The Vampire

The Vampire is a 1957 American horror film produced by Arthur Gardner and Jules V. Levy, directed by Paul Landres, and starring John Beal and Colleen Gray. Its plot follows a San Francisco physician who inadvertently ingests pills laced with the blood of vampire bats, leading him to take on vampiric qualities. Like 1956's The Werewolf, it offered a science fiction take on a traditionally supernatural creature, although the films were produced by different production companies. The film was released theatrically in San Francisco as the bottom half of a double feature with The Monster That Challenged the World. When released to television, the film was given the alternative title Mark of the Vampire, though it is unrelated to the 1935 film of the same name starring Bela Lugosi. Plot In San Francisco, the late Dr. Campbell had begun experimenting with vampire bat blood just before his death. Colleague Paul Beecher finds a bottle of pills among Dr. Campbell's effects and takes them home. Dr. Beecher's daughter, Betsy, accidentally substitutes the vampire blood pills for her father's migraine tablets. As a result, the kindly Dr. Beecher starts having blackouts from the pills. During a consultation with patient Marion Wilkins, who suffers from congenital heart problems, Paul feels unwell and asks her to return the next day. The following morning, he receives a phone call notifying him that Marion has gotten progressively ill. When he goes to visit her, he finds her terrified by his presence, and she dies suddenly. On her neck, Paul finds two puncture wounds.