Curse Of The Undead (1959)

Set in the Old West, young girls are dying of a mysterious disease in a small town. Is it only coincidence that the appearance of a black clad gunfighter (Michael Pate) coincides with these deaths? Co-written and directed by Edward Dein (THE LEECH WOMAN), this unusual combination of horror movie and a western is enough to hold one's interest through much of its running time. Handsomely shot in atmospheric B&W by Ellis W. Carter (THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN), I found the film's vampire gunfighter a rather sympathetic figure and more engaging than his nemesis, the town's sanctimonious preacher (Eric Fleming). The tone of the film is somber and the actors play it straight so it never veers toward "camp" although reputedly it was originally going to be a satire. Still, it never lives up to its potential and remains a "what might have been" endeavor. The cheesy underscore by Irving Gertz does the film no service. With Kathleen Crowley, Edward Binns, Helen Kleeb and Bruce Gordon.