Curse Of The Undead

AKA's:

Affairs Of A Vampire / Dans Les Griffes Du Vampire / Maldicion Del Zombie, La / Maldicion Diabolica / Mark Of The Beast / Mark Of The West / Tueur Invincible / Uomo Senza Corpo, L'

Release date:	1959 USA
Running time:	79' (Cover 79') - Source: VHS NTSC b/w
Rating:	US: NR
Main Crew:	Director: Edward Dein (The Leech Woman 1960; Seven Guns To Mesa 1957) Producer: Universal Pictures Score: Irving Gertz Writer: Mildred & Edward Dein Director of photography: Ellis W. Carter
Cast:	Use the dropdown menu to see the full cast Eric Fleming / Preacher Dan Young Michael Pate / Drake Robey Kathleen Crowley / Dolores Carter John Hoyt / Dr. John Carter Bruce Gordon / Buffer Edward Binns / Sheriff Bill Jimmy Murphy / Tim Carter Helen Kleeb / Dora Jay Adler / Bartender Alan Reynolds / Frank Amzie Strickland / Frank's Wife Edwin Parker / Buffer's Henchman John Truax / Buffer's Henchman Frankie Van / Buffer's Henchman Rush Williams / Buffer's Henchman Margaret Bert / Dan's Housekeeper Edward Colmans / Don Miguel Robles Henry Delgado / Roberto Robles Jeanna Cross / Isabella Charles Keane / Charlie, Ranch Hand Nancy Kilgas / Cora Forrest Stanley / Dan's Caretaker Don Sullivan / Man
Summary:	Dracula goes West as a gunfighter (Michael Pate) and terrorizes a small Western town. After many innocent townsfolk are mysteriously killed, a brave preacher (Eric Fleming) goes on a mission to destroy the gunslinging vampire. When the gunfighter sets his fangs on a woman rancher (Kathleen Crowley), the preacher hunts down the vampire with a bullet engraved with a cross to finally destroy him.
Note:	- This film is cinema's first in a rare sub-genre: the vampire Western. Later examples are "Billy The Kid Vs. Dracula" (1965) and "Sundown - The Vampire In Retreat" (1989). - The original title was "Eat Me Gently", but Universal ordered it to be changed into "Curse Of The Undead". - The synopsis written on the box of the 1996 MCA Universal Home Video release refers to the vampire as Dracula, but Bram Stoker's creation is never mentioned in the film. - Instead of being bitten by a vampire, Drake Robey committed suicide and this mortal sin caused his soul to return as an undead, who can, and does operate in broad daylight (although he's not comfortable in it, which he tries to pass off as an eye condition), drink whiskey, smoke cigars and sleep in a coffin around the same time of night as the rest of us. Furthermore, he does not turn into anything (like a bat, wolf, or fog), nor does he have the traditional level of hypnotic control over his victims. The only clear special power ascribed to him is that he can survive ordinary gunshots, with the result that he can draw second in a gunfight and still be the last man standing. - A first in the vampire genre, Drake Robey is a reluctant bloodsucker, who never wanted to be a vampire, but must drink blood in order to survive (Robey asks of the preacher "You should pity me, I didn't ask to be like this!").
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