Son of Dracula (1943 film)

Last updated

Son of Dracula
Son of Dracula movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Siodmak
Screenplay by Eric Taylor [1]
Story by Curt Siodmak [1]
Produced by Ford Beebe [1]
Starring
Cinematography George Robinson [1]
Edited bySaul A. Goodkind
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Company, Inc. [1] [2]
Release dates
  • 20 October 1943 (1943-10-20)(Cine Olimpia, Mexico City)
Running time
78 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States [2]
LanguageEnglish [2]

Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard (Chaney Jr.) has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo (J. Edward Bromberg) who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.

Contents

The film is the third in Universal's Dracula film series following Dracula's Daughter (1936). The film was made under different circumstances than the previous two entries in the series with a new Chairman of the Board working at Universal and several horror sequels being made since the success of the film Son of Frankenstein (1939). The film was initially being written by Curt Siodmak who was later replaced by Eric Taylor. Filming began on January 7, 1943, and concluded on February 2. Few documents related to the film's production survive from studio files or trade reports.

Son of Dracula was held back from release for about six months before its premiere in the United States, with the earliest known release date being on October 20, 1943, at Cine Olimpia in Mexico City. On its initial release, the trade magazine Boxoffice declared Son of Dracula as a hit in the United States where its sales were 23% above average. Initial reception to the film was described as "varied" by film historian Gary Rhodes.

Plot

Count Alucard is invited by Katherine Caldwell to the United States. Caldwell is one of the daughters of New Orleans plantation owner Colonel Caldwell. Shortly after his arrival, the Colonel dies of an apparent heart failure and leaves his wealth to his two daughters. Claire receives all his money and Katherine his estate "Dark Oaks". Katherine has been secretly dating Alucard and the two are quickly married. Her former long-time boyfriend Frank Stanley confronts the couple and tries to shoot Alucard. The bullets pass through the Count's body and hit Katherine. Assuming she is dead, a shocked Frank runs off to get Dr. Brewster to attend to her. On the doctor's arrival, he is greeted by Alucard and a living Katherine. The couple instruct him that they will 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, but the Sheriff insists on searching Dark Oaks. He finds Katherine's dead body and has her transferred to the morgue. Dr. Brewster is shown reading the novel Dracula .

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. Katherine sneaks into Frank's cell and explains that she only married Alucard to obtain immortality and wants to share it with Frank, her true love. He is initially repulsed by her idea, but then yields to her. After she explains that she has already drunk 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. Without his daytime sanctuary, Alucard is destroyed when the sun rises. Brewster, Lazlo, and the Sheriff arrive at the scene to find Alucard's remains.

Meanwhile, Frank stumbles into the playroom where Katherine said she would be. He finds her coffin and gazes down at her lifeless body. Knowing he must kill the love of his life, Frank takes off his ring and puts it on Katherine's left ring finger. Once Brewster and the others reach the room, they see Frank appear at the door. He steps back allowing them to follow. As they enter the room, they see Katherine's burning coffin. They all stare, speechlessly, while Frank mourns the loss of his love.

Cast

Cast adapted from the book Universal Horrors: [1]

Production

Development and pre-production

Son of Dracula was the third "Dracula" film produced by Universal, following the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter . [2] Within three weeks of the premier of Tod Browning's Dracula (1931), Universal presented three titles for follow-ups to the Hays Office. These included The Modern Dracula, The Return of Dracula and The Son of Dracula. [3] No notes exist regarding the possible story content of any for these films. [3] Son of Dracula was prepared under different standards at Universal than the previous two films. The company had only restarted production on horror films in 1938 with the film Son of Frankenstein (1939) and Universal's Chairman of the Board J. Cheever Cowdin had been heavily involved in the formation of the company. [4] Profits at Universal by 1941 has been higher than they had been in 1940 while a double bill of both Dracula and Frankenstein (1931) in early 1942 was declared to have "staggeringly good business" in the Motion Picture Herald . [5] Following these events, the Daily Variety announced on June 5 that two new horror films were announced with Lon Chaney Jr.: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) and Son of Dracula. [6]

Curt Siodmak was commissioned to write a script for the film in May 1942. [7] By June 8, the Los Angeles Times announced that Curt Siodmak was still writing the screenplay. [8] Curt Siodmak's previous work was deeply rooted in horror and science fiction, from the original novel and screenplay for F.P.1 (1932) and screenplays in Hollywood for Black Friday (1940), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), The Ape (1940), The Wolf Man (1941), and Invisible Agent (1942). [8] On July 24, the Motion Picture Herald announced that Universal had purchased Siodmak's finished draft of the script. [9] The Daily Variety noted that Eric Taylor was given the task of writing the final script. [9] Taylor had worked previously on Black Friday with Siodmak as well as on Phantom of the Opera (1943) and The Ghost of Frankenstein. [10] In a 1984 interview with Tom Weaver, Curt Siodmak said that after his brother Robert Siodmak was hired as the film's director, he made his brother leave the project. [7] [10] Curt explained that the two "had a sibling rivalry. When we were in Germany, Robert had a magazine and when I wrote for it, I had to change my name. He only wanted one Siodmak around. This lasted 71 years, until he died". [7] In his book on Son of Dracula's production history, Gary D. Rhodes suggested that Curt might have been wrong about this specific situation as there was no indication that Robert was hired as the director when Taylor was hired for the script. [10] Weaver suggested that the film took place outside the universe of Dracula (1931) and Dracula's Daughter (1936). [11] Weaver noted that in Son of Dracula, Prof. Lazlo states that Count Dracula was destroyed in the 19th century making it not follow the story of the two previously mentioned films. [12] Weaver also highlighted a pressbook article that stated that "although Son of Dracula is not a 'continuation' of [the 1931 Dracula], it is based mainly on the same ghoulish legend of the vampire". [12]

Outside of Chaney, Louise Allbritton was cast as Katherine with her role being announced by Universal on January 7. This date lead to Rhodes suggesting that she was cast at the very last minute. [13] Based on press accounts, Evelyn Ankers was cast as Claire before most actors other than Chaney. [13] Ankers had previously acted in other Universal features including Hold That Ghost (1941), The Wolf Man, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Captive Wild Woman (1943) and The Mad Ghoul (1943). [14] Universal announced that Frank Craven and J. Edward Bromberg had been cast on January 12, 1943. [15]

Production

In July 1942 the initial announcements for production was set to start in September. [8] The Hollywood Reporter later announced in December that production would start on January 4, 1943. [16] To meet this deadline, Universal sent a new draft of the script to the Production Code Administration (PCA) on December 29 with a script titled Destiny for approval. [16] The response dated December 31 stated that this current script would not be approved by the PCA, leading to another script sent on January 4, 1943, which delayed the films production. [17] Production began on Son of Dracula on January 7. [2] [17]

George Waggner was originally set to be the associate producer on the film, but became too sidetracked by Phantom of the Opera . [6] [7] He was replaced with Ford Beebe in mid-January. [7] [17] Beebe had previously co-directed the film serials Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938), Buck Rogers (1939), The Phantom Creeps (1939), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940), as well as feature films such as Night Monster (1942). [18] He would also be the film's second unit director. [18] A casting change was made on set, as Alan Curtis originally had the role of Frank but was replaced by Robert Paige after Curtis suffered a knee injury while filming the final scenes of Flesh and Fantasy (1943). [19] According to Rhodes, few details about the production of Son of Dracula survive in the form of studio files or trade reports. [20] Production on the film ended on February 2. [21]

Robert Siodmak, then on a $150 a week contract, said he was reluctant to take the film; he called the script "terribleit had been knocked together in a few days". He said that he was persuaded to take the job by his wife, who said if he showed he was "a little bit better" than Universal's other directors, it would impress the studio. Three days into shooting, he was offered a seven-year contract. He commented: "We did a lot of rewriting and the result wasn't bad. It wasn't good but some scenes have a certain quality". [22]

The film was edited by Saul A. Goodkind. [1] [23] Goodkind had worked with Beebe as an editor on Flash Gordon and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. Rhodes commented again that little is known about the post-production of the film; he noted that only minor changes in dialogue beyond what is written in the final shooting script are present in the finished film. [23]

Release

Son of Dracula was held back from release for about six months before its premiere in the United States. [24] The Motion Picture Herald had the film listed as being among the 162 features Hollywood Studios had yet to assign a release date in their February 27, 1943, issue. [24] Discussing the film's release, Robert J. Kiss hypothesized that their delay was related to war films that generally needed to be accommodated into release to retain their topicality, as the United States had entered into World War II. [25] Prior to its release in the United States, the film was released at Cine Olimpia in Mexico City on October 20, 1943. It was released with a Spanish-language dub as El hijo de Dracula on the top half of a double feature with Captive Wild Woman . Another screening took place in Canada on November 1, 1943, for a three-day run at the Capitol Theatre in Brandon, Manitoba. [26]

Son of Dracula and The Mad Ghoul had been put into late night midnight screenings on October 30 in small towns in cities in the United States. [27] For instance, it was screened at the Tivoli Theatre in Maryville, Missouri, and the Parks Theatre in Cedar City, Utah. [28] Most trade presses declared the screening at the Rialto in New York City on November 5 as the premiere, although the theatre did not bill the engagement as such. [29] At the Rialto, the film was held over from its initial two week booking into a fourth week, with the film grossing $11,000 in its first week. [29] In the November 11, 1944, issue of the trade magazine Boxoffice, a report showed the first-run performances of 336 features released between the third quarter of 1943 and mid-year 1944 from 22 major American cities. Ticket sales for Son of Dracula were 23% above average sales and declared a hit by the publication. It was Universal's best-performing film in either the horror or science fiction genres during this period. In comparison, Universal's Jungle Woman (1944) and The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) performed 14% and 13% above average respectively. Meanwhile, The Mummy's Ghost (1943) and The Mad Ghoul (1944) were 5% above average and 2% below average respectively. Comparing the film to non-Universal outings in the genre, the film did not do as well as 20th Century Fox's The Lodger (1944) or Paramount Pictures' The Uninvited (1944), had the same average as RKO's The Ghost Ship (1943), and beat Columbia's The Return of the Vampire . [30] Outside of large cities, bookings for Son of Dracula lasted for two or three days which was the standard practice of the period. [31]

Son of Dracula was first reissued theatrically in 1948. [32] In August 1951, Realart Pictures released Son of Dracula as parts of its "7 Days of Horror" package, which featured 14 Universal films over the course of a week. [33] The film was also part of Screen Gems' Shock! package of 52 pre-1948 Universal feature films released to television in October 1957. [34] It was first shown on television in 1957; by October 1958, Son of Dracula has played on television stations across America. [32] [34] Son of Dracula was first released on VHS and Betamax in 1988. [32] It was released on DVD as part of the Dracula: The Legacy Collection and the Monster Legacy Collection in April 2004 and on Blu-ray on May 16, 2017, as part of the Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection set. [35] [36]

Reception

Rhodes declared that initial critical reception to Son of Dracula was "varied". [37] From contemporary reviews, The Hollywood Reporter declared that Son of Dracula was "a topline entry" as a horror film as it was "well made" with "intelligent direction by Robert Siodmak" and that "Chaney's Dracula is an outstanding job, accomplished without the gobs of makeup with which he is generally smeared". [38] Irene Thirer of The New York Post ranked the film as "Fair to good", finding it "is neatly turned out [...] and is certainly guaranteed for goose-pimplesand we might add, laughs". [39] A. H. Weiler of The New York Times found the film as "unintentionally funny as it is chilling" and concluded it a "pretty pallid offering". [39] A review in Harrison's Reports noted that Son of Dracula was "extremely weird, fantastic, and morbid, but because the theme has been done many times, it fails to attain the terrifying impact of the original". [39]

In their book Universal Horrors, Weaver, Michael Brunas and John Brunas stated that Son of Dracula is "often lumped together with the rest of the Universal monster pictures of the '40s in the early years of horror scholarship, it has incrementally been seen as the product of a more sophisticated mindset" and in the canon of Robert Siodmak's career, Son of Dracula was "still regarded as a footnote, a stepping stone to his later highly regarded film noir works". [40] Bob Mastrangelo of AllMovie referred to the film as "strictly minor-league, harmless entertainment that never reaches its potential", finding Chaney was "not doing a very good job" but that "the problems with Son of Dracula are beyond Chaney, as the script never really takes advantage of the juicy potential of the story and lacks the dark humor and beautiful atmospherics that make the best Universal horror films so timeless". [41] Sean Axmaker wrote in The Seattle Times that Son of Dracula was a "moody minor horror gem" that was held back by "clumsy antics of the skeptical cops and the plodding exposition spouted by an old Carpathian doctor". [42]

In an interview with Starlog magazine in 1990, Curt Siodmak reflected on Son of Dracula stating that the film "became a classic through Robert [Siodmak]'s handling of light and shadow. He was wonderful on mood, characterization, atmosphere, the psychology. He could make marvelous scenes. But he couldn't write". [43]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi</span> Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, known professionally as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian–American actor, best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein</i> 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay, as Dracula requires a "simple, pliable" brain to reactivate Frankenstein's monster. Dracula discovers that the "ideal" brain belongs to Wilbur Grey who is wooed by Mornay to the operating table, despite the warnings of Lawrence Talbot.

<i>The Wolf Man</i> (1941 film) American horror film

The Wolf Man is a 1941 American gothic horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role. Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, and Maria Ouspenskaya star in supporting roles. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf film, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London (1935). This film is part of the Universal Monsters movies and is of great cinematic acclaim for its production.

<i>Dracula</i> (1931 English-language film) 1931 film

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.

<i>The Invisible Man</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by James Whale

The Invisible Man is a 1933 American science fiction horror film directed by James Whale based on H. G. Wells' 1897 novel, The Invisible Man, produced by Universal Pictures, and starring Gloria Stuart, Claude Rains and William Harrigan. The film involves a Dr. Jack Griffin (Rains) who is covered in bandages and has his eyes obscured by dark glasses, the result of a secret experiment that makes him invisible, taking lodging in the village of Iping. Never leaving his quarters, the stranger demands that the staff leave him completely alone until his landlady and the villagers discover he is invisible. Griffin goes to the house of his colleague, Dr. Kemp and tells him of his plans to create a reign of terror. His fiancée Flora Cranley, the daughter of his employer Dr. Cranley, soon learn that Griffin's discovery has driven him insane, leading him to prove his superiority over other people by performing harmless pranks at first and eventually turning to murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bela Lugosi filmography</span>

Bela Lugosi (1882–1956), best known for the original screen portrayal of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1931, performed in many films during the course of his 39-year film career. He appeared in films made in his native Hungary, Germany and New York before re-locating to Hollywood in 1928. Films are listed in order of release.

<i>Son of Frankenstein</i> 1939 film by Rowland V. Lee

Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 American horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa and son Peter, returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor, a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the Monster and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the Monster only responds to Ygor's commands.

<i>Black Friday</i> (1940 film) 1940 American science fiction film directed by Arthur Lubin

Black Friday is a 1940 American science fiction horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.

<i>The Invisible Man Returns</i> 1940 film by Joe May

The Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, and the second film in the Invisible Man film series. The film is about Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) who is condemned for a murder he did not commit, which leads to him begging Dr. Frank Griffin (Sutton) to inject him with the invisibility serum despite Griffin's warning that the serum will drive him mad.

<i>The Ghost of Frankenstein</i> 1942 film by Erle C. Kenton

The Ghost of Frankenstein is a 1942 American horror film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. It is the fourth film in the Frankenstein series by Universal Pictures, and the follow-up to Son of Frankenstein (1939). The film's plot follows the previous film's: Frankenstein's Monster and his companion Ygor are chased out of town. They go to another small town to encourage the younger son of Henry Frankenstein to continue his father's experiments, so that Ygor can have revenge against his enemies and his brain transplanted into the Monster's skull.

<i>Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man</i> 1943 US horror film directed by Roy William Neill

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The script, written by Curt Siodmak, follows The Ghost of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, though with a number of retcons. Most significantly, Talbot only transforms into werewolf form during a full moon, which became a standard part of werewolf lore. The film involves Larry Talbot, who is brought back to life when his tomb is disturbed. His search for a way to end his seeming immortality leads to his befriending Frankenstein's monster.

<i>House of Frankenstein</i> (film) 1944 film

House of Frankenstein is a 1944 American horror film starring Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine. Based on a story by Curt Siodmak, it was directed by Erle C. Kenton and produced by Universal Pictures. Based on Curt Siodmak's story The Devil's Brood, the film is about Dr. Gustav Niemann, who escapes from prison and promises to create a new body for his assistant Daniel. Over the course of the film, they encounter Count Dracula, Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's Monster.

<i>House of Dracula</i> 1945 film by Erle C. Kenton

House of Dracula is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein. The film is set at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann, who is visited first by Count Dracula and later by Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, who are trying to cure their vampirism and lycanthropy, respectively. Talbot is eventually cured, which leads him to discover the body of Frankenstein's monster in a cave below the base of the castle. Edelemann takes the monster's body back to his laboratory but finds Count Dracula has awakened and by attacking his assistants, he captures Edelmann and forces a reverse blood transfusion, which gives Edelmann a split personality and makes him a killer.

<i>The Mad Ghoul</i> 1943 film by James P. Hogan

The Mad Ghoul is a 1943 American horror film directed by James Hogan and starring Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers, and David Bruce, and featuring George Zucco, Robert Armstrong, and Milburn Stone. The film is about the scientist Dr. Alfred Morris and his assistant Ted Allison. Morris, who is obsessed with an ancient Mayan life-preserving process to the point of madness, has fallen in love with Allison's girlfriend, the concert singer Isabel Lewis. Morris decides to use Allison for his eternal-life experiments, transforming him into a zombie who slowly recalls his past life, but is unaware of his undead status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Classic Monsters</span> Horror and science fiction films made by Universal Studios (1930s–1950s)

Universal Classic Monsters is a home video line based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conceived as a franchise, the enduring popularity and legacy of the films and the characters featured in them has led the studio to market them under the collective brand name of Universal Studios Monsters. Steve Jones of USA Today described Universal's most famous monsters as "pop culture icons", specifically Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man.

<i>Murders in the Rue Morgue</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 American horror film directed by Robert Florey, based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The plot is about Doctor Mirakle, a carnival sideshow entertainer and scientist who kidnaps Parisian women to mix their blood with that of his gorilla, Erik. As his experiments fail because of the quality of his victims' blood, Mirakle meets with Camille L'Espanye, and has her kidnapped and her mother murdered, leading to suspicion falling on Camille's fiance, Pierre Dupin, a medical student who has already become interested in the earlier murders.

Shock Theater is a package of 52 pre-1948 classic horror films from Universal Studios released for television syndication in October 1957 by Screen Gems, the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. The Shock Theater package included Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man as well as a few non-horror spy and mystery films. A second package, Son of Shock, was released for television by Screen Gems in 1958, with 20 horror films from both Universal and Columbia.

<i>Frankenstein</i> (Universal film series) American horror film series

Frankenstein is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the play version by Peggy Webling and the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The series follow the story of a monster created by Henry Frankenstein who is made from body parts of corpses and brought back to life. The rest of the series generally follows the monster continuously being revived and eventually focuses on a series of cross overs with other Universal horror film characters such as The Wolf Man. The series consists of the following films: Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

<i>Dracula</i> (Universal film series)

Dracula is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker and its 1927 play adaptation. The series is a loose collection of films, with historians stating that the films all reference characters, events or at least passing knowledge of the 1931 English-language production of Dracula, with historians noting that Dracula's Daughter and Son of Dracula are more closely related to the 1931 film while the character of Dracula would make smaller appearances in later films such as House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula. After Dracula's Daughter, the character of Dracula and other vampires in the series became more Americanized, starting with the release of Son of Dracula, and the later House of films. The character of Dracula appears in all the films outside of Dracula's Daughter, where he is portrayed by Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., and John Carradine in the House of films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of horror films</span>

The history of horror films was described by author Siegbert Solomon Prawer as difficult to read as a linear historical path, with the genre changing throughout the decades, based on the state of cinema, audience tastes and contemporary world events.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 365.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Son of Dracula". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 48.
  4. Rhodes 2019, p. 49.
  5. Rhodes 2019, p. 50-51.
  6. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 52.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 366.
  8. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2019, p. 53.
  9. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 55.
  10. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2019, p. 56.
  11. Weaver 2019, p. 146.
  12. 1 2 Weaver 2019, p. 147.
  13. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 63.
  14. Rhodes 2019, p. 63-64.
  15. Rhodes 2019, p. 65.
  16. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 59.
  17. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2019, p. 61.
  18. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 62.
  19. Rhodes 2019, p. 65-66.
  20. Rhodes 2019, p. 67.
  21. Rhodes 2019, p. 70.
  22. Taylor 1959, p. 180.
  23. 1 2 Rhodes 2019, p. 72.
  24. 1 2 Kiss 2019, p. 94.
  25. Kiss 2019, p. 94-95.
  26. Kiss 2019, p. 95.
  27. Kiss 2019, p. 97-98.
  28. Kiss 2019, p. 98.
  29. 1 2 Kiss 2019, p. 100.
  30. Kiss 2019, p. 93.
  31. Kiss 2019, p. 109.
  32. 1 2 3 Rhodes 2019, p. 91.
  33. Kiss 2019, p. 122.
  34. 1 2 Kiss 2019, p. 123.
  35. "Video Chopping List". Fangoria . No. 232. May 2004. p. 14.
  36. Squires 2017.
  37. Rhodes 2019, p. 76.
  38. Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 372-373.
  39. 1 2 3 Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 373.
  40. Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 368-369.
  41. Mastrangelo.
  42. Axmaker 2020.
  43. Server 1990, p. 54.

Sources