German people in a German village in Germany (or Austria maybe) are turning up dead in their beds, with two puncture marks on their neck. The local big wigs are beginning to think that a vampire is stalking the town, but the local policeman thinks that's a load of superstitious crap. His case is not help by all the actual vampire bats in the area, and someone spotting a guy clambering about the roofs. Suspicion falls upon village idiot Hermann, who wanders about town at night, fondles bats, and generally doesn't do himself any favours.
Thrown into the mix are the local doctor and his servant Emil, who start off by dismissing the vampire theory and then believing it, plus his lovely assistant (who's girlfriend with the cop) and her Aunt, who is a hypochondriac to say the least. The cop's main problem, besides the murders, is that the locals are gearing up to lynching Hermann, so he better move fast.
It takes a while to get going, this one, but picks up roughly around the halfway mark. It's easy to spot who's really doing the murders, but that doesn't detract from enjoying the film. There's plenty of humour in here too, from the Aunt to Hermann himself, and mostly everything is wrapped up neatly at the end, although unless I missed it the presence of the bats isn't explained. As with most of these old films, this one is quite short and you shouldn't begrudge it too much, even if you don't like it.
Thrown into the mix are the local doctor and his servant Emil, who start off by dismissing the vampire theory and then believing it, plus his lovely assistant (who's girlfriend with the cop) and her Aunt, who is a hypochondriac to say the least. The cop's main problem, besides the murders, is that the locals are gearing up to lynching Hermann, so he better move fast.
It takes a while to get going, this one, but picks up roughly around the halfway mark. It's easy to spot who's really doing the murders, but that doesn't detract from enjoying the film. There's plenty of humour in here too, from the Aunt to Hermann himself, and mostly everything is wrapped up neatly at the end, although unless I missed it the presence of the bats isn't explained. As with most of these old films, this one is quite short and you shouldn't begrudge it too much, even if you don't like it.