What exactly is happening in some of these scenes?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Mark of the Vampire
mlraymond — 17 years ago(July 13, 2008 06:07 PM)
We know that there were lots of scenes either not filmed, or cut before release, but there's one part I've always found more confusing than the rest of the film. Spoilers ahead: At the end, Irena confesses to Fedor that she wasn't permitted to tell him what was going on, for fear he would interfere and spoil the complicated plot to trap the murderer. So Fedor apparently knows nothing of what's really going on around him.
In the scene where Fedor staggers in and nearly falls down, explaining that he has a vague memory of running for a train, and then falling outside the old castle, and waking feeling weak and yet strangely refreshed, Professor Zelen examines Fedor's neck and finds two wounds, causing the maid to run away screaming about vampires, and Jean Hersholt's character to look startled and alarmed.
If we assume Fedor was not part of the plan to terrify the murderer into confessing, and he actually did fall down and pass out as he says, do we assume that Professor Zelen or the vampire impersonators stuck a false wound on his neck while he was unconscious? If so, was that just a lucky break for them, to make the whole vampire curse seem even more believable?
I know this is obsessing about trivia, but the whole movie is so dependent on this kind of coincidence and suspension of disbelief, that it seems to me a valid question.
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BeachPirate1976-1 — 17 years ago(November 02, 2008 06:05 PM)
I was under the impression that Vampires were running amok in the film, but not until the murder of Sir Carroll did the actual actors start taking over.
When Fedor broke throught the old mansion & was grabbed by Mora, this was by Mora the actor & not vampire. Any distraction by Fedor could have blown the whole cover.
And when it showed Mora's daughter flaoting to the floor with her bat wings, this was done on purpose since Lionel Atwill's character was bringing the Baron to the house as part of the plan. We just didn't know this until the very end. -
vpilutis — 15 years ago(November 03, 2010 09:17 PM)
I had once turned to this film one night, only it was the last few mins so I knew it was a setup.
I at last saw the whole thing last night 11/3/10.
I too couldn't understand why they were still acting when the Baron wasn't there, but then again I guess it was for OUR benefit.
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maxvaughn — 14 years ago(October 07, 2011 05:41 PM)
With the Fedor thing, I always thought it was that he attack Fedor, but did not kill him in hopes of scaring him off and making the girl feel abandoned.
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rlegall432 — 14 years ago(October 28, 2011 01:40 PM)
As others have mentioned, the plot of Mark of the Vampire is full of holes but the Fedor thing isn't one of them. I believe there's a line by Elizabeth Allan's Irena character at the end that pinpoints Jean Hersholt as the one who attacked Fedor, presumably in an attempt to off him the same way he offed Irena's father, in order to get Irena for himself. I think this is what makes the Baron a suspect to Irena, and what leads to the whole vampire plot. Of course, this line goes by so fast that it's easy to miss
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Mithrandir-Olorin33 — 14 years ago(October 28, 2011 08:56 PM)
Correct, and I figured that out easily enough after 1 viewing. Lionel Atwill says "You where the eon who first suspected the baron after the attack on Fedor".
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