DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936)
In this first sequel to DRACULA (1931) a new hero is introduced... a psychiatrist! Picking up right where the previous film left off, Professor Van Helsing is arrested on the grounds of Carfax Abbey for the murder of Count Dracula. "But he has been dead for 500 years" doesn't cut mustard with Scotland Yard. Fortunately for the credence of Van Helsing's explanations, it soon becomes apparent that a new Vampire is operating in town. Meanwhile, the Countess Zaleska (Gloria Holden) seeks the aid of a psychiatrist, Jeffrey Garth, to try to break her obsession... with blood. When she starts to enjoy their mind games too much, she enlists the aid of her manservant Sandor to lure the doctor back to her home... in Transylvania.
I had been looking forward to seeing how Universal would carry on the Dracula story without the guidance of Bram Stoker's novel. Unfortunately this film is disappointing in several respects. The actor who plays the psychiatrist is poor, and the chemistry between him and his secretary, the film's love interest, is clumsy. The police are made into comic rubes. The music score--absent from the original DRACULA--is obtrusive and uneven. The brightest light comes where it matters most, in the creepiliciously intense performance of Gloria Holden as Dracula's daughter. Still, she could have displayed some more of Dracula's powers--there is no turning into bats or wolves, and her attacks of conscience stand out in contrast to Bela Lugosi's remorselessness. While not devoid of fun, DRACULA'S DAUGHTER is indifferently made, not remotely a BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
I had been looking forward to seeing how Universal would carry on the Dracula story without the guidance of Bram Stoker's novel. Unfortunately this film is disappointing in several respects. The actor who plays the psychiatrist is poor, and the chemistry between him and his secretary, the film's love interest, is clumsy. The police are made into comic rubes. The music score--absent from the original DRACULA--is obtrusive and uneven. The brightest light comes where it matters most, in the creepiliciously intense performance of Gloria Holden as Dracula's daughter. Still, she could have displayed some more of Dracula's powers--there is no turning into bats or wolves, and her attacks of conscience stand out in contrast to Bela Lugosi's remorselessness. While not devoid of fun, DRACULA'S DAUGHTER is indifferently made, not remotely a BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K