“The Corpse Vanishes” (1942) starring Bela Lugosi / Z-View
The Corpse Vanishes (1942)
Director: Wallace Fox
Screenplay: Harvey Gates; story by Sam Robins, Gerald Schnitzer
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin, Vince Barnett and Angelo Rossitto.
Tagline: KIDNAPPED BRIDES Are The Victims Of His Terror! Prepare to shudder when you see the strange practices of this doctor who sacrificed beautiful women for the sake of a mad love!
The Plot…
Someone is killing young brides on their wedding day. No one can figure out why they are dying. Or who is stealing their corpses. Then Patricia Hunter (Walters), a young reporter, notices the brides are all wearing orchid corsages. She decides to investigate.
The clues lead Patricia to Dr. Lorenz (Lugosi). Lorenz lives in a remote mansion with his younger wife. Dr. Lorenz seems nice enough, but the wife is a bit cold. When a terrible storm hits and washes out the bridge to town, Patricia is forced to spend the night.
What Patricia doesn’t know is…
- …Dr. Lorenz has been behind the murders of the brides. Lorenz takes their glandular fluids for injection into his wife. These fluids make his elderly wife appear young for a brief time.
- …in the Doctor’s cellar laboratory a crazy old hag and her two sons live. One of the sons is a cruel dwarf. The other is a feebleminded hulk. The three assist Dr. Lorenz with the murders.
- …also in the cellar is a room with the bodies of the dead brides.
Patricia doesn’t know these things… but she is about to find out.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Beware of poor copies. The movie is in the public domain.
Angelo Rossitto plays the dwarf son. Mr. Rossitto is best known for his roles in Tod Browning’s Freaks and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. His career spanned 60 years and over 100 resume credits.
The Corpse Vanishes is a low-budget, quickly shot B picture and it plays like one.
The Corpse Vanishes (1942) rates 2 of 5 stars.
