According to Borland, the ending of the film (which reveals the "vampires" to be actors hired to trick a murderer) was not revealed to the cast until the end of shooting; Browning felt that their performances would be negatively affected by knowing that they were not "real" vampires. She reports that an alternate ending-in which Professor Zelen receives a telegram from the hired actors revealing that they were unable to make their train (thus implying the vampires that the film depicts were real)-was considered but rejected by Browning. She further claims that both she and Lugosi were disappointed with the ending, and found the twist "absurd."