Saw RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE last night, and I must say I wasn't too impressed with Bela Lugosi in this film. The twelve years since DRACULA clearly took a serious toll on Bela. By the 40's he looked quite frail and old. Armand Tesla does not approach Count Dracula. The sinister, strange, and mysterious aura Lugosi summoned so easily in 1931 eluded him in 1943.

And of course setting the film during modern times robs the film of a very necessary gothicism (To say nothing of the fact that Armand Tesla is hardly much of a threat compared to the bombs being dropped by German planes. If bombs were being dropped on your city, how much would you care about some weird old man in a cape?).

The whole idea of Tesla running off with Nicki, Bela looking very much like her grandfather, just does not convince. It's a nice touch having him bite a little girl. Rather ooky the sight of a vampire's bite on such a little throat.

But basically, I was really let down by Bela's performance. I know he was getting on in years and perhaps was hooked on drugs, but one would have hoped that he could have been more Draculean. As it was, I was expecting to see one of his devil bats come flying out of a window.

Him checking into a hotel and telling them at the front desk not to disturb him during the day was a funny touch, though, as is the last line in the film, delivered by the police inspector.

Obviously nobody would come to a film like this with high expectations, and I doubt that anyone will feel very much inclined to defend it. So, any entertainment one derives from it is a plus. Of course, one is always glad to see Bela.

I'm not inclined to defend THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE although I will say it's still my favorite Bela Lugosi movie; much more entertaining than DRACULA, whose sleep-inducing ability increases as I get older. For me, Bela's more interesting here as Armand Tesla than he is as the Count. He's also surrounded by livelier characters than in his previous vampire outing. No, RETURN's no masterpiece and it does have it's awkward moments (SPOILERS AHOY!) like his walk through Priory Cemetary early on when comes right up to a cross. I guess later on when he's repelled by the sign of the cross we're supposed to have forgotten this. And how many vampires over the years have we seen knocked unconsious by falling rubble? There's novelty for you. Also the declaration "That wasn't a man. That was a wolf" after Andreas has turned into a Larry Talbot-style werewolf. That's not a hiatal hernia interferring with my swallowing. Yeah, RETURN does have plenty of moments. (Since I also love Bela in GLEN OR GLENDA, I kinda wish now that when he's calling Nicki to him, he had said "Nicki...Nicki....PULL THE STRING! PULL THE STRING!"). But I do like the story spanning two wars; the music score; and seeing a woman taking charge for a change (If I were in Tesla's shoes and had a choice between Lady Jane and Nicki, this grumpy, old vampire would definitely take Nicki. There are some things even death can't change). Maybe I should add this as a candidate for a remake.

I, too, was surprised that Tesla could be knocked unconscious by falling rubble. Further proof perhaps that setting the film in war-torn England made for inhospitable territory for the supernatural.

It is, I think, a unique viewpoint to say that ROTV is Lugosi's finest performance. I rank SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and perhaps THE BLACK CAT as his best films.

Although the rest of the film is rather opaque (despite the occasional bright moment, courtesy of co-star Karloff) Vertegast's early scenes on the train provide superb Lugosian magic, in particular the fantastic "I have returned!"

I love when Lugosi says, "you know," which is supposed to come off as casual or conversational, but of course he is incapable of that. I think he says "you know" in both ROTV and THE RAVEN. Quite amusing.

Am currently trying to get thru THE HUMAN MONSTER, which appears to be a fine film, but the dvd's sound is atrocious.

Well, I certainly never said RETURN is his finest performance, just that it's my favorite Lugosi movie. His best performance may very well be THE BLACK CAT where he's allowed to show a greater range of emotion than in many of his other films; for example, when he's taken to see his wife and goes from sheer broken heartedness to rage. That's a great scene for both Lugosi and Karloff, but it might surprise those who think of Bela as always being in Dracula or Ygor mode. (Now I'd really like to see THE INVISIBLE RAY again because I don't remember how he is in that).

By all means see INVISIBLE RAY again, Lugosi's a lot of fun in that underrated little gem.

I love THE BLACK CAT, but I have to say my favorite Lugosi performance is in THE RAVEN (1935). He is so outrageously over-the-top, I laugh out loud every time. It's another one of those early Universals that are just fun from start to finish.
Another very good Lugosi perf is in THE BODY SNATCHER (1945), one of the great horror films, imho.

I have not come to praise RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, but to bury it, as it were. I must confess that RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE was one of my earliest cinematic letdowns, even back in childhood. What a bore. I couldn't bring myself to sit through the whole thing back then, and to this day, I'm not certain I've ever seen the film in its entirety. Supposedly at its conception, Bela was supposed to actually portray Dracula, but when Universal threatened legal action, Columbia made the last minute switch to Armand Tesla. It's really kind of tragic, when you think about it, cause unlike a lot of the other projects Lugosi was associated with during that period, the film has its heart in the right place. It sort of has the right look, the right feel, the right music, the right director (Lew Landers ne Louis Friedlander of THE RAVEN) and yet somehow, like Seth Brundle's steak through the teleporter, it's not quite right. I've always chalked it up to the talking werewolf with doggy nose.

Anyway, while I'm at it I thought I'd weigh in on the Bela's best performance conversation that this thread seems to have turned into. Thanks to Fox Movie Channel, I've finally been able to catch up with William Cameron Menzies original feature version of CHANDU THE MAGICIAN and Lugosi's brilliant in it as the evil Roxor. If not his best, certainly up there with it. Regrettably, Bela has too little screen time here, and the film's otherwise way too full of stiff acting and even worse comic relief. The set design and camera work are, of course, amazing. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth checking out.