Dead Men Walk *** (1943, George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Dwight Frye, Nedrick Young) – Classic Movie Review 6132

Ah, a dead man returns for vengeance, excellent! George Zucco is on good form and is great fun in two roles as the vampire Elwyn Clayton, who comes back to life to kill his doctor twin, Dr Lloyd Clayton, in director Sam Newfield’s gleeful if tatty 1943 chiller Dead Men Walk.

Zucco’s undead character Elwyn is abetted by a hunchback called Zolarr, played by Dwight Frye, who died the following year. When Zolarr accuses the kindly Lloyd of killing Elwyn, he says it was in self defense, as the evil twin was serving Satan. Lloyd’s niece Gayle (Mary Carlisle) and her fiancé Harper (Robert Strange) are on the case.

Telling an amusing vampire version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, PRC’s fine, atmospheric B-grade black and white horror filler movie is both very cheap and very cheerful, as well as very fast, filmed in just six days.

Also in the cast are Nedrick Young, Fern Emmett, Sam Flint, Hal Price and Jimmy Aubrey.

Dead Men Walk is directed by Sam Newfield, made by PRC, written by Fred Myton, shot in black and white by Jack Greenhalgh, produced by Sigmund Neufeld and scored by Leo Erdody.

The evil twin’s crypt was Zucco’s estate in his earlier PRC film, The Mad Monster (1942).

Mary Carlisle (1914–2018).

After a 20-year career, it is the last movie of Boston-born, blue-eyed blonde Mary Carlisle, who retired from films after her marriage to flying supervisor James Blakeley the previous year. Mary Carlisle turned 104 on 3 February 2018 and died on 1 August 2018. She made 65 films, including Grand Hotel (1932), The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1933), Doctor Rhythm (1938), This Side of Heaven (1934) and Tip-Off Girls (1938).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6132

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Mary Carlisle stars as Gayle Clayton in her last film, Dead Men Walk (1943).

George Zucco stars in Dead Men Walk in two roles as the vampire Elwyn Clayton and his twin, Dr Lloyd Clayton.