Date Posted:16:51:09 01/04/08 Fri Author: Alan Subject: Re: Poll: Rating the Dracula Sequels... In reply to:
Rick
's message, "Poll: Rating the Dracula Sequels..." on 12:36:51 12/30/07 Sun
Continuing my ratings on these classic films...
1) "Son of Dracula" One of the best Universal Horrors of the 40's, this film makes one wish the talented Robert Siodmak had helmed more movies in the franchise. I didn't "get" the complexities of the story when I was a kid -- an occultist woman arranging to become a vampire so she can bring her finance to the undead and then they can both kill Dracula and be together forever -- but looking at it now it's perhaps the most inspired of the Universal Horror screenplays. Lon Chaney is good as Alucard, but either Lugosi or Carradine would have been even better. Nonetheless, a fine supporting cast and arresting visuals top off a memorable film.
2) "House of Dracula" This film has it's detractors, and I'm not blind to it's weak spots, but it boasts some nice mood, dignified performances by Onslow Stevens, Lon Chaney and John Carradine, and at least three set-pieces that linger with the viewer. The first involves Dracula's attempt to seduce the nurse of the doctor working to cure his vampirism, to the haunting strains of "Moonlight Sonata". The second involves that doctor, now himself tainted by the blood of Dracula, being feverishly pursued through the dark, shadowy streets of Vasaria. The last highlight, late in the film, concerns the revelation that the doctor's surgery on Larry Talbot has cured his lycanthropy. These three scenes help to offset the otherwise cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel feel that permeates most of the movie.
3) "Dracula's Daughter" Not a bad movie, but one that falls a little flat. Perhaps it's unexciting cast (with the exception of Edward Van Sloan), or the dull direction, or the fact that too much of the film takes place in a drawing room rather than a graveyard! The concept is original, and the lesbian subtext of Countess Zaleska's attack on the model is attention-getting. Again, not so much a bad film as it is hollow and unsatisfying.
(1) Dracula's Daughter. Deliberate and atmospheric. I always felt Gloria Holden gave a fine performance in the title role.
(2) Son of Dracula. Another underrated Universal. I agree with Alan that Lugosi or Carradine may have been ideal, but Lon Chaney Jr certainly rises to the occasion as Count Alucard.
(3) House of Dracula. Not a bad effort from director Erle C. Kenton, although I always preferred his earlier monster-fest epic, House of Frankenstein.
All three films are worthwhile entries in the cinematic annals of Universal and Dracula.
