Product Details

• Actors: Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin, Elizabeth Russell, Minerva Urecal
• Directors: Wallace Fox
• Writers: Gerald Schnitzer, Harvey Gates, Sam Robins
• Producers: Barney A. Sarecky, Jack Dietz, Sam Katzman
• Format: Black & White, EP, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Madacy Records
• VHS Release Date: September 19, 1997
• Run Time: 64 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303935486
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,923 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "I find a coffin much more comfortable than a bed", March 8, 2003

By 

tokyodoll (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Corpse Vanishes (DVD)

This fun horror classic stars the great Bela Lugosi in one of his best roles! Don't expect the plot to make much sense since nothing is ever really explained. Bela plays a creepy doctor who raises orchids and gives them to virgin girls who are about to be married. When the brides smell them, they go into a comatose state and seem to be dead to everyone. Bela and his henchmen (which includes a dwarf played by Angelo Rossitti from the classic film "Freaks") then steal the bodies by posing as morgue workers with a hearse. Once Bela has the brides at his laboratory he removes some of their 'fluids', which he uses to keep his sick aging wife youthful looking (his wife is played by the great 40s scream queen Elizabeth Russell). Soon a spunky female 'Louis Lane' type reporter played by Luana Walters is on to Bela, and when she tries to investigate (with the help of a hapless doctor), she discovers that Bela and his wife like to sleep in coffins and other odd things. When she confronts Bela about the coffin beds, he calmly replies in one of his most memorable lines ever: "I find a coffin much more comfortable than a bed". Classic 1940s b-movie fun. See it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Bela Lugosi doing what he does best, December 8, 2002

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Corpse Vanishes [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The only thing worse than being left standing at the altar is having your bride fall over dead in the middle of the service. As The Corpse Vanishes opens, that is exactly what is happening; even worse, the bride's corpses keep getting stolen. The cops are baffled, but hard-nosed female reporter Pat Hunter is determined to solve the mystery and make a name for herself in journalism. She follows her leads to the home of Dr. Lorenz (Lugosi) and winds up having the most terrifying night of her life. Lorenz has a peculiar staff-a rather annoying older servant and her two sons, one a midget and the other a seemingly mute and obviously dim-witted stooped-over fellow. Most strange of all, though, is Lorenz's ill-tempered wife. Of course, the Countess has reason to complain because she is constantly fighting old age and death. Lorenz has come up with a way to maintain his wife's youth and beauty; the only catch is that it requires the regular extraction of a certain amount of the essence of life from young girls. Why blushing brides are the specimens of choice is never really made clear. In any event, Pat struggles to find a way to trap the good doctor and convince her boss that she is telling the truth about the things she has discovered.

Interestingly, there are some definite similarities between this 1942 film and 1931's Dracula: Lugosi plays an evil man who must steal the life essence from beautiful young women in order to hold mortality at bay; Lorenz secretly enters the rooms of his guests during the night and stares down at them with the look Lugosi is famous for; Lorenz and his wife sleep in coffins; and the dim-witted, eternally slump-backed assistant (called Angel of all things) can be compared with Dracula's Renfield. The plot is rather weak in spots, but I love the nostalgic campiness of it (and, apparently, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang did too). I would rank this movie among the better horror movies of that golden era of cinematic fright. Lugosi fans will surely want to have The Corpse Vanishes in their video libraries as it features one of his best performances.

Please note that this review if for The Corpse Vanishes only, even though you may see it linked to a double feature release featuring a second Lugosi movie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Monogram Madness, May 28, 2010

By 

Scott T. Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Corpse Vanishes,The (UK PAL Region 0) (DVD)

Bela Lugosi gave his all in every film he made. "The Corpse Vanishes," a 1942 Monogram quickie produced by Sam Katzman, is no exception. In this 64-minute gem, the horror icon plays Dr. Lorenz, a scientist who kidnaps young brides for the purpose of providing body fluids to restore the beauty of his 80-year-old wife. Bela is in his element - whether sleeping next to his wife in matching coffins or searching for new brides with his tiny assistant (Angelo Rossitto of "Freaks" fame). Elizabeth Russell stands out among the supporting players as the aging countess. Though the Lugosi Monograms are hardly classics, they remain a schlock lover's delight.