Condemned to Live

1935 "What was this creature that DEATH could not claim?"
4.8| 1h7m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 15 September 1935 Released
Producted By: Invincible Pictures Corp.
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

After a series of murders, a man finds out that his mother was bitten by a vampire bat during her pregnancy, and he believes that he may be the vampire committing the murders.

Genre

Horror, Thriller

Watch Online

Condemned to Live (1935) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Frank R. Strayer

Production Companies

Invincible Pictures Corp.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial
Watch Now
Condemned to Live Videos and Images

Condemned to Live Audience Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
JohnHowardReid Ralph Morgan (Professor Kristan), Maxine Doyle (Marguerite Mane), Pedro de Cordoba (Dr Bizet), Russell Gleason (David), Mischa Auer (Zan), Lucy Beaumont (Mother Molly), Carl Stockdale (John Mane), Heida Shope (Anna), Marilyn Knowlden (Maria), Paul Weigel (doctor), Edward Cecil (Manservant), Ted Billings (bell ringer), Charles Slim Whitaker, Harold Goodwin, Dick Curtis, Frank Brownlee, Horace B. Carpenter (villagers), Jean Handel (old crone). PROLOGUE: Barbara Bedford (woman), Ferdinand Schumann-Heinck (man), Robert Frazer (doctor). Director: FRANK R. STRAYER. Original screenplay: Karen DeWolf. Photography: M.A. Anderson. Film editor: Richard D. Reed. Art director: Edward C. Jewell. Music director: Abe Meyer. Title music composed by David Broekman. Production manager: Lon Young. Assistant director: Melville Shyer. Sound recording: Richard Tyler. Producer: Maury M. Cohen. Filmed on standing sets at Universal Studios. Copyright 5 September 1935 by Invincible Pictures Corporation. U.S. release through Chesterfield: 15 September 1935. No recorded New York opening. 7 reels. 67 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A small European village is terrorized by a monster bat. COMMENT: Despite its second-string cast (only Maxine Doyle as the pretty heroine and Mischa Auer as the devoted hunchback make any sort of impression), this little "B" emerges as a fairly effective horror yarn, thanks to Strayer's suspenseful direction and Anderson's atmospheric lighting. The sets are also highly effective, and I must commend the director's decision not to use wolfish make-up for the monster but to let the actor concerned register his transformation simply by changing his facial expression from bland to menacing.
utgard14 A pregnant woman is bitten by a vampire bat. Years later, a village is terrorized by a series of murders and the woman's baby, now grown and a respected professor, believes he might be the killer. Is he a vampire? Probably not or else this might be more well-known.Well this is interesting. A neat little (sort of) vampire movie I'd never heard of nestled away in 1935, the same year as Mark of the Vampire. Ralph Morgan stars as the professor. There's also a hunchback played by Mischa Auer. Shot on Universal sets, which helps a lot. Romantic subplot about a young woman (Maxine Doyle) in love with a guy while being engaged to Morgan's character, thirty years her senior, is a negative. Doyle was not a good actress. At least there was no annoying comic relief. The movie never quite lives up to the strong opening but it's perfectly watchable and even atmospheric in some scenes. Slow-going but worth a look for classic horror fans who think they've seen everything.
snicewanger Condemned to Live story concerns a physician in a small village in Europe who is born a vampire because his mother was bitten by a vampire when she was pregnant with him. So his vampirism is an affliction rather than a curse.The doctor blacks out when he is overcome by his disease which occurs when night falls and when he awakens he has no memory of his actions. A Trusted college arrives and helps him finally realizes that he must be the vampire that is murdering the villagers for their blood.Invincible Pictures was a poverty row studio but they did produce some watchable movies. Condemned to Live was one such movie. Eventually Invincible was absorbed by Republic Pictures.Ralph Morgan was a notable character actor who became overshadowed by his more famous younger brother Frank. Ralph had roles in some big movies and quite a few "B" pics.He was often cast as weak or timid men. He really didn't project a strong enough personality to be an effective lead.The acting is uneven. Maxine Doyle portrays the doctors much younger fiancé and her performance is flat and lifeless. Mischa Auer plays the doctor's hunchbacked servant who is loyal to a fault. Auer adds a little fire to the proceedings. The rest of the cast is professional enough.Condemned to Live is an interesting take on the vampire legend but there are just too many plot holes and weak performances to make it a really good movie. The ending is kind of a downer as well. Still as I said it was a watchable film for horror buffs.
clore-2 Ralph Morgan, the star of this film, is the brother of Frank Morgan, who played the Wizard of Oz. I just don't want anyone to be misled by the other reviewer's comment. Not that it has anything to do with this film, which is a most interesting film from a Poverty Row outfit. Partially shot on Universal sets from "Bride Of Frankenstein," the film has a most curious appeal. As with most sympathetic "monsters" the Morgan character is doomed - his mother was bitten by a vampire, and his engagement to a much younger woman has evoked his vampiric tendencies, which are more akin to lycantropy than vampirism. The equation is lustful desires bring out the beast, and in this rather subtle (it was made in 1936) implication, the script takes a few ideas from Bran Stoker and Guy Endore. Mischa Auer is also commendable in his role as a hunchback, loyal to Morgan, and who has been keeping Morgan from discovering the truth about himself.