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I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Or so the movie's opening text says. Too bad there aren't any vampires in this movie because that might have been something to see. Still, it's an enjoyable enough little horror film from Universal International, written by the great Jimmy Sangster and filmed in a manner that very obviously was mimicking what Hammer was doing at the time. The story involves a doctor (Vincent Ball) being sent to a prison run by a mad scientist (Donald Wolfit) conducting experiments on the convicts. Amusingly, Wolfit has been made up to look like a poor man's Bela Lugosi and his hunchback henchman (played by Victor Maddern) looks like a cross between Dwight Frye and Lon Chaney, Jr. One would assume this was intentional. The lovely Barbara Shelley also stars as the fiancée of Ball, who goes undercover at the prison to help him. It's not a bad picture, despite the misleading title. There's a good deal of blood, violence, and a fair share of heaving bosoms. So it's like Hammer, though lacking the vibrant visuals or the screen presence of a Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. Worth a look, though.

There were two outstanding aspects to this formulaic film about a "mad scientist," No, there are no vampires in the film. It is about a doctor who performs experiments in a prison to cure his illness. The Nazis who experimented on prisoners in the camps would applaud his efforts.One thing that impressed me was the quality of the film. Monty Berman's cinematography was so outstanding that you were distracted from the story at times.The other outstanding feature was the characters and the actors who portrayed them. Donald Wolfit was perfect as Doctor Callistratus, the doctor performing the experiments. He was assisted by Carl (Victor Maddern), a deformed hunchback that has to be seen to be believed; and Andrew Faulds as the chief guard, who always had a sinister look on his face.Jimmy Sangster, who was a major force behind Hammer Films, wrote a script that managed to keep you interested. Minor improvements would have made this an outstanding film.

What should make this film a classic is the opening vampire staking scene. The greatest staking scene in movie history, with Kiss Of the Vampire second. I have this film on a 1978 VHS release with excellent color, and I also saw it in the theatre at the time. It's strong effective stuff. As some say, it can also be draggy in the middle. The laboratory scenes of working on blood samples may be dreary. But it has vicious dogs released on escaping prisoners, sneaking and climbing up into the maiden's room, a deformed hunchback, a good climactic scene, and great colorful sets. Good Gothic. The same producers also made The Hellfire Club, Jack the Ripper, and The Flesh and the Fiends (about Burke and Hare). I'd like to know which video releases have faded color and which have good.

Blood of the Vampire is one of those films that suggests it is more than it is. There is no vampire in the film, and there were only two references to vampires at all in the entire film. The film is a story of a doctor who tries revolutionary surgery on a dying patient only to end up as a visitor(prisoner) at a remote castle-prison run by a wicked scientist-warden and some of the most depraved prison guards around. The warden is played by none other than heavy Sir Donald Wolfit in full regalia as a thick slice of ham. Wolfit is a pleasure to watch as he barks out orders and sadistic lines to his lazy-eyed hunchback assistant and other minions about the prison. It seems he needs a scientist to help him with a blood disease he has. Victor Ball does a credible job as the good-natured prisoner. Lovely Barbara Shelley plays his love-interest. Miss Shelley looks simply wonderful. I was fortunate to meet Miss Shelley recently, and she told me that the film The Dresser was based on the life of Sir Donald Wolfit. It isn't hard to believe after watching this film. The man has an enormous presence about him. He really blows into existence what little life this film has. The film has a Hammer look to it, although not nearly as well-made. The budget for this film was apparently limited. The gothic look is, however, pretty genuine. I particularly liked the castle used. The pace of the film would be viewed by many as plodding. I rather enjoyed it...campness and all. A good old-fashioned horror tale!