There's no missing the antiquated social values represented in this (including ableism), but so it goes. One also can't mistake the very dated sensibilities of "horror" - painting genre elements with the same flat tone and putting them in a small corner, declining utmost thrills, telling more than showing and leaving much to be merely suggested. Just as much to the point: while plenty of this film's contemporaries (or forebears) demonstrated perfect capability of fluid, natural storytelling and film-making, here we nonetheless see a certain stilted heavy-handedness in the direction, editing, and acting. None of this is to say that the movie we get has no value or can't be enjoyed on its own merits, but it's safe to say that viewers who have a difficult time abiding older movies won't find anything here to change their minds.
Admittedly these are issues not necessarily with this one title specifically, but with (genre) film-making as a whole of the 30s. If one can look past these matters, 'Condemned to live' is nonetheless modestly enjoyable. It's not necessarily anything special, even as it takes a slightly different approach to vampirism, but stylistic notions aside it's reasonably well made. Though restricted as such, the cast give solid performances; the production design and costume design are swell. Karen DeWolf's screenplay is less than extraordinary, but not at all bad; it's just that conceptions in this timeframe somewhat twist the content into a more imperfect form. And so on, and so on.
Ultimately this is passably entertaining for a lazy day, and suitable for those who already appreciate older titles. It's hardly anything to go out of your way for, but there are worse things to watch. Even diminished by common 30s senses of horror, 'Condemned to live' is a decent enough way to spend one hour.
Admittedly these are issues not necessarily with this one title specifically, but with (genre) film-making as a whole of the 30s. If one can look past these matters, 'Condemned to live' is nonetheless modestly enjoyable. It's not necessarily anything special, even as it takes a slightly different approach to vampirism, but stylistic notions aside it's reasonably well made. Though restricted as such, the cast give solid performances; the production design and costume design are swell. Karen DeWolf's screenplay is less than extraordinary, but not at all bad; it's just that conceptions in this timeframe somewhat twist the content into a more imperfect form. And so on, and so on.
Ultimately this is passably entertaining for a lazy day, and suitable for those who already appreciate older titles. It's hardly anything to go out of your way for, but there are worse things to watch. Even diminished by common 30s senses of horror, 'Condemned to live' is a decent enough way to spend one hour.