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.

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.

Ralph Morgan plays a kind-hearted doctor, known throughout his community for his wisdom and charity, that has a terrible secret he does not even know. It seems when he was born he was marked by a vampire bat....and now in his middle age the terrible strain of over-work has caused his affliction to surface. He passes out whenever total darkness envelops him and turns into a hideous monster that rips the throats of the townsfolk. This is a pretty good, ole creaky film from Invincible Films(?). It is a low-budget thriller to be sure, but has a lot of heart behind it and is quite a satisfying story. Ralph Morgan, brother of the Wizard of Oz'z Frank Morgan gives an interesting performance. He is adequate as a man torn apart with this terrible malady as he calls it. The rest of the cast is pretty good too with Mischa Auer standing out as a hunchback and Pedro de Cordoba excelling as a friendly doctor. What I really liked about the film was its rather blatant symbolism about the light and the darkness and how each brings out a different persona..