Béla Lugosi in Mark of the Vampire (also known as Vampires of Prague) is a 1935 MGM horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan (mother of Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery) , Béla Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt and directed by Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks). It is a sound remake of Browning's 1927 silent London After Midnight. Mark of the Vampire was originally 80 minutes, but was cut back to 60 minutes by MGM. Supposedly due to incestuous overtones - then completely unacceptable by the standards of the (by now heavily enforced) Hays Code - between Count Mora (played by Lugosi) and his daughter Luna (Carroll Borland). In horror circles a lot of fans don't like the ending of this movie. They feel it's a cheat. A bit of a Scooby-Doo or even a Mission: Impossible ending. Personally, I love this film, despite the fact that in 1935 the people of Prague more than likely had bigger worries (i.e. Nazi's on the march!) than solving a year old murder through subterfuge. Brush and ink on Bristol board.
