was taking second place on screen to the Horror genre films. Another success La bruja (1954) cast gorgeous Lilia del Valle as a repulsive-looking wretch made beautiful by a scientist who then uses her newfound allure for her own evil ends. Ladrón de cadáveres (1956), another popular success, is a wrestling film in which a masked combatant receives a brain transplant from a gorilla. It is also noteworthy for being directed by Fernando Méndez, who, the following year, redefined the possibilities of Mexican horror films with his landmark masterwork El vampiro (1957). El vampiro is widely considered to be a triumph in the Mexican Horror genre. Often called beautifully directed and photographed, El vampiro featured film actor, movie writer and producer, Abel Salazar in the lead role. Salazar would become one of the key figures of the Mexican horror film wave and shortly after starring in and producing El vampiro he formed ABSA Studios in Mexico. He would go on to co-produce eight more successful horror films between 1957 and 1963. A sensation worldwide, Méndez followed El vampiro with El Ataúd del Vampiro (1957) and Misterios de ultratumba (1958) (aka The Black Pit of Dr. M), a genuinely horrifying excursion into the unhinged mind of the titular character, who runs an insane asylum by day and ventures into occult recklessness come nightfall. The brain-eating reincarnation romp El Barón del terror (1961) is seen by its cult fans as one of the most ludicrous movies ever made anywhere. It caught on in the United States under the title The Brainiac, where it remains a much-loved cult object nearly half a century after its release. In 1961, Witch's Mirror came courtesy of director Chano Urueta. Mirror recounts the story of a sorceress who enchants a looking glass to protect her adopted daughter from domestic violence. When her magic fails, the witch embarks on a journey of vengeance. The real life Mexican folk legend of "La Llorona" (The Crying Woman) supplied the basis for multiple Mexican-made movies, none more polished and effective than The Curse of the Crying Woman (1961). However successful the aforementioned projects may have been in their native country, it took K. Gordon Murray to make them into international sensations. Murray acquired and distributed an estimated sixty-six motion pictures in the United States, including fairy-tale fantasies, adult films, and approximately thirty horror imports, almost all of which came from Mexico.