Dead Men Walk (1943) User Reviews

"You'll pray for death long before you die".

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 23 July 2005]

Following the death of his brother, Dr. Lloyd Clayton (George Zucco) methodically destroys all of his books and papers dealing in Satanism, sorcery and demonology. The good doctor is not above a little malevolence of his own though, as Elwyn Clayton's (also Zucco in a dual role) death was at the hands of Lloyd, a fact known by Elwyn's assistant Zolarr (Dwight Frye). In death as in life, Zolarr remains loyal to his master, and wages revenge against Dr. Clayton for his demise.

Elwyn's earthly studies turned him into a vampire after death, and with Zolarr's help in playing musical caskets, he whiles away the daylight hours sleeping in different locations, while Dr. Clayton's niece Gayle (Mary Carlisle) does the same after being bitten by Elwyn. Gayle's fiancé David (Nedrick Young) is convinced that Dr. Lloyd is somehow responsible for her infirmity and that he wants to kill her.

Meanwhile the town busybody Kate (Fern Emmett) seems to have the scoop on what's going on, though everyone thinks she's a bit loony. She's up on her vampire lore, and gives Gayle a silver cross to wear around her neck to thwart Elwyn's advances. She's also got the gumption to follow Zolarr and discover Elwyn's resting place. When Zolarr knocks her off to protect Elwyn, the town is up in arms and becomes a mob, believing that Dr. Lloyd is responsible for the murders.

Elwyn is rather unique in vampire cinema, as he not only conducts nightly sojourns in his physical body, but is also able to maintain a ghostly presence when it suits him. Note in Elwyn's first appearance to his brother after his death, that Lloyd pulls a gun out of his desk and fires point blank at Elwyn, standing directly in front of glass paneled doors. With nothing to stop the bullets, the glass remains intact!

For me, the shocker of the movie turned out to be the brief appearance of Fuzzy St. John, a perennial sidekick to screen cowboy Lash Larue. His goofy demeanor seems out of place, and if intended for comic relief, it didn't work.

For a poverty row effort from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), I found the film's atmospherics and low budget production values to be dead on entertaining for it's subject matter. George Zucco's portrayal of both the good and evil twins was effective, pulling off the effort the way George Reeves managed the Superman/Clark Kent routine. He looked similar enough to be brothers, but unlike enough to make it seem like two different people. With the fiery finale taking place at dawn, the good doctor sacrifices himself to insure that his demonic brother meets his doom as well.

Before concluding however, mention must be made of the opening scene with a great intro by uncredited Forrest Taylor. The ghostly face challenges the viewer's perception of satanic forces and the existence of witches, warlocks, and vampires. It's done with just the right touch of malice to propel the story forward. In it's way, it just may be the best part of the movie.

Low Budget Variation of the Dracula Theme!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 23 October 2003]

You'll have to look long and hard to find a favorable review of PRC's "Dead Men Walk". However, I think the film has long been condemned unfairly. Granted, its not a classic, but some obvious continuity gaffes aside, it compares favorably I think, with many such similar vehicles turned out by the bigger studios.

The story is a low budget variation of the Dracula theme with the good twin/evil twin plot thrown in. It begins with the funeral of evil twin Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco) who is interred in the family crypt. Good twin Dr. Lloyd Clayton (Zucco again) was apparently responsible for his brother's death. Hunchback Zolarr (Dwight Frye) rescues Elwyn's coffin from its tomb and moves it to an old graveyard where Elywn emerges as a vampire. The vampire then reveals himself to his brother and swears his revenge by slowly draining the life from Lloyd's young ward Gayle (Mary Carlisle). With the help of Mary's beau Dr. David Bentley (Nedrick Young), Lloyd battles his evil twin to their final showdown.

Director Sam Newfield does what he can with a small budget. The misty graveyard and shadowy nights are done as well as could be expected. The film is also aided by the casting of George Zucco in the lead. Zucco was always better than his material and deserved a better fate. As an added touch there is Dwight Frye in one of his last roles as the hunchback, a role patterned after his "Renfield" in 1931's "Dracula". Also. look for PRC's resident comic sidekick Al "Fuzzy" St. John as the citizen who finds one of the vampire's victims and Forrest Taylor who does the prologue.

Better than its reputation.

Not your typical PRC product.

[LarrupinLou · 6/10 · 19 November 2006]

Put me down in agreement with the reviewers here who enjoyed this film. No, it's certainly not remotely great and I have seen much better vampire flicks, but the terrific Zucco, decent writing, and competent acting from the rest of the cast make it slightly better than average.

In regard to Zucco, I have seen him in many films and he never fails to do a good job, regardless of what he has to work with. In this movie, he's the glue that holds this plot together from beginning to end. The way he makes the two brothers distinctive is to be lauded. Privately, he might have hated this genre of movie, but you wouldn't have known it from the gusto that he gives his dual role.

It's always good to see Dwight Frye, even though this wasn't his best performance. He played countless crazy or weird characters throughout his career, yet they usually differed due to his unique characterization he gave to each role.

Some here have complained about the sound and other defects in the quality of the film, which isn't fair since the vast majority of us have seen this film only from public domain copies. For example, the copies of "It's a Wonderful Life" that I saw as a kid weren't half the quality of the actual master that we now see around the holidays. Until a worthy copy shows up, I'll refrain making a judgment on that aspect of "Dead Men Walk."

All in all, the movie is entertaining. If you like horror movies from that era, you probably wont be disappointed.

Typical Programmer

[sbibb1 · 11 January 2004]

An evil twin brother comes back to life to seek revenge on the good brother by turning his niece into a vampire.

Dwight Frye stars as the Vampires assistant. This film was made a short time before his death and Frye looks heavy and somewhat haggard here. George Zucco just does not make a convincing, or scary vampire, despite the fact that he is his creepy self. Keep your eyes open for a toothless hillbilly villager for an example of overacting. Despite it not being a great film, the climax of the film, where the two brothers duke it out in a raging fire is very well done.

Dead man down.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 4/10 · 6 October 2015]

Reading Kim Newman's excellent Nightmare Movies book,I noticed Newman mention that the first Human Centipede shared similarities with "mad scientist" movies starring George Zucco.Taking a look at a box set that an IMDber had kindly sent me,I was delighted to find a Zucco title starring James Whale collaborator Dwight Frye,which led to me getting ready to see a dead man walk.

The plot:

Attending his brother Dr. Elwyn's funeral, Dr. Lloyd Clayton hears whispers from the towns people that Elwyn is not really dead,due to him having been involved in the occult.Joining the hushed discussions of the residence,Elwyn former assistant Zolarr suspects that Lloyd knows more about his brothers death than he is letting on.Unknown to the towns people and his brother,Elwyn had made secret plans with Zolarr which would allow Zolarr to bring him back from the dead as a vampire.Coming back from the dead,Elwyn decides to sink his fangs deep into his Lloyd's life.

View on the film:

Filmed in just 6 days,director Sam Newfield gives the movie some stylish touches,with the overlapping reappearance/disappearing image of Elwyn Clayton giving the title a ghostly atmosphere.Running at a trim 64 minutes,the screenplay by Fred Myton offers a charming mix of "mad scientist" and vampire bite.Openly mentioning Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,Myton does very well at setting up expectations for a Hyde tale,which are gradually twisted into a clear divide being made between Lloyd & Elwyn,with Lloyd being a man of reason,and Elwyn being a creature of the night.

Slobbering over the screen, Dwight Frye gives a cheerful performance as Zolarr,with Frye's bug eyes popping out as he tip toes in the shadows to do his masters bidding.Taking on two roles in this flick, George Zucco gives a wonderful performance as the Clayton's,thanks to Zucco giving Lloyd some shots of upper-crust charm,which are counted by the red-eye madness of Elwyn,as the dead men drop.

Keep Walking

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 18 April 2004]

****SPOILERS**** George Zucco, Dr. Llyod & Elwyn Clayton, does double duty here, probably because of the acute manpower shortage in Hollywood due to WWII, as twin brothers who represent good and evil in the movie "Dead Men Walk" as it sluggishly moves to a flaming and Armageddon-like ending. "Dead Men Walk" rips off "Dracula" and puts a different "spin" on it in a tedious and dull version of the famous Bran Stoker novel with George Zucco doing his best to make it all work but to no avail.

Dr. Llyod Clayton battling his evil brother Elwyn, who turned into a vampire after his death, who also tries to kill and turn into a vampire like himself Llyod's niece Gayle, Mary Carllsle. Elwyn does this by making night visits, once is not enough?, to Gayle's bedroom and sucking her blood, thats a new one, and thus making her a charter member of the living dead.

The movie also has Dwight Frye as Zolarr Elwyn's creepy servant in death as well as in life always messing thing up for his master. In the end of the movie during the Llyod/Elwyn fire fight Zolarr is pinned to the ground by a fallen pedestal and during the entire scene keeps saying over and over again, ad nausea, to the annoyance of the every one in the movie as well as the theater audience "Master, Master".

The story somewhat confuses you when Kate, Fran Emmett, who's the only one at first in town to know about Elwyn being a vampire and later one afternoon when she's in the cemetery finds where his body has been hidden, by his servant Zolarr. Kate opens up the cover of Elwyn's coffin where you see the sunlight hitting him and instead of him shriveling up and turning to dust nothing happens? This compared to when Elwyn and Llyod are fighting it out at night in the end of the movie in a burning house, Llyod is the one with the hat on, just the sound of a rooster crowing, thinking that it's dawn, was enough to do in the evil Elwyn even though it was pitch black outside? There's also the possibility that the rooster could have also had the wrong time.

George Zucco's acting in "Dead Men Walk" was far above the material that he had to work with but he could go so far in making his part, or parts, that he had come across effective and believable without looking silly at times.

Dwight Frye did his usual creepy act as the cracked assistant or servant to the heavy, Elwyn, in the movie like he did in previous movies like Frankenstein and Dracula. Mary Carllsle was asleep or in bed in almost all of her scenes in the movie due to her loss of blood with Elwyn obsession in trying to get her to join him in the world of the dead. Nedrick Young as Dr. David Bently, Mary's boyfriend, was like Zucco; much better then his role in the movie called for him to be.

"Dead Men Walk" did have some good atmospherics especially in the graveyard scenes but overall it was just flat and uninteresting and never really scared you at all a total waste for everyone involved; the cast as well as the theater audience.

Twice the Zucco doesn't equate a good film, in this case.

[Mike-764 · 4/10 · 31 August 2004]

Dr. Elwyn Clayton dies at the hands of his brother, Lloyd, in act of self defense, and Lloyd finds that the world is a better place without his brother, primarily the fact that Elwyn dabbled in black magic. A string of murders occurs in the village, that Dr. Clayton can find no explanation for, not knowing that Elwyn has become one of the unliving, thanks to the assistance of his aide Zolarr. Elwyn encounters his brother and tells Lloyd that he will make his life an uncomfortable one. He starts by turning Lloyd's niece, Gayle, into a vampire. When Gayle's fiance, David, debukes Lloyd's suspicions that his brother has some influence over his niece, David believes that Lloyd is the one responsible for Gayle's condition and asks the sheriff to arrest him before Gayle dies. This fact also riles the townspeople who are out to lynch Lloyd, feeling he is responsible for the murders. This one should have been better, and it wastes an excellent performance by Zucco in the dual role. Frye, in one of his last roles, is good, but you could see he wasn't at the same caliber 10 years ago. The two romantic leads, Young and Carlisle, really put you to sleep here (coincidence that Gayle is sleeping a lot?). Fern Emmett is good as the God fearing, but crazed Kate. Much of the movie does seem padded, and rarely gets the chance to get going, with an ending that didn't seem well thought out. Rating, 4.

Are They Mad?

[BaronBl00d · 7/10 · 26 November 2001]

This is a neat little picture. Period. Sure it has an incredibly low budget. Yep, it is dark and grainy. It sure does creak in some places too. But it has a couple of fine performances by George Zucco as twin brothers. One brother has killed his evil twin to rid the town of his malevolence. The dead brother returns, with the aid of a much older and very tired looking Dwight Frye, as a vampire out to avenge his death and destroy anything that matters to his brother. Zucco does fine in both roles. He makes probably the most urbane vampire in film. The budget really hurts as the vampire just fades out and in, but it also adds to the charm of this little studio film. Frye also does a decent job returning to a much more subdued Renfield-type role. The other actors are not that bad, and the story actually had me interested till the end. Fern Kemmett in particular gave a nice performance as a superstitious woman. Some shots in the film are very atmospheric. There is a great scene in a cemetery, and the finale was orchestrated quite well. The two Zuccos fight in flames as Dwight cries from under a very heavy marble altar. Great Stuff!

Two Zuccos for the price of one.... and STILL boring!

[Coventry · 2/10 · 29 December 2005]

Ultra low-budgeted 40's quickie that pitifully tries to cash in the successful Universal horror movies by telling a familiar vampire theme and casting washed-up actors like Dwight Frye, who totally reprises his Renfield-role from "Dracula". It's my own fault I'm slightly disappointed, because I expected a more entertaining movie simply because George Zucco is the main star…in a double role, even! This guy had an amazing horror-charisma, and I still respect him for his work in "The Mad Monster" and "The Black Raven", but even he can't save this dull mess of a film. Georgie-boy stars as the twin brothers Lloyd and Elwyn Clayton, eminent doctors in a little rural village. Lloyd recently killed Elwyn, for his own good however, because he was getting too involved with black magic and sorcery. But apparently Elwyn learned enough magic tricks to rise from his grave and bug his relatives. "Dead Men Walk" is very boring, with a lot of endless dialogues but almost no action. Zucco appears to be very restrained and not really comfortable in his double role. The end sequences are quite good, but it's far too late by then. Contemporary movies like "The Monster Maker" and – again – "The Mad Monster" proved that high budgets weren't an absolute necessity in order to make memorable horror gems, but this film fails on every possible level. Avoid!

Guess who says "I don't blame you for thinking that I'm a homicidal maniac..."?

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 20 November 2005]

Fairly typical PRC stuff, but imho any film with 2 Zucco's has to be worth a look in. And most of the time he does alright talking to thin air, with just a couple of dud repeat shots occasionally cheapening things (even more!)

It's an interesting low budget take on vampirism, with Good Dr. Zucco finding it very hard to believe that his dead identical twin Bad Count Zucco is actually undead and on the prowl for revenge against him. Even harder for him to swallow is the remedy which to him resembles hocus-pocus - apparently like he does to the hillbilly townsfolk. Didn't they have any streets in that town, they all seemed to spend a lot of time crashing through thick forest - which had presumably just used on another film? Dwight Frye was on target as usual, but looked very chunky and unwell, perhaps not surprising that he only had a year to live.

All in all very entertaining and surprisingly well acted and atmospheric nonsense.

Fangs for the Throat

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 10 July 2008]

Make that one "Dead Man" walking. It's George Zucco (as Dr. Elwyn Clayton), practitioner of the Black Arts, who has just been slain, by his abel (okay, able) look-alike brother George Zucco (as Dr. Lloyd Clayton). The film's first mistake is not showing the murder; instead, it is explained, by "bad" Zucco's companion Dwight Frye (as Zolarr). As the vampire, Zucco keeps it all in the family by repeatedly going for the neck of pretty blonde niece Mary Carlisle (Gayle Clayton), quite like they did on "Dark Shadows". Ms. Carlisle's boyfriend, Nedrick Young (Dr. David Bently), is, initially, nonplussed.

Story development is unoriginal; obviously, filmmakers expected everyone was familiar with the "Dracula" plot. This variation lets its possibilities slip away by leaving interesting new stones unturned. The graveyard scenes are atmospheric; possibly, they are enhanced by the low budget. The film's conclusion really fires things up; but, a lack of characterization and originality regarding the ending confrontation is a damper. The cast and crew perform well, under the circumstances.

**** Dead Men Walk (2/10/43) Sam Newfield ~ George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young, Dwight Frye

Decent entry, if not overtly spectacular

[slayrrr666 · 8/10 · 28 October 2008]

Dead Men Walk" is a solid, if unspectacular, vampire film.

**SPOILERS**

Following the death of his twin brother, Dr. Lloyd Clayton, (George Zucco) buries him amongst speculation that he was a raving madman by the townspeople. Caught snooping through his brother's affairs by his assistant Zolarr, (Dwight Frye) he is later seen in the cemetery resurrecting Dr. Elwyn Clayton, (George Zucco) who comes back as a murderous vampire. As a series of vicious murders begins plaguing the town, he discovers that his brother has indeed returned from the dead to stalk his daughter Gayle, (Mary Carlisle) and she is soon under his spell. Finding the source of his powers to be Black Magic, Lloyd and Gayle's beau, Dr. David Bently, (Nedrick Young) race to stop him before his plans of revenge are fulfilled.

The Good News: This here wasn't that bad. When it tried to be, there was plenty of atmospheric shots that were just fabulous. The early shot, where the coffin is being removed from the graveyard, with the fog slowly closing in and covering the figures, leaving only the outlines to waft through the scene, is inspired and quite striking. The film also has some really spine-tingling moments, where the vampire materializes out of nowhere and appears in front of people, often times appearing through the background like a shadow, and they are handled flawlessly and come off even today. For such a short film, there's also the traditional scenes and ideas from past vampire films, including the initially skeptical fiancée, the helpless local cop, the mad woman who knows the truth, the irate and skeptical villagers, the hunchback acolyte, and a rampant mob seeking to deal harshly with the good doctor under the belief that he is the killer. While clichéd, these offer a sense of familiarity that the rest of the film fails to offer. The climactic fire to reduce everything to victorious, but tragic, ashes is an effective action set-piece, being an effective end to send the film out on a high point. While derivative, this wasn't exactly torturous.

The Bad News: There really wasn't a whole lot to dislike in this one. Most of it comes the fact that the movie does not follow conventional vampire lore, as the brother becomes a vampire through the use of black magic rather than the more commonly associated means. While not bad, the fact that it does tamper with convention doesn't really give more of a vampire feel, making it seem more like a curse inflicted upon a normal person rather than a being that preys upon us. That also makes us fear the main vampire far less than in most cases, a serious detriment in such a short film. The only other main problem with the film is it's extreme predictability. The presence of so many vampire traditions and sequences means that it's just a matter of time before the next item on the checklist is marked off, giving this a really easy plot to follow through with the ending that can be seen coming from the opening minutes. While not a dangerous threat to the film, by making it so predictable is to really squeeze most of the fear and tension out of the film, leaving it to coast on the strength of it's set-pieces. That is not a good case for a film to do. But these are easily overlooked.

The Final Verdict: With a few flaws that can be easily overlooked for some, this is actually one of the more solid B-films from the time-period. It's not earth-shattering, but if given a chance, it can provide some entertainment value, so give it a shot. It's short time may hinder most of it's problems.

Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence

Creepy Vampire Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 14 March 2008]

During the funeral mass of Elwyn (George Zucco), the local Kate (Fern Emmett) accuses him of evilness. Later, his brother Dr. Lloyd Clayton (George Zucco) and tutor of his niece Gayle Clayton (Mary Carlisle) tells her and her fiancé Dr. David Bently (Nedrick Young) that his brother has become obsessed by mysticism and black magic since he traveled to India. During the night, Elwyn comes to Dr. Lloyd Clayton's house and accuses Dr. Clayton of pushing him in a cliff to die. Further, he tells Dr. Clayton that he will revenge, slowly killing Gayle and transforming her in a vampire. Dr. Clayton does not believe in what he has seen and heard, but when Gayle gets mysteriously sick and Dr. Clayton becomes the prime suspect of David and the locals, he finally accepts that his brother is a vampire and tries to find his coffin to destroy him.

"Dead Man Walk" is a creepy low-budget vampire movie visibly inspired in "Dracula", with a good story and acting. The cinematography of the DVD that I watched is a kind of blurred in the scenes in the cemetery, maybe because of a lighting problem in the shot, but the story is told in a dark atmosphere and I liked this underrated film. George Zucco has great performance in his double role. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Mortos Que Andam" ("Dead That Walk")

DEAD MEN WALK (Sam Newfield, 1943) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 11 October 2011]

This one has an odd title, since it is more appropriate for a zombie flick rather than a vampire picture. In any case, it reunites director Newfield with star George Zucco (I have another collaboration of theirs to go through during this "Halloween Challenge", THE FLYING SERPENT {1946}, apart from having just acquired one more i.e. the non-horror outing THE BLACK RAVEN {1943}).

Zucco plays dual roles here: an eminent small-town doctor and his disreputable twin (whose burial actually opens the film), with an avid interest in the occult extending to his having joined the ranks of the undead (complete with unhinged acolyte – who else but Dwight Frye? – to protect him when powerless i.e. during the day and generally do his evil bidding). By the way, this also features an intrepid old lady (eventually gotten out of the way by Frye, then on his last legs himself!) – an unlikely and annoying device adopted in a handful of vintage horrors. Typically, the good Zucco is charged with caring for the leading lady (invariably engaged to a young man – played by subsequently blacklisted actor-turned-Oscar-winning-writer Nedrick Young! – who admires him, though he has no qualms about threatening the old man for his helplessness when the girl is on the point of dying!). In fact, apart from one isolated attack early on, the vampire concentrates his blood-drinking activities upon her, intending to turn the girl into his disciple (bride?): however, since she calls his brother "Uncle" and no mention is made of another sibling, the heroine must also be the villain's own flesh and blood (how's that for perversion?)!

For the record, the aged and partially-disabled Zucco is not exactly cut out for fang-and-cloak work: if anything, he never quite bares the former and, with respect to the latter, sticks to his everyday clothes throughout – though he can still appear and vanish again at will! Amusingly, the film proper is preceded by a prologue featuring an "Inner Sanctum"-type host delivering a portentous speech, and where a book entitled "History Of Vampires" is actually thrown into the fire – intimating that what is to follow will be a novel spin on things but, then, what we get is just the usual stuff! While undeniably watchable (especially at a manageable 64-minute duration), DEAD MEN WALK's programmer pedigree ultimately makes it strictly forgettable fare.

Pointless and boring

[KillerCadugen · 28 April 2003]

Whenever I watch an old black and white horror movie, I always try to watch it in context of the time period. Some old movies seem kind of stupid 50 or 60 years later, but were actually pretty good at the time.

This is not one of them. Dead Men Walk is as pointless and boring a movie as I have ever seen. Besides the expected sub-par cinematography (couldn't anyone turn on a lamp, for god's sake?) and horrendous acting, the story itself was idiotic and the fact that 40 minutes of the 62-minute movie was devoted solely to keeping Elwyn the vampire away from his niece just makes it more idiotic.

I understand George Zucco had a reputation as a horror/mystery movie guy but he was the most un-frightening vampire I have ever come across in a movie. Dead Men Walk makes Return of the Vampire (1941) with Bela Lugosi seem like high art.

After watching Dead Men Walk, I had to watch Horror of Dracula with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing to remind myself that there are still come great vampire movies to see.

"From dawn to dusk, I lie helpless in the grave..."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 29 October 2014]

PRC cheapie about a small-town doctor whose devil-worshipping twin brother is killed, only to come back from the dead hellbent on revenge. George Zucco plays both parts and does a great job. He brings some much-needed class to an otherwise shoddy Poverty Row production. That isn't to say it's a bad movie. It all depends on your expectations, really. It's hard sometimes to judge these old cheapies, as most of the available prints today are in bad shape with a lot of audio hiss and poor picture quality. If you're a fan of George Zucco, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Dwight Frye has a small Renfieldesque part. He's enjoyable as always. This is also the final film of Mary Carlisle. It's a nice unassuming little vampire movie. Slow-going but watchable. Love the opening.

Rightfully forgotten but has its moments

[preppy-3 · 4/10 · 16 March 2007]

The print I saw of this was in terrible shape with sometimes inaudible sound so my synopsis may be a little off.

The evil Dr. Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco) is being laid to rest. His twin brother Dr. Lloyd Clayton (Zucco again) is a kind man. He oversees his brother's funeral and begins to burn papers of the work he was doing. Elwyn's assistant Zolarr (Dwight Frye playing a hunchback--again) tries to stop him to no avail. Then Elwyn (somehow) rises from the dead as a vampire. He goes after his niece Gayle (Mary Caslisle) who begins to slowly die of blood loss and the townspeople think Lloyd is responsible...

OK--the acting is pretty bad (except for Zucco and Frye) with a truly terrible performance by Fern Emmett (playing Kate); the dialogue is terrible; the direction is pedestrian and the sets show the VERY low budget this picture was made on. Still this isn't a total disaster.

The plot is (to say the least) pretty interesting and Zucco has a field day playing two brothers. As Elwyn he really chews the scenery in an enjoyable way. Also it's impossible to dismiss any movie that has Frye as a humpbacked assistant. There are also some eerie scenes involving Frye moving Clayton's coffin around in a graveyard. So this is pretty badly done (and the only prints available seem to be in terrible shape) but it has it's moments. Horror fans might want to take a look.

Dark thriller is a bit creaky but the perfect thing for a dark and stormy night

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 16 January 2006]

George Zucco plays two brothers, one good, one evil. One is dead and one is undead. Good brother George killed bad brother George because he was in league with the devil. The problem is that evil henchman Dwight Frye knows what happens and he resurrected the evil brother in the form of a vampire to take revenge.

I really like this movie. Sure the pacing can be slow but any film with George Zucco in it can't be all bad (actually it can but its usually fun bad). This is the creaky old creepy mystery thrillers that they don't make any more with graveyards full of mist, dark shadows and vampires with fake teeth. Its a great deal of fun.

Granted if you're not an old movie fan, and need your horror in color and rapidly paced this movie probably isn't for you, but if you're in the mood for a good old horror movie and you're done with the Universal classics you really should give this a try.

Sinister George Zucco has dual role in low-budget horror flick...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 5 October 2007]

Clearly a film to play the lower half of a double bill, DEAD MEN WALK is a low-budget entry in the horror genre defeated by its stilted dialog and contrived situations. It's painfully dull and on the level of an Ed Wood film with amateurish acting from everyone except Zucco.

Zucco plays a bad doctor who comes back as a vampire (with the assistance of DWIGHT FRYE) to take revenge on his good twin. As shown on TCM, the dialog is as murky as the photography and the print shown was badly in need of restoration.

As good Dr. Clayton, Zucco declares that the latest death in the village "was not the cause of any known poison." He is soon visited by his "indestructible" brother who threatens to destroy him. He fires bullets at his evil brother to no avail. The poorly scripted story gets sillier as it goes on.

Summing up: No better, but somewhat worse, than dozens of other low-budget horror flicks. This one, unfortunately, shows its "poverty row" origins too clearly. Too slow-paced for its own good despite its brief running time.

Book burning is always a bad idea...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 7 October 2012]

... and although that was probably not the intended lesson of this film, you've got to wonder why Dr. Lloyd Clayton would burn so much material belonging to his dead brother when he truly didn't understand the power that brother Elwyn had. With the "Dr." in front of his name you think he'd have more of an appreciation for the value of information. Brother Elwyn turns out to be a vampire in the untraditional sense. He dies and rises from the grave a vampire without having been made one by another vampire, and the recipe for this transformation is never made clear. Not to worry, though, because Elwyn has veteran vampire lackey Dwight Frye to serve him faithfully, here as the rather excitable Zolarr.

Also unlike other vampires, Elwyn just doesn't bite you and be done with it, he enjoys talking you to death - at least in the case of his brother Lloyd. Instead, at mealtime, Elwyn begins to slowly drain the blood and thus life from Dr. Clayton's ward, Gayle. Soon there are rumors among the townspeople that Dr. Lloyd Clayton is slowly poisoning Gayle so that he can usurp her inheritance. So if Elwyn is successful not only will Lloyd probably be hit with a murder charge, but ward Gayle will become one of the undead too. However can this mess be fixed with all of the answers to Lloyd's questions now in ashes? Watch and find out.

This is one of my favorite public domain horror films. The main problem with the film is that the elements survive in a rather washed out state being a bit hard on the eyes and the ears. However, if you can get past that and the low budget, the acting in this one is pretty good and the script is a good one with a bit of a twist on your traditional vampire tale. I recommend it.

Poverty Row silliness

[InjunNose · 3/10 · 25 November 2016]

"Dead Men Walk" would not qualify as a great film in any universe, but with a bigger budget it might have been worth seeing more than once. George Zucco plays twin brothers, one a straight arrow and the other a black sheep who tinkers with the occult; the straight arrow kills his evil twin, who is resurrected as a vampire with the help of his bug-eyed servant (Dwight Frye). Predictable horror shenanigans ensue. If you've seen the dour, dignified Zucco in any of his more lavishly-budgeted pictures, like "Dr. Renault's Secret" or "The Mad Ghoul", then you know that he was perfectly capable of carrying a film...but "Dead Men Walk" refuses to be carried. It's shabby-looking, packed with the kind of tight shots favored by Poverty Row studios and which made their films look as if they'd been lensed in a single corner of someone's tiny house. The dialogue is conspicuously purple, even for a horror flick, and occasionally almost schizophrenic: in one breath a character solemnly reflects on "vampires lying in unholy repose, their teeth stained with the blood of the living", but drawls, "Shucks! I'm scared as the dickens!" in the next. (I'm not quoting directly from the film, but I'm not far off, either.) The acting is competent but utterly lacks conviction; even Dwight Frye is phoning it in. These folks were making a stinker and they knew it.

He walks with me. And He talks to me.

[Bernie4444 · 8/10 · 2 November 2023]

This is the tale of two brothers, Dr. Lloyd Clayton, and Dr. Elwyn Clayton (George Zucco). The two brothers hated each other for many years which culminated in a small tussle on a Cliff. Elwyn went over by accident, yeah sure. But unimagined by brother Lloyd, Elwyn was in cahoots with dark forces. His tombstone should have read "I'll be back".

Yep, Elwyn returns and must have watched every vampire movie as a kid since he must now be to all the standard vampire rules. With the assistance of his hunchbacked sidekick Zolarr (Dwight Frye), he will now get his revenge by depriving his brother of everything. The best place to start is sucking on the niece Gayle Clayton (Mary Carlisle).

Meanwhile, the village mob running in with torches and ropes has decided Dr. Lloyd Clayton is having his way with them and bumping off old ladies on the side.

This was a surprisingly good film as we all know that George Zucco can look maniacal. Who suspected that he could play the sucker?

A little slow, but great if you are a fan of the genre

[TinTin_57 · 7/10 · 27 June 2005]

I am a big fan of movies made in the 30's and 40's and as such I didn't find this film too bad.

This film cash's in on a very popular theme of the time, Zucco plays both the Vampire (Elwyn) and the likable Doctor (his brother). The contrast between Zucco's portrayal of the two characters is pretty good and is not really worthy of the bad acting classification given by the previous commentary.

Granted, it's slow and we have seen the plot a thousand times but if you are a fan you won't be too judgemental. You could see a lot worse. Give it a try.

not 100% wretched

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 16 January 2006]

This must be a rotten film if I label it "not 100% wretched". That's because although most of the plot is very familiar and the acting is lousy (apart from the competent Zucco), there are one or two reasonably decent moments AND the movie is, thankfully, only 60 minutes long. Oh, and it could be worse--the Bowery Boys COULD have been in it. Otherwise, this is a very forgettable poverty row picture; i.e., a film made by an ultra-cheap minor film studio and intended only as a B-feature. I only watched it because every so often I watch stupid old films in the hope that they will be so bad that they are funny (such as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE). Unfortunately, this film isn't THAT bad, so my advice is only watch it if you have absolutely NOTHING else you could possibly do!

Incidentally, this film has sometimes been labeled a "horror film". This is a slight mistake--the label should read "horrible film".