original production:

LA SANGRE DE
NOSTRADAMUS

Cast: Germán Robles (Nostradamus), Domingo Soler (Professor Durán/Dolan), Julio Alemán (Antonio/Tony), Aurora Alvarado (Anita/Anna), Manuel Vergara "Manver/Mamber" (Leo), Carlos Ancira (Police Chief Andrés Rojas), Gayo Dante (?), Rosario Durcal (Olga María/Olga Martin), Luis Aragón (don Tomás Villaseñor/Carlos Becerra), Eric del Castillo (González), Guillermo Rivas (Lt. Mendiolea), José Eduardo Pérez (Fulton), Manuel Dondé (commission member), Patricia de Morelos (wife of Ambrosio), José Chávez Trowe (mob leader), Mario Sevilla (police agent), Jesús Gómez (police agent), Manuel Alvarado (man with top hat in bar), Federico Curiel (man with derby in bar), René Barrera (man in mob), Cora del Rey, Carlos Becerril, Aljandra Meyer (as "Alejandra Meyer"), Celia Manzano, Mario García "Harapos" (as "Harapos Guillermo Rivas")

GUEST SYNOPSIS:
by David Wilt
Evil genius (and vampire, although this is somewhat irrelevant to the plot) Nostradamus reappears at the film's outset, mocking Prof. Durán, who had thought that the villain had been destroyed at the end of the previous picture. In order to show his contempt for the scientist, Nostradamus announces that he will kill police Inspector Andrés Rojas on a certain day, publishing a death notice in advance! Durán and his assistant Antonio warn Rojas, who surrounds himself with police agents (armed with pistols containing platinum bullets). As day breaks, Rojas is still alive; they think that Nostradamus has been bested, but the vampire uses the darkness that comes with an eclipse to take over Rojas' mind. Rojas mistakenly believes that his assistant González is trying to betray him, and González has to shoot and kill his supervisor to save his own life. One point for Nostradamus.

Nostradamus' second announced victim is singer Olga María. Nostradamus romances Olga; she manages to avoid his clutches for a time, but eventually falls victim to the vampire's plan. Another point for Nostradamus.

Nostradamus pays another visit to Durán, and says that his next victim will be the next person who comes into Durán's office: it is Tomás Villaseñor. Villaseñor escapes Nostradamus by taking refuge in a monastery. Durán and Antonio capture Leo, Nostradamus's hunchbacked assistant, and lock him up in the monastery until they can make him talk. But this backfires, as Leo escapes and kills Villaseñor, before being shot to death by Antonio (Leo dies clutching his pet rat).

Nostradamus is outraged by the death of his faithful henchman, and starts a campaign of innuendo against Durán, culminating in TWO mobs which storm Durán's lab and wreck it, just as the scientist is perfecting a device which paralyzes Nostradamus with pain and pinpoints the location of his hideout. The mob is about to burn Durán at the stake when Nostradamus arrives to view his handiwork and is shot by Antonio, then staked through the heart by Durán.

GUEST REVIEW:
by David Wilt
The last of 4 "Nostradamus" features, La sangre de Nostradamus has both good and bad points, but on the whole the film (and in fact the entire series) is surprisingly entertaining and well-made.

Considering the fact that Federico Curiel was an actor who had just turned to directing (with the advent of the América studios and the STIC "features"), the picture shows considerable style: the camera angles are well-chosen, there is more camera movement than one might expect, and overall the set-ups and technical execution are a cut above the usual bland, turn-on-the-camera-and-let-it-run methods of some low-budget films of the period.

The effects work is adequate (Nostradamus appears both as a cartoon bat and as a rubber bat on strings, but even the latter is somewhat better than usual) and the sets and locations are unusually luxurious and spacious for an early América picture.

The acting (even seen in the dubbed U.S. version) is generally good, although some of the minor players apparently tried to draw attention to themselves by overacting in their brief screen time.

On the negative side, the episodic nature of the plot means that the film is not paced particularly smoothly. On the whole, much better than its reputation in English-language reference works.

SYNOPSIS:
Professor Dolan, the noted scientist and chairman of the Commission Against Superstition, works at his sophisticated scientific laboratory. He continues to valiantly attempt to rid the world of ignorance and superstition.

As Dolan works, a disembodied voice speaks to him. It is his arch enemy, the evil vampire Nostradamus!

Dolan is mortified. He believed he had burned Nostradamus, and scattered his ashes previously. But as his very alive nemesis informs him now, Dolan did throw ashes, but Nostradamus had substituted his supposed ashes for those of his latest victim!

The next morning, Dolan receives a letter from Nostradamus, targeting his next victim. The letter is in the form of a wake announcement, for Dolan's good friend, chief of police Andreas Rojas!

When Dolan shows police chief Rojas the fake death announcement, Rojas finds the grim joke quite amusing at first. But as Dolan explains the real menace of Nostradamus, Rojas becomes visibly disturbed.

Meanwhile, Nostradamus asks his assistant, the loyal hunchback Leo, if he has sent out all the invitations to Rojas' prophetic funeral. Leo has.

Nostradamus vows to continue his campaign of death and terror against humanity until Professor Dolan believes in the superiority of evil!

Rojas tells Dolan that it is truly ironic that in this modern age, a mythical creature such as a vampire could be a threat. Dolan convinces Rojas that the threat is very real, but if he protects himself with platinum bullets, he will be safe.

Back at Dolan's house, his assistant Anthony, and his lovely daughter Anna, are poring over Dolan's huge library, trying to uncover the secrets behind Nostradamus' power. The shadow of Nostradamus hovers over them as they study.

Anthony gets drowsy as Anna continues to read. Nostradamus appears before Anna, but Anthony has fallen asleep.

Nostradamus puts Anna to sleep also, and vanishes. Dolan enters the room, and finds the two just waking up. Anna tells her father that she had a strange dream. Dolan thinks they may have been hypnotized by Nostradamus.

At police headquarters, chief Rojas talks with his men, and insists they stay with him all through the night on which Nostradamus has threatened to kill him. In addition, they are to load their pistols with platinum bullets.

Rojas and his assistant, Robertson, argue over the possible hiring of Charlie Post, a professional hit man who holds a grudge against Rojas, as extra protection.

Robertson insists that Post poses no threat to the chief, and Rojas decides to hire the thug, as he needs all the help he can get.

Later that night, Rojas sits nervously at his desk, surrounded by his men. He is jumpy.

Meanwhile, Dolan receives a large electromagnetic cell in the mail. He is elated; this new piece of machinery will aid him greatly in his research.

Back at police headquarters, Inspector Robertson arrives with Charlie Post. Post and Rojas exchange subdued greetings.

Dolan tries out the new electric cell, explaining its properties to his daughter and assistant.

It becomes very hot. Rojas can't stand the heat, and asks Post to open a few windows. Post thinks it's a bad idea.

Meanwhile, Nostradamus plays the violin in his catacombs, and tells Leo how wonderful tonight will be. Nostradamus waltzes through his domain, playing his instrument, as Leo looks on, enraptured.

As Nostradamus plays, the shadows of demons dance on the walls, and Leo plays with his beloved pet: a white mouse.

Rojas thinks he sees a shadow, and orders his men to fire. They see nothing,so they refuse. Rojas is furious at this insubordination, and insists that the men obey his orders. He throws down a coin and orders Post to fire at it.

Dolan and his assistants prepare to try the new electromagnetic coil.

Nostradamus turns into a bat, and tries to fly out of his dungeon, but at that moment, Dolan's apparatus is ignited, and Nostradamus flies right into the wall, his powers scrambled by Dolan's strong electro-magnetic rays.

Nostradamus runs around his catacombs, screaming in pain.

Suddenly, Dolan's ray-machine conks out. Nostradamus quickly regains his equilibrium, and goes to rejuvenate himself near the ashes of his father.

Dolan, Anthony and Anna realize that there is at least an hour to go before their friend Rojas is out of danger.

Meanwhile, Rojas is beside himself. The night is almost over, and nothing dire has happened. He and his men share drinks.

Dolan and Anthony visit police headquarters, and congratulate Rojas on his victory over death.

Later, Dolan and Anthony are walking home, and read a newspaper which reveals something horrible. They run to tell Rojas.

Rojas and his men are now quite drunk.

Suddenly, the room becomes pitch dark. What no-one had counted on was a solar eclipse!

As Rojas stares out of the window in fear, Nostradamus appears behind him, and whispers in his ear: his enemy, Charlie Post, plans to kill him, so he must kill Post first!

Rojas, drunk and mad with fear, turns and looks at Post, and goes crazy. He pulls a gun and starts shooting at the poor man.

Post fires back at Rojas in self defense, and kills Rojas, just as Nostradamus had predicted!

Dolan and Anthony arrive too late, and find their fallen friend Rojas apologizing to Post with his last dying breath.

Later, Dolan experiments with the effect of strong electrical waves on a cage full of vampire bats. Dolan soon tires, and closes up the lab for the night.

The next evening, Dolan and Anthony visit a local tavern, "The Golden Rooster", and approach a young lady, Olga Martin, who is a singer there.

Olga is drunk, but Dolan tries to convince her that she has been targeted to be the next victim of a vampire! Olga laughs hysterically; she thinks the notion is very funny.

Dolan and Anthony attempt to offer their protection, but Olga is skeptical; she has heard it all before, and in fact thinks the men are coming on to her!

Olga excuses herself, and returns to her dressing room. Nostradamus waits for her there, but Olga doesn't bat an eye; she receives many gentlemen callers.

Olga changes her clothes while Nostradamus waits impatiently. Olga relates to him the crazy story spun by Dolan and Anthony.

Nostradamus is shocked to hear that his mortal enemy is so near, but keeps his cool.

Olga finishes dressing. Nostradamus prepares to take her out to dinner, but a stage hand tells Olga that her good friend Emily has taken ill.

Olga asks Nostradamus to forgive her and postpone their date. He does so, reluctantly.

When Dolan and Anthony return home, Anna is mad at Anthony for patronizing a sleazy bar, but he explains to her that a singer there is to be Nostradamus' next victim, and they simply had to warn her.

The three agree to visit Olga again together that evening, after her last set. The trio then repair to the laboratory.

Back at the catacombs, Leo plays with his pet mouse. Nostradamus rises out of his coffin, and tells Leo he is going out.

Later that night, Dolan, Anna and Anthony wait at the Golden Rooster for Olga to finish her act.

Olga finishes her act, and retires to her dressing room. Nostradamus walks in.

Olga is startled to see him again so soon, but flirts with him nervously. Olga is soon horrified to discover that she cannot see his reflection in her make-up mirror!

Nostradamus tries to get a commitment from Olga for a date, but she is now scared.

Olga calls for Jackie, a stagehand, and tells him to summon Dolan immediately at his home; she is unaware that he waits nearby.

Olga returns to the stage for an encore, hoping to stall for time.

Jackie goes to Dolan's house; and gives the note to Anna. Meanwhile, Dolan and Anthony wait for Olga in a carriage outside the tavern, but Olga does not come out.

Jackie goes into Olga's dressing room, and finds Nostradamus there. Jackie asks Nostradamus to tell Olga that Dolan will be arriving shortly.

Nostradamus is shocked to hear this disturbing news, but remains calm. He continues to wait for Olga with increasing frustration.

Olga continues to sing, hoping to postpone the inevitable indefinitely.

Nostradamus loses his patience, and comes onstage to tell Olga that she must finish her singing and go with him. Olga hesitates, but cannot fend him off forever.

Dolan and Anthony are still waiting outside in the carriage, unaware of the events which have transpired.

As Olga changes again, she asks Nostradamus if anyone has delivered a message for her recently. Nostradamus lies, and tells her no.

Olga insists on seeing her sick friend Emily again. Nostradamus agrees with this only if he can escort her.

On her way to see Emily, Olga tries to escape from Nostradamus' clutches by running down the street, but Nostradamus follows her as a bat, and bites her neck. Anna, who has come to town to find Dolan and Anthony, watches this horrible murder from the shadows.

Anthony, meanwhile, has gone to Olga's room, and is told that she just left, accompanied by a strange man.

Anthony runs down the street, and sees Nostradamus, but he turns into a bat again and flies away.

Anthony sees Olga's dead body. Anna approaches also, but faints. Anthony picks up Anna, and carries her home, leaving poor Olga's body lying in the street.

Nostradamus returns to the scene of the crime as a bat, and hovers over his latest victim.

Dolan returns home, and Nostradamus appears before him. Dolan tells Nostradamus how vile he is, but the villain is only flattered.

Nostradamus becomes angered at Dolan's stubbornness, and vows to kill the next person who enters the room. Dolan tries to warn his family, but Nostradamus freezes him with hypnotism.

Dolan is shocked to find that he cannot move, for he hears his beloved daughter Anna approaching. But Thomas Wilkinson, Dolan's colleague from the Commission Against Superstition, enters the room first.

Dolan is released from Nostradamus' power. Anna excuses herself. Thomas and Dolan talk about Thomas' wife, who is ill.

Dolan begins to tell Thomas about Nostradamus' latest threat, and Thomas thinks it would be a good opportunity to set a trap.

But when Dolan tells Thomas that the next victim is to be him, Thomas is horrified, and runs out of the room in a panic. Dolan tries to calm him, but it is of no use.

Later, Dolan tells Anthony about the unfortunate incident with Thomas. Dolan and Anthony visit Thomas' wife, who is sick and depressed.

Nostradamus tries to locate his next victim, but is having difficulty. Leo looks on sympathetically.

Dolan and Anthony talk about their dire situation. Nostradamus appears, and points a gun at them. He demands to know where Thomas is. Dolan finds Nostradamus' weakness amusing, and refuses to tell him anything.

Nostradamus threatens to send pestilence, death and horror down upon the entire city if he doesn't produce Thomas by tomorrow at 10pm! Nostradamus throws down the gun, and leaves.

Dolan thinks that Nostradamus is showing fear, a good sign that his powers are diminishing. Dolan finds this news encouraging.

Back at the catacombs, Leo convulses on the floor, and curses his master's enemies.

Nostradamus returns, and asks what Leo was up to. Leo says he tried to fly, but could not. Nostradamus chastises Leo for his naivete, but Leo insists that he wants to be just like his master. He reminds his boss that he promised him long ago to share his secrets with the hunchback.

Nostradamus promises to keep his word, and makes a deal with Leo: if he can bring Thomas to him, he will bestow up on Leo all of his power! Leo is excited by this proposition.

Next day, Dolan and Anthony see Leo walking around outside, looking for Thomas. Dolan loads his pistol, and Anthony comes up with a plan. He sneaks up behind the hunchback, and asphyxiates him with formaldehyde.

Anthony drags Leo back to the lab.

Dolan, Anthony and Anna discuss their options. Dolan argues that Leo would never reveal his master's hideout.

They all agree that the best place to hide their friend Thomas is at a nearby monastery, where he will be "protected by God's mercy".

Dolan and Anthony visit the monastery, and speak with the proprietor, Father Godwin. Dolan asks the holy man if there might be a place where a reclusive hunchback might be detained, unobserved. The priest mentions an old prison cell which would be perfect.

Thomas and Leo taken care of, Dolan and Anthony prepare to invade Nostradamus' headquarters.

Meanwhile, Nostradamus despairs. He pleads upon his father's coffin for guidance with his inability to find his next victim, Thomas. He also laments the absence of his beloved servant, Leo. He threatens to unleash a plague on the world if he cannot locate and destroy his designated victim!

Back at the monastery, Father Godwin says prayers before Thomas, while dogs howl eerily outside. Thomas is spooked.

An assistant runs out to find the cause of the howling, and discovers that the prisoner, Leo, has escaped his prison cell.

Godwin tells Thomas not to worry, and tells his assistant to fetch Dolan immediately.

Godwin visits Dolan and Anthony, and tells them the bad news. They run off to locate Leo before it is too late.

At police headquarters, Godwin's assistant tells the police about Leo's escape; the police mount a search for the hunchback, with order to shoot to kill.

Meanwhile, Thomas lays in bed at the monastery, nervously trying to read a prayer book.

Dolan tells Father Godwin that Thomas is perfectly safe inside, but at that very moment, Leo listens in from above!

When night falls, Thomas lights a lantern in his dingy room, for he hears the chapel bells ringing mournfully. He walks outside, and down the hall.

Thomas searches all over the empty monastery, looking for Father Godwin.

Thomas crawls up the bell tower, calling out for the holy man, but no-one answers.

Father Godwin, Dolan and Anthony approach the monastery. They hear the bells ringing. Godwin says it is the "mourning bells" which are ringing, and they haven't been used in forty years!

Thomas reaches the top of the bell tower, and finds Leo swinging back and forth on the big bells, causing them to ring. Thomas is clearly mad by now; he thinks Leo is the holy man, come to save him!

Leo approaches Thomas, who faints. Leo punches him in the head. Nostradamus telepathically hears that Leo has captured Thomas, and is pleased.

Leo holds the body of Thomas high up in the air, and prays to his master for the powers he was promised.

Dolan and Anthony approach the monastery just in time to watch Leo throw Thomas' body off the balcony. It falls to the ground in a heap.

Anthony shoots Leo. Leo caresses his little white mouse-friend, and tells him, "we will fly to the castle together..." Leo and his friend fall to their deaths.

Nostradamus experiences Leo's death telepathically, and is moved to bitter tears.

As the men look over the corpses, Dolan requests that Godwin bury Leo in sacred ground, insisting that the pathetic hunchback was merely the dumb tool of evil.

Dolan then yells at the sky, and curses Nostradamus, whom he knows can hear him, vowing to destroy him once and for all.

Back at his castle, Nostradamus invokes the spirit of his father, and asks for guidance. Nostradamus' oracle father materializes in his coffin. Nostradamus asks the great evil patriarch if he should now kill Dolan, who was to be his instrument in re-establishing the cult of evil on earth. Nostradamus gets a sign from his father that this is the best course of action; the plan has failed, and now Dolan must be killed, and additionally, made into an enemy of the people!

Later, as Nostradamus walks amongst Dolan's countrymen, and overhears their conversations, he is pleasantly surprised to find that his father's work has largely been accomplished. Popular opinion has turned against Dolan and his fantastic claims of vampire attacks, and there are many citizens who now believe that it was Dolan himself who murdered all those unfortunate victims of Nostradamus!

Soon, Dolan is called on the carpet by members of his scientific committee. It turns out that public sentiment has become so hostile, several scientist's houses have been attacked!

A spokesmen for the scientists tells Dolan that even his close friends have their doubts about the nature and wisdom of the creepy experiments which he has been conducting on bats, experiments which he has yet to adequately explain, even to his close colleagues!

Dolan is insulted by the implication that he is "fabricating vampires".

But he is informed by the others that it would be better if he were to resign the committee.

Dolan reluctantly agrees to this, but tells the stunned congregation that they have nothing to fear for their lives, for he has been informed that Nostradamus' next and final victim is to be himself!

Later, in the laboratory, Dolan and Anthony feverishly rush to finish their experiments before their funding and support are withdrawn.

Dolan believes that their earlier experiment, which almost felled their evil foe through the use of static electricity, was augmented by the prevailing weather conditions, which were excessive heat and humidity. Anthony agrees that those meteorological conditions may have some bearing on the plan’s success.

Anna sits in a chair nearby, nodding off. Dolan tells her to go upstairs and get some rest. She bids the men a good night.

Anthony suggests to Dolan that they replace the small electrical coil which was used earlier with the giant electromagnetic cell which Dolan has recently received; he feels the additional energy will be essential in creating the disruptive telepathic environment they are seeking.

Elsewhere, commission member Julius and his wife are sleeping. Nostradamus appears to Julius' wife, and hypnotizes her. He tells her to convey to her husband and the others, upon awakening, that Dolan is betraying them all, conducting sinister experiments, and planning to destroy the world!

Nostradamus leaves. The wife wakes up, awakens Julius, and tells him the bad news. Julius is skeptical, but agrees to go with her to tell the other members what she believes.

Back at the lab, Dolan and Anthony connect the large, globe-like electromagnetic coil to their experimental apparatus.

Dolan enters a local tavern. Some patrons spot him, and leave. Dolan follows.

Back at the lab, they all hear a knock on the door. Anthony and Anna answer it. It is a man named Fulton. Fulton introduces himself to Dolan, and announces that he is the new police inspector.

Fulton tells Dolan that there are rumors around town that people think he is an evil sorcerer. He fears there may be some dangerous mob action afoot, and insists he be allowed to post some of his men around the estate, for protection. Dolan thinks that the whole thing is nonsense, but agrees to the protection.

Meanwhile, in town, an angry, cursing, torch-bearing mob is gathering, for the express purpose of burning down Dolan's house, and destroying his laboratory! What is worse, amongst them are some of Dolan's former friends and colleagues!

Nostradamus prays to his father that this night will end in one of their greatest victories over stupid mankind!

The angry mob continues towards Dolan’s house.

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Dolan begins his newest experiment, with the supplemental electrical power. Anthony throws the current switch.

Nostradamus feels the effects immediately, and screams in pain. He rolls around on the ground and covers his ears, trying to block Dolan's distressing electro-aural transmissions.

The mob reaches Dolan's house. Fulton runs upstairs to protect the place, with Anthony joining him. Dolan tries to continue the experiment, which seems to be succeeding well, according to the seismographic recording instruments which Dolan has set up.

Nostradamus is weakening. He stumbles through his lair, beseeching his father for assistance.

The mob decides their course of action; they are going to burn Dolan and his cronies at the stake, like witches!

Fulton is getting worried; the mob seems uncontrollable. Anthony tells him not to worry. Even if the mob torches the house and blocks the exits, there is a secret door to the stable which no-one knows about, and they should be able to escape without harm.

Anthony and Anna block the main entrance with a pile of ornate furniture. The mob attacks. Nostradamus continues to wail and moan.

Anthony and Anna return to the basement. Dolan tells them excitedly that the experiment is working, and in addition, the monster Nostradamus is very close to them.

Dolan tells Anthony to leave the house at once, and take Fulton with him, before they get trapped. Dolan wants to stay behind with Anna, to assure Nostradamus' imminent destruction!

Dolan and Anna watch with glee as the electricity continues to flow, hopefully right into Nostradamus' brain!

Anthony and Fulton escape the besieged house via horse-drawn carriage.

The mob begins to knock down the main entrance of the Dolan house, as Anthony and Fulton reach the house where Anthony believes Nostradamus is hiding.

The mob bursts into Dolan's house. Two of the men grab Dolan, while others trash his precious scientific equipment. Dolan watches in horror, but can do nothing.

Anthony and Fulton enter Nostradamus' creepy catacombs. Anthony finds a staff hanging over his coffin, and recalls that it belonged to Igor, the vampire hunter who attempted Nostradamus destruction earlier. The staff has magical powers, and can destroy vampires!

Anthony grabs Igor's staff. He and Fulton leave the catacombs, but see Nostradamus, as a bat, trying to escape. They fire at the horrible creature, but cannot kill it.

Meanwhile, the mob continues their ignorant destruction, which Dolan looks on helplessly.

The mob drags Dolan outside, and prepares to burn him at the stake. Anthony and Fulton race back to Dolan's house, as the angry mob ties poor Professor Dolan to the stake.

Anna brings Father Godwin to the mock trial, in the hopes that he may be able to intervene.

The mob lights the tinder beneath Dolan. Anna runs up with Father Godwin, just as Anthony and Fulton also arrive.

Suddenly, a vampire bat swoops down on Dolan, and turns into Nostradamus before the horrified mob.

Fulton shoots at Nostradamus, who has reverted to bat form, and the bat falls to the ground, wounded.

Anthony runs up to Dolan and releases him from the stake. He shows Dolan Igor's cane, and tells him to use it to kill Nostradamus.

Dolan grabs the magical staff, looks up to the heavens for guidance, and then impales the writhing bat on the ground where it lay.

The bat turns into Nostradamus. The mob recoils in horror as the horrible beast disappears before their eyes, and they realize that dedicated scientists such as Dolan are a powerful force against darkness.

Dolan, his friends and colleagues, as well as the homicidal mob, all walk silently away from the scene of the crime, leaving their torches burning on the ground where the evil vampire Nostradamus was finally destroyed forever.

THE END

REVIEW:
THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS is terrific, easily the best of the four Nostradamus features, with a fantastic plotline, many haunting images, and some gripping dramatic sequences.

As it is a composite of the last episodes of the serial LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS, it is the most melodramatic and strongest of the four Nostradamus TV features.

The familiar cartoon graphics of bats flying over a moonlit forest are underscored by also-familiar theme music, and we expect the familiar high-end soap-opera melodrama we enjoyed in the other installments. We get it, too, but here, we get much more.

There is an incredible sequence, as Leo and Nostradamus sway in evil reverie in their catacombs, when they are suddenly joined by the bizarre, dancing shadows of the undead!

There is a lot of very effective cross-cutting, as Dolan and Company zap Nostradamus with his electric machine.

There are rare scenes of Leo running around in plain sight, as well as an odd and poignant fixation on his little white mouse, apparently his only friend.

Also poignant; Leo wants to fly like his master, and in fact challenges the big bully vampire at one point, insisting he make good on earlier, unkept employment promises.

In fact, Nostradamus and Leo remind one a great deal here of the odd, star-crossed couple in Steinbeck’s "Of Mice and Men".

As in the other Nostradamus installments, there is a parade of many humorous and bizarre peripheral characters. Father Godwin is hilarious, a fulla-shit pompous twerp as real as any actual Catholic hustler. Cheap torch singer Olga Martin is a wholly fetching drunken bar slut, and also-drunk police chief Rojas is a marvelous depiction of reckless corruption in authority.

Dubbing and dialogue are both top-notch, with many memorable soundbites.

A most interesting feature of this installment in the series is that the vampire villain becomes almost “human”, and we see his powers weakening, his plans crumbling, his will dissolving. He whimpers pathetically before his father, and cowers shamefully at the pain caused by Professor Dolan’s Electro-magnetic ray beam.

In fact, some of this “humanizing” of Nostradamus is kind of hilarious, as when Nostradamus waits around, frustrated, for a cheap whore to change her clothes for what she thinks is just a date! The great unholy one frets and paces and bites his lip like any henpecked husband or frustrated gigolo!

The last half-hour, consisting of the final chapter of the serial, is fantastic.

This fabulous segment also contains a truly unnerving plot twist: dear Professor Dolan becomes the enemy of the people!

There’s also an evocative montage of incredulous citizens scoffing at the existence of vampires, while Nostradamus walks amongst them, unnoticed, as well as an exciting, cross-cutting finale.

THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS is terrific, a winning horror classic with Frankenstein and Dracula touches, a shining example of Mexican cinema's often exemplary excursions into gothic horror.

COMMENTS:
* (updated 02-14-06) Thanks to a terrific new book we just received, "Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold" by Kevin Heffernan, (2004, Duke University Press), we have been able to update the U.S. television release date for this Murray horror title to 1965. The appendices to this study of the horror film in America, circa 1955-1968, include complete listings of syndication feature film packages from many distributors, including American International Television, who subleased the K. Gordon Murray film catalog under the title THRILLERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD. It seems that 1965 was the watershed year for genre film sold to television, with a veritable flood of titles released by both domestic and foreign distribs.

* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

* THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS was one of the first US TV features patched together from the source films, a ten-part Mexican theatrical serial. The other installments are: THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS, THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER, and THE GENIE OF DARKNESS.

* Here is some new information on the Nostradamus films, from Jean-Claude Michel:

"Twelve episodes, not ten, were made, as follows:
1/ El dedo del destino
2/ El libro de los siglos
3/ Las victimas de la noche
(these comprised LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS/THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS)

4/ El destructor de monstruos
5/ El estudiante y la horca
6/ El ataud vacio
(these comprised NOSTRADAMUS YE EL DESTRUCTOR DE MONSTRUOS/THE MONSTERS DEMOLISHER)

7/ El genio de las tinieblas
8/ Mas alla de la vida
9/ El hijo de la noche
(these comprised NOSTRADAMUS, EL GENIO DE LAS TINIEBLAS/THE GENIE OF DARKNESS)

10/ El aparecido en el conviento
11/ El ave negra
12/ La ultima victima
(these comprised LA SANGRE DE NOSTRADAMUS/THE BLOOD OF NOSTRADAMUS)

"These episodes were released in the form of four "features" in Mexican theaters, each of them made of three episodes. These four features were shown theatrically, respectively, on: August 31, 1961, April 13, 1962, December 14, 1962, April 5, 1963.

" 'Historia Documental del Cinema Mexicano' mentions that another film, 'EL TESTAMENTO DE VAMPIRO', also part of the series and starring the same principals, was shown in Mexico on October 20, 1961 (so, chronologically, the second "feature" in the series). Following are the credits:

EL TESTAMENTO DEL VAMPIRO
Director: Federico Curiel
Co-Director: Alberto Mariscal
Screenplay: Federico Curiel
from a story by Carlos Enrique Taboada & Alfredo Ruanova
Photography: Fernando Alvarez Garces "Colin"
Camera Operator: Raul Dominguez
Art Director: Arcadi Artis Gener
Editor: Juan José Munguia
Music: George Perez H.
Sound Editor: Felipe Marino
Made at Estudios America
Shooting date: from August 13, 1959 to ...
Release date: October 20, 1961
Classification: "A"
Cast: German Robles, Julio Aleman, Domingo Soler"

(David Wilt believes that "El testamento del vampiro" is in fact a re-titling of one of the other features, probably LA MALDICION DE NOSTRADAMUS.)

NOTABLE DIALOGUE: