For it's own time and genre, this movie is simply perfect.10/10Multilayered and deeper than in any previous Dracula movie, story is balancing between drama and thriller. Characterization has much more attention than in any other monster movie from this period, acting is solid, and camera, directing and effects are superb. True masterpiece.

The general concensus seems to be that Return of the Vampire is an inferior "unofficial" sequel to Universal's classic version of Dracula, which of course stands as perhaps the foremost cinematic version of Bram Stoker's famous novel. And indeed, Return of the Vampire does borrow a great deal from the Universal film, not the least being Bela Lugosi himself in a virtual reprisal of his celebrated role. That being said, Return of the Vampire is a very effective film in its own right, one which is cleverly written and creatively directed, and which allows Lugosi to effectively enlarge upon his iconic performance as the Prince of Vampires.Director Lew Anders deserves a lot of the credit for the quality of Return of the Vampire. The plot moves quickly and everything is absolutely saturated in Gothic ambiance. The closed-in atmosphere, centered around a few central sets and principal characters (much like the Tod Browning-directed Dracula), is used to marvelous effect and creates a dream-like quality surpassed by few other films of its day. Produced in 1944, the film incorporates the London Blitz into its narrative, and this element serves to produce a couple of key plot points. There is some humor, mostly of the understated sort, but for the most part the story is straightforwardly told and is admirably sober.The cast does a fine job all-round. Frieda Insescourt takes on the role of a feminine version of Dr. Van Helsing and handles it very well, conveying just the right amount of matronly authority. The extremely lovely Nina Foch captures viewer empathy as the innocent and unsuspecting object of the villain's unholy desires, and the expressiveness of Foch's dramatic performance makes the key scenes where she is under the vampire's spell especially resonant. Also impressive is Matt Willis as the vampire's werewolf henchman, a cursed soul who loathes his master's power over him even as he revels in it. The werewolf's struggle for salvation is one of the story's vital subplots, and one which Willis imbues with all the necessary pathos.But of course the standout performance belongs to Bela Lugosi. Lugosi will be remembered forever for Dracula, but his portrayal of this film's vampire--Armand Tesla--arguably surpasses even that. Lugosi radiates evil almost palpably, yet when Tesla is required to put on the mask of a harmless gentleman the seamless transition is in and of itself rather unsettling. For all practical purposes, Lugosi is playing Dracula again--but this time around his performance is even more nuanced and believable. Lugosi's Tesla is a truly malevolent master vampire, and when Lugosi turns his hypnotic glare upon his victim the actor leaves no doubt in the viewer's mind that resistance is indeed hopeless.Classic horror, especially from the pre-Hammer days, is something of an acquired taste, and many of today's horror fans don't want to watch the old black-and-white gems. That's a pity. These older films are classics for a reason, and the best ones stand the test of time. Return of the Vampire is a fine addition to vampire cinema, and offered Lugosi the chance to basically play Dracula one more time. Thanks to solid direction, a strong plot line, and inspired performances from virtually the entire cast, it remains an entertaining movie that all fans of classic horror should see at least once.

One of the more unusual horror flicks of the forties, Return of the Vampire takes place amidst the rubble-strewn streets of wartime London. A bomb has unearthed the coffin of Armand Tesla (Bela Lugosi), a blood-sucker whose previous reign of terror struck fear into the hearts of the Ainsley family during World War I. With a helping hand from the Wolf Man (where'd he come from? – Matt Willis), Tesla is once again free to roam the Earth, but chooses to update his image and masquerade as Hugo Bruckner, a German émigré scientist. Can Lady Jane Ainsley (Frieda Inescort) save daughter Nicki (Nina Foch) from his hypnotic gaze—and will Scotland Yard's Sir Frederick Fleet (Miles Mander) ever admit to the existence of the supernatural? Return of the Vampire is a surprisingly effective and atmospheric feature from Columbia, a studio whose horror output was generally unimpressive, to say the least.

"Return of the Vampire" isn't all that bad of a vampire film.**SPOILERS**Dr. Jane Ainsley, (Frieda Inescourt) manages to kill vampire Armand Tesla, (Bela Lugosi) during the first World War. Years later, when her son John, (Roland Varno) and his fiancée Nikki Saunders, (Nina Foch) are about to be married, the German Blitz on London uncovers his grave, allowing his return. The rest allows for him Tesla to form a plan to avenge his death on Jane, going after John and Nikki. As he gets closer and closer to fulfilling his plan of revenge, Jane fights back against the vampire.The Good News: One of Lugosi's few roles as a vampire, this one wasn't all that bad. The mood and atmosphere created in here is quite nice. The frequent fog-drenched landscapes spread throughout are excellent examples, and set-up some great set-pieces. The early attack in the graveyard is very creepy, and is quite effective. The shadows are also great at generating suspense, and the sequence in the bedrooms are the best, with some great images throughout. The vampire story is actually pretty nice, and it's a nice, clever twist to the traditional elements. The World War II story is a new idea that's brilliantly worked into the film and creates some nice action sequences as well. The initial scenes of the attacks are the best, and it keeps the story from being too clichéd. And when Lugosi is in full vampire mode, it's never a boring feat.The Bad News: There's only a few things wrong with this one, and there not that bad. The film is over so fast that it's hard to really get into it, and could've been stretched out a little bit more. That would've made out the vampire attacks a little more violent, as they're pretty much non-existent. They basically just find the victims after the fact, and it doesn't really show any attacks. The fact that the film really makes no sense is also a problem, and there';s many different examples of things of that don't make sense. Many of them spoil the film, so they can't be revealed, but there's too much in here that doesn't make any sense. But these don't really hurt the film all that much.The Final Verdict: A rather routine vampire film that's at times quite chilling, it rises above and becomes some decent. Anything with Lugosi as a vampire can't be bad, so give it a shot, it isn't all that bad.Today's Rating-PG: Violence