Watch Condemned to Live For Free

Wow! Such a good movie.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Laid it on REAL thick about how good the prof was--repeated again and again very stilted Marguerite to marry older saintI love old horror films, so the fact I disliked "Condemned to Live" so much really says a lot about the movie. After all, I should have loved it with its plot about a fiend draining the blood from innocents. But the writing and direction were so sluggish, it felt more like I was watching a community theater production instead of a movie.The story begins with a prologue about some folks stuck on a hellish island with nasty natives and vampire bats. Soon the film skips ahead and folks are back home. There you learn that Professor Kristan (Ralph Morgan) is a saintly man, as folks repeat this about 800 times...just to make sure the audience knows. But it turns out the saintly Professor is struggling with inner demons....as well as overly melodramatic acting! The lines are delivered poorly and the dialog itself is clumsy and unnatural. These, combined with sluggish direction, make watching this film a real chore. Dull beyond belief and a film that simply should have been much, much better.

Condemned to Live story concerns a physician in a small village in Europe who is born a vampire because his mother was bitten by a vampire when she was pregnant with him. So his vampirism is an affliction rather than a curse.The doctor blacks out when he is overcome by his disease which occurs when night falls and when he awakens he has no memory of his actions. A Trusted college arrives and helps him finally realizes that he must be the vampire that is murdering the villagers for their blood.Invincible Pictures was a poverty row studio but they did produce some watchable movies. Condemned to Live was one such movie. Eventually Invincible was absorbed by Republic Pictures.Ralph Morgan was a notable character actor who became overshadowed by his more famous younger brother Frank. Ralph had roles in some big movies and quite a few "B" pics.He was often cast as weak or timid men. He really didn't project a strong enough personality to be an effective lead.The acting is uneven. Maxine Doyle portrays the doctors much younger fiancé and her performance is flat and lifeless. Mischa Auer plays the doctor's hunchbacked servant who is loyal to a fault. Auer adds a little fire to the proceedings. The rest of the cast is professional enough.Condemned to Live is an interesting take on the vampire legend but there are just too many plot holes and weak performances to make it a really good movie. The ending is kind of a downer as well. Still as I said it was a watchable film for horror buffs.

Rating films as from this era can be quite challenging. American horror films of the 1930's are notorious for unbelievable special effects, degrading female acting, and incoherent plots. This film is no exception, but Condemned to Live is still entertaining due to the care with which it was made. It isn't Karloff's Frankenstein, but it's worth a viewing.In an African cave, a pregnant woman is bitten by a vampire bat. It is implied that her child is born and sent back to a European village. He becomes a doctor and is quite respected in his town. This prestige has earned him the admiration of a young woman, Marguerite. However, Marguerite has fallen in love with her neighbor David, but feels obligated to marry doctor Kristan. Kristan is visited by a college, Dr. Bizet who discovers Kristan's affliction: he becomes ferociously violent when the lights are dimmed and has killed several people. Kristan does not recall any of these murders and thinks the culprit is a giant bat. He remains innocent due to his devoted hunchback, Zan, covering his outbursts. Both are discovered and commit suicide at the end of the film.With such a short running time, a lot happens in Condemned to Live, and most of it happens too quickly. Despite the compressed time, the film develops an intriguing antagonist. Dr. Kristan is hell-bent on discovering the perpetrator of the murders, but is unaware of his involvement in them. While it isn't difficult to see this plot twist, Strayer's incorporation of Jeckyll and Hyde personality disorder and vampirism into Ralph Morgan's character add suspense to the film. Zan also shares traditional horror elements, with his inhuman devotion to his master and his shrunken appearance. These two also have a fitting end in their joined suicide. Kristan is a knowledgeable man, and he knows he must separate himself from the village in order to continue serving the people.The special effects are also worthwhile and appear as realistic as one could expect from a film so old. The bat in the opening sequence doesn't appear fake given the film's age, which is unlike some films today (Army of Darkness is a modern film which incorporates absurdly unconvincing special effects). Morgan's portrayal as a bloodthirsty killer is also intriguing. He exhibits no obvious traits of being a vampire, but bites people as if he were. I interpret his desire to bite as a trait inherited from the bat which attacked his mother. This is why he prefers biting people on the neck, but isn't a real vampire.I may have read too much into the film, but a good film allows an audience to do that. The film does suffer from a low budget, and certain parts of it are difficult to see. If you find a single disc version, I would suggest that you watch it, since I've had better success with them. I've read the plot summary for The Vampire Bat, and feel obligated to warn you that this film is similar but they both have around a 5.0 rating on IMDb. Yes, there are several holes in the plot, but I don't think I can fairly lower the film's score given its age. While Condemned to Live is dated, it is still a great way to spend 67 minutes of your time.

Professor Paul Kriston(Ralph Morgan) is a well liked and respected doctor in his tiny village. The beautiful Marguerite(Maxine Doyle)is willing to be his bride in spite of being in love with another man, David(Russell Gleason). The doctor has a hunchbacked servant(Mischa Auer);this is the clue that this is a horror flick. Kriston has suffered a vampire curse his whole life and is not even aware that he has a blood-sucking habit at night. Miss Marguerite discovers her fiancée's secret, only after she realizes she's actually in love with her other man. Things have already turned sinister.This 30's chiller is directed by Frank Strayer. Other players include: Pedro de Cardoba, Lucy Beaumont and Carl Stockdale.