El vampiro negro (1953)

M is one of the most influential movies ever made.  Released in Germany in 1931 as the Nazis were slowly gaining more and more control, it is probably the one most film students know by director Fritz Lang other than Metropolis.  It was one of the transitional films from silent to sound and a milestone in German cinema, so much so that it became a cult film in the U.S., facilitating both Lang and its star, Peter Lorre, to get out of a worsening situation at home and come work in Hollywood.

Of course, Hollywood wouldn't let such an intriguing story go without a remake, and an American version was made in 1951, although not directed by Lang.  Two years later a second remake was made, not in Germany or the U.S., but in another country that had a burgeoning cinema movement that unfortunately was cut short by domestic strife.  El vampiro negro, or The Black Vampire, was an adaptation of the story by renowned Uruguayan/Argentinian director Román Viñoly Barreto.  

Amalia Keitel (Olga Zubarry) is a cabaret performer who, while changing in her dressing room, sees a man outside her window disposing of the body of a child.  She tells her boss Gastón (Pascual Pelliciota) who, at first, thinks she is hysterical.  However, when prosecutor Dr. Bernard (Roberto Escalada) comes sniffing around, he finds out she was telling the truth and, because Amalia has a young daughter in a private school, initially protects her so that her profession doesn't become public.  It turns out that the man (Nathán Pinzón) is not done, as his continued killing of young girls leads to manhunt across Buenos Aires.  

While investigating Bernard finds out that Amalia actually did see the man and, instead of helping her, begins to desire her and, when rejected, threatens to have her child taken away due to her profession.  Meanwhile, unknown to her, the very man they are looking for is a lot closer to her than she thinks.  In addition, the police may be receiving aid from an unexpected place. 

I have not seen the American remake, but the original version of M relies heavily on sound and atmosphere.  It was still early enough that there was not a designated musical soundtrack, so ambient sounds and a characteristic whistled tune by the killer were important to the atmosphere, which was paramount as even European films shied away from showing outright murder of children.  A key part of both the German and U.S. versions are that, in addition to the police, the city's underworld is looking for the killer as well due to the continued police involvement being bad for their business.  This part of it isn't as integral in El vampiro negro, though still part of the climax. 

What is most different is that we spend more time learning how pathetic the killer really is, as are his excuses, but also how corrupt everyone else in the world is, and we are presented with a female protagonist.  The only characters in the movie that come across as pure in intention are Amalia and her coworker Cora (Nelly Panizza), while Bernard is more concerned with sleeping with Keitel due to not being able to satisfy himself with his paralyzed wife (Gloria Castilla).  The police are portrayed as corrupt, arrogant and incompetent, far from the heroic authority figures from most U.S. films prior to the 1960s.  

Although El vampiro negro feels, in pacing and style, more like an American film from the 1940s with a touch more sex and violence, it also feels like it is throwing in an homage to the expressionist films of the 1920s.  Viñoly Barreto emphasizes the light and shadows of the classic noir films while also adding in subtle foreshadowing and exaggerated camera angles that play on the viewers' perspective.  It may not be as atmospheric as M, but it is much more progressive and mature in its portrayal of the subject matter.

El vampiro negro (1953)

Time: 90 minutes

Starring: Olga Zubarry, Robert Escalada, Nelly Panizza, Nathán Pinzón, Pascual Pelliciota

Director: Román Viñoly Barreto