Son of Dracula (1943 film)
Encyclopedia
Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film
directed by Robert Siodmak
- his first film for Universal studios - with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt
. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr.
and his frequent co-star Evelyn Ankers
. Notably it is the first film where a vampire turns into a bat on screen. It is the third in Universal Studios
' Dracula
trilogy, beginning with Dracula
and Dracula's Daughter
.
(Lon Chaney Jr.), a mysterious stranger, arrives in the U.S. invited by Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton), one of the daughters of New Orleans plantation owner Colonel Caldwell (George Irving
). Shortly after his arrival, the Colonel dies of apparent heart failure and leaves his wealth to his two daughters, with Claire receiving all the money and Katherine his estate
"Dark Oaks." Katherine, a woman with a taste for the morbid, has been secretly dating Alucard and eventually marries him, shunning her long-time boyfriend Frank Stanley. Frank confronts the couple and tries to shoot Alucard but the bullets go right through the Count's body and hit Katherine, seemingly killing her.
A shocked Frank runs off to Dr. Brewster, who visits Dark Oaks and is welcomed by Alucard and a living Katherine. The couple instruct him that henceforth they would be devoting their days to scientific research and only welcome visitors at night. Frank goes on to the police and confesses to the murder of Katherine. Brewster tries to convince the Sheriff that he saw Katherine alive and that she would be away all day, but the Sheriff insists on searching Dark Oaks. He finds Katherine's dead body and has her transferred to the morgue.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Professor Lazlo arrives at Brewster's house. Brewster has noticed that Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards and Lazlo suspects vampirism. A local boy brought to Brewster's house confirms this suspicion - there are bite marks on his neck. Later, the Count appears to Brewster and Lazlo but is driven away by a cross.
Vampiric Katherine enters Frank's cell as a bat and starts his transformation. After he awakens, she explains that she still loves him - she married Alucard (who is really Dracula himself) only to attain immortality and wants to share said immortality with Frank. He is initially repulsed but then yields to her. As she explains that she has already drank some of his blood, she advises him on how to destroy Alucard. He breaks out of prison, seeks out Alucard's hiding place and burns his coffin; with no daytime sanctuary, Alucard is destroyed. Brewster, Lazlo, and the Sheriff arrive at the scene, only finding Alucard's remains. They then go to Dark Oaks, where they find out that Frank has also set Katherine's coffin on fire, destroying her.
, most notably for his work on the parting of the Red Sea
.
' Dracula trilogy, following Dracula
(1931) and Dracula's Daughter
(1936).
Son of Dracula dates the original Count Dracula as being destroyed in the 19th century, when the original novel was set.
The following year, the Dracula-related series continued with House of Frankenstein
, which starred John Carradine
as the original Count Dracula
. The famous arrival of Dracula's coffin by train was reprised in the Abbott and Costello
film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
(1948).
While Brewster and Lazlo speculate that he might be a descendant of the original Dracula, congruent with the film's title, Katherine tells Frank specifically that Count Alucard is really Dracula himself. However, throughout the film the vampire is referred to as Alucard.
This is the first Universal Dracula film to take the Count out of Europe and bring him to America.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak was a German born American film director. He is best remembered as a thriller specialist and for the series of Hollywood film noirs he made in the 1940s.-Early life:...
- his first film for Universal studios - with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt
Curt Siodmak
Curt Siodmak was a novelist and screenwriter. He made a name for himself in Hollywood with horror and science fiction films, most notably The Wolf Man and Donovan's Brain...
. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
and his frequent co-star Evelyn Ankers
Evelyn Ankers
Evelyn Ankers was a British actress born in Chile. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man at age 23 opposite Lon Chaney, Jr., a frequent screen partner...
. Notably it is the first film where a vampire turns into a bat on screen. It is the third in Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
trilogy, beginning with Dracula
Dracula (1931 film)
Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...
and Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 American vampire horror film produced by Universal Studios, a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula. Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, the film stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill and, as the only cast member to return from the...
.
Plot
Hungarian Count AlucardCount Alucard (character)
Count Alucard is the name of a fictional vampire who is the son of Count Dracula. Best known being played as Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1943 film, Son of Dracula...
(Lon Chaney Jr.), a mysterious stranger, arrives in the U.S. invited by Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton), one of the daughters of New Orleans plantation owner Colonel Caldwell (George Irving
George Irving (American actor)
George Henry Irving was an American film actor and director who made over 200 films in his lifetime. Some of his best known movies were Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Hearts Divided, A Night at the Opera, Son of Dracula, Hangmen Also Die!, Once Upon a Honeymoon, and Maid's Night Out.-Death:Irving...
). Shortly after his arrival, the Colonel dies of apparent heart failure and leaves his wealth to his two daughters, with Claire receiving all the money and Katherine his estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
"Dark Oaks." Katherine, a woman with a taste for the morbid, has been secretly dating Alucard and eventually marries him, shunning her long-time boyfriend Frank Stanley. Frank confronts the couple and tries to shoot Alucard but the bullets go right through the Count's body and hit Katherine, seemingly killing her.
A shocked Frank runs off to Dr. Brewster, who visits Dark Oaks and is welcomed by Alucard and a living Katherine. The couple instruct him that henceforth they would be devoting their days to scientific research and only welcome visitors at night. Frank goes on to the police and confesses to the murder of Katherine. Brewster tries to convince the Sheriff that he saw Katherine alive and that she would be away all day, but the Sheriff insists on searching Dark Oaks. He finds Katherine's dead body and has her transferred to the morgue.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Professor Lazlo arrives at Brewster's house. Brewster has noticed that Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards and Lazlo suspects vampirism. A local boy brought to Brewster's house confirms this suspicion - there are bite marks on his neck. Later, the Count appears to Brewster and Lazlo but is driven away by a cross.
Vampiric Katherine enters Frank's cell as a bat and starts his transformation. After he awakens, she explains that she still loves him - she married Alucard (who is really Dracula himself) only to attain immortality and wants to share said immortality with Frank. He is initially repulsed but then yields to her. As she explains that she has already drank some of his blood, she advises him on how to destroy Alucard. He breaks out of prison, seeks out Alucard's hiding place and burns his coffin; with no daytime sanctuary, Alucard is destroyed. Brewster, Lazlo, and the Sheriff arrive at the scene, only finding Alucard's remains. They then go to Dark Oaks, where they find out that Frank has also set Katherine's coffin on fire, destroying her.
Cast
- Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr.Lon Chaney, Jr. , born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movies and as the son of famous silent film actor, Lon Chaney...
as Count AlucardCount Alucard (character)Count Alucard is the name of a fictional vampire who is the son of Count Dracula. Best known being played as Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1943 film, Son of Dracula... - Robert PaigeRobert PaigeRobert Paige was a TV star and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime and was the only actor ever allowed to sing on film with Deanna Durbin...
as Frank Stanley - Louise Allbritton as Katherine 'Kay' Caldwell
- Evelyn AnkersEvelyn AnkersEvelyn Ankers was a British actress born in Chile. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s, most notably The Wolf Man at age 23 opposite Lon Chaney, Jr., a frequent screen partner...
as Claire Caldwell - Frank CravenFrank CravenFrank Craven was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town....
as Dr. Harry Brewster - J. Edward BrombergJ. Edward BrombergJoseph Edward Bromberg was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s....
as Professor Lazlo - Adeline De Walt Reynolds as Madame Queen Zimba
- Patrick Moriarity as Sheriff Dawes
- Etta McDaniel as Sarah, Brewster's Maid
- George IrvingGeorge Irving (American actor)George Henry Irving was an American film actor and director who made over 200 films in his lifetime. Some of his best known movies were Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Hearts Divided, A Night at the Opera, Son of Dracula, Hangmen Also Die!, Once Upon a Honeymoon, and Maid's Night Out.-Death:Irving...
as Colonel Caldwell
Effects
The film was the first to show on-screen the bat-to-man transformation of a vampire. The effect was the work of special-effects wizard, John P. Fulton, A.S.C. Fulton was Universal's chief special-effects artist starting with 1933's The Invisible Man. He won an Academy Award in 1957 for his work on The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
, most notably for his work on the parting of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
.
Universal's Dracula series
Son of Dracula is the third installment of Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' Dracula trilogy, following Dracula
Dracula (1931 film)
Dracula is a 1931 vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L...
(1931) and Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 American vampire horror film produced by Universal Studios, a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula. Directed by Lambert Hillyer from a screenplay by Garrett Fort, the film stars Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden, Marguerite Churchill and, as the only cast member to return from the...
(1936).
Son of Dracula dates the original Count Dracula as being destroyed in the 19th century, when the original novel was set.
The following year, the Dracula-related series continued with House of Frankenstein
House of Frankenstein (1944 film)
House of Frankenstein is an American monster horror film produced in 1944 by Universal Studios as a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the previous year. This monster rally approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet...
, which starred John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
as the original Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
. The famous arrival of Dracula's coffin by train was reprised in the Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's horror film stable...
(1948).
While Brewster and Lazlo speculate that he might be a descendant of the original Dracula, congruent with the film's title, Katherine tells Frank specifically that Count Alucard is really Dracula himself. However, throughout the film the vampire is referred to as Alucard.
This is the first Universal Dracula film to take the Count out of Europe and bring him to America.
External links
- EOFFTV - The Universal Dracula series