront and defeat Elwyn because that’s just how it works, but they’re twins and the mob is convinced it’s Lloyd, so in the end, how will Lloyd fare? Or, will Elwyn defeat his brother, but then pass himself off as the good Dr. Lloyd? With a set-up like this one, we just don’t know. And for that, I thank DEAD MEN WALK for keeping me guessing.

Unfortunately, despite these two positive points, not all was thrills and chills with this 1943 flick. Even though we get right to the point from the get-go, things do tend to drag in the middle, especially once we see the main plot is standard stuff and we can guess at most of the stopping points along the way. George Zucco turns in a pretty good performance as the good and the bad (and looks just like Harry S. Truman while he’s at it), but the rest of the cast doesn’t have much to do but stand there and recite their lines. Mary Carlisle, while beautiful, is otherwise forgettable as Gayle and Nedrick Young’s Dr. Bently is just plain dead inside (maybe because it was his first movie role, maybe because the character was a cut-out, who knows?). Dwight Frye, who played Renfield in Lugosi’s DRACULA, isn’t doing anything new here, either. He’s even got a hunchback. Good Lord.

DEAD MEN WALK is enjoyable for the original things it brings to the table, but everything else is just so slow and so predictable, I honestly don’t think this movie will warrant more than one viewing. And considering how much it steals from so many Bela Lugosi movies (hell, the pretty niece staying with the rich uncle, the young suitor, these are probably standards from more movies of the era than just the Lugosis), even at a mere 64 minutes, you’ll still find yourself checking the clock and wondering when it’ll be over.

It was a nice try, but in the end, for me, DEAD MEN WALK erred too much on the side of derivative.



other Horror Classics
Carnival of Souls: http://www.epinions.com/content_403446140548
Atom Age Vampire: http://www.epinions.com/content_403512856196
Creature from the Haunted Sea: http://www.epinions.com/content_403596349060
Nightmare Castle: http://www.epinions.com/content_404037799556
Black Dragons: http://www.epinions.com/content_404796575364
The Invisible Ghost: http://www.epinions.com/content_405221379716
One Body Too Many: http://www.epinions.com/content_405861076612
White Zombie: http://www.epinions.com/content_405939326596
Attack of the Giant Leeches: http://www.epinions.com/content_409233493636
The Screaming Skull: http://www.epinions.com/content_414279896708
The Beast of Yucca Flats: http://www.epinions.com/content_414752214660
The Terror: http://www.epinions.com/content_415068622468
Revolt of the Zombies: http://www.epinions.com/content_415464984196
The Giant Gila Monster: http://www.epinions.com/content_415958077060
The Fatal Hour: http://www.epinions.com/content_416076762756



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older