Villain(s)  Vampire

Actor(s):  John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey, Dabbs Greer

Brief Description  The Vampire (1957) is an American science-fiction horror film directed by Paul Landres that strips away supernatural folklore, replacing traditional curses with a tragic, medical mishap. The movie stars John Beal as a small-town physician who transforms into a bloodthirsty creature after accidentally ingesting experimental pills made from vampire bat blood. Produced by Jules V. Levy and Arthur Gardner, it is recognized for blending 1950s atomic-age sci-fi anxiety with a classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde style narrative.

Plot:
Eccentric scientist Dr. Matthew Campbell suffers a fatal heart attack while researching regression of the human mind. Before dying, he tries to warn the kindly small-town physician Dr. Paul Beecher (John Beal) and hands him a bottle of experimental pills. Beecher pockets the bottle. Later that evening, suffering from a severe migraine, Beecher asks his young daughter Betsy to fetch his medication. She accidentally gives him Campbell’s experimental pills instead. The pills, derived from the blood of vampire bats, alter Beecher's physiology. He quickly becomes physically addicted to the drug. Under its influence, he blacks out and transforms into a hairy, fanged, primal killer.

A series of mysterious, violent murders plagues the small community. Beecher operates in a fugue state during the night, waking up with no memory of his gruesome actions. The local authorities, led by Sheriff Buck Donnelly (Kenneth Tobey), investigate the bodies, noting strange puncture wounds and a total drain of capillary blood. Beecher eventually uncovers the horrifying truth about his condition. Desperate to protect his daughter and his loyal nurse, Carol Butler (Coleen Gray), he attempts to stop taking the pills. However, the withdrawal triggers a violent, uncontrollable final transformation. The sheriff tracks the rampaging doctor down, culminating in a fatal confrontation where Beecher is shot and killed, reverting back to his human form upon death.