This was another long-awaited acquaintance (acquired literally a couple of days ago) after having pored over a giant still from it in one of my father's books since childhood. Luckily for me, the film turned out to be worth waiting for – unlike BLOOD OF Dracula (1957) – and a good deal more successful in its anachronistic combination of the Western and Horror genres than THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN (1956) had been, not to mention the similar 'Vampire-Out-West' concept later seen in BILLY THE KID VS. Dracula (1966). Shot in atmospheric black-and-white by long-standing genre exponents Universal, it also features an effectively eerie (if a little too obvious) theremin-led score. The director is best-known for his oddball noir SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955; which is still lying in my unwatched pile) and would go on to helm THE LEECH WOMAN the following year (and which I will be watching presently). The cast here is quite decent: Australian actor Michael Pate is suitably menacing as the undead Mexican aristocrat posing as a gunslinger(!); John Hoyt as the town doctor is killed off rather too early; and a similar fate awaits no-nonsense Sheriff Edward Binns. The film's romantic leads are, for once, not a liability either: preacher Eric Fleming and Hoyt's vengeful daughter Kathleen Crowley. We have the usual Western scenario – a feud between two families, bar-room shoot-outs and open-air duels – and the expected horror elements – graveyard disturbances, night-time attacks (Pate is seen indiscriminately going for both male and female victims!) and love-starved vampires. The one major blunder that the film commits (and which, regrettably, made me lop off half-a-star from my rating) was the fact that Pate (after having been repeatedly seen sleeping in his coffin and complaining about how the sun affects his eyesight), he still accepts the preacher's invitation for a high-noon duel – where he is felled by a cross-marked bullet supposedly made out of Christ's very own crown of thorns!! Unfortunately, the copy I watched plagued with excessive combing but seeing how the film is inexplicably M.I.A. on DVD, it will have to do for some time to come

As I sit here, I'm watching this film, Which I recorded off of AMC a few years back. I remember how big western TV series were back in the late 50's "although I was'nt born until 1958" so I saw most in re-runs. This film I feel played well off the popularity of that TV genre. Eric "Gil Favor" Fleming plays well as the Preacher Who goes after the bloodthirsty Vampire, portrayed By Michael Pate...The story seems a lot like any other western, with the exception of the head gunslinger also being the "Undead". As usual Universal Produced a nice little Horror? flick, With a solid cast for "B" fare. I would recommend this for all "Hardcore" horror fans of the 50's genre. As a side note I also remember a couple of episodes Of Rawhide that dealt with Ghost's & the supernatural... makes me wonder if the producers of those episodes had'nt recently viewed "Curse Of The Undead"

Whilst no one could lay claim to this film being a classic, it is unusual and entertaining enough to warrant viewing, and deserves credit for being different to the norm. Obviously shot on a very limited budget, it is nevertheless smartly scripted, and has a dark and brooding atmosphere which is helped enormously by the black and white photography. Whilst some of the acting is not exactly top-drawer, the film benefits greatly from an excellent performance by Michael Pate, whose menacing presence as the vampire, Drake Robey, still manages to elicit a certain degree of sympathy with the character's plight. It would also be unfair to overlook Eric Fleming's earnest portrayal of the brave preacher. He brings the correct degree of upright integrity to the character, and the film is certainly better for having these two actors in tow. This rarely seen film is worth catching, and is very much novel of its kind.

I was just a kid when I saw this so, my memory could be shading my judgment. However, after viewing some of the "Highlander" TV series, this western is along the lines of a tale told in flashback about an immortal who lived through the time of the old west. In the case of this film, the immortal happens to be a vampire. What a great gig for a vampire--be THE best gunslinger in the west. Even if you are a slow draw, you can never lose.I also was impressed with the use of a preacher as the protagonist. I remember a very positive portrayal. I haven't too much a memory about the acting, though. A good gage would be to conjure up memories of the lead actor when he played Gil Favor the trail boss on TV's "Rawhide."