SON OF DRACULA: The Most UNUSUAL 1940's Universal Horror Film?
As some of you know, you can find me on Patreon where you can find a lot of extras regarding the Laemmle Faemmle that I don’t typically share publicly. However, one Patreon perk that you’re seeing in action right now is if you are a Dracula tier or higher you get to pick the topic of one of my videos. So, today’s video is courtesy of Robert Willard. Robert picked Son of Dracula because he says it’s the most unusual of the 1940’s Universal horror films.
Some of your ears may have perked up because yes, this movie is from the 1940s which is after the Laemmle Era at Universal. With the exception of Wolf Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon, I don’t usually make videos this late. But Robert Willard is part of the Laemmle Faemmle, and what the Laemmle Faemmle wants, they get. This movie does still have really strong ties to the Laemmle Era at Universal, because it is the third in the Dracula series, after 1931’s Dracula, and 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter. So, let’s talk about Son of Dracula.
Son of Dracula movie poster from 1943.
Son of Dracula is a Universal horror film released October 20, 1943. It had a ton of familiar names working on it. The screenplay was written by Eric Taylor, who worked on 1941’s The Black Cat, 1942’s The Ghost of Frankenstein, and the 1943 Phantom of the Opera. The story was written by Curt Siodmak, who you may remember as the writer of the Wolf Man. The director was also a Siodmak, but not Curt, it was actually his big brother Robert
There are two other big names that you’ll recognize from the Wolf Man. Lon Chaney Jr. stars as Count Alucard and Evelyn Ankers plays Claire Caldwell. Though I’ll admit, she doesn’t really have a ton to do in this film. Also in the film are Louise Allbritton (whom I love), Frank Craven and Robert Paige. Etta McDaniel and Sam McDaniel also have small roles in the film. They are the real-life brother and sister of Hattie McDaniel! This was actually Etta McDaniel’s last film before she passed away.
Lon Chaney Jr. stars as Count Alucard in Son of Dracula.
Son of Dracula is the first in the Dracula series to take place on American soil being set on a plantation in Louisiana. Instead of being straight horror, I would consider it a pretty cool blend of horror and film noir. In Son of Dracula, Katherine Caldwell is obsessed with thoughts of eternal life, and she invites Count Alucard to visit her. They secretly marry, but Katherine’s jealous boyfriend Frank tries to murder Count Alucard, and in trying to shoot him, accidentally kills Katherine. BUT she’s not dead after all! Or - maybe she is?
There are some people who are onto Count Alculard. They figure out that his name is Dracula spelled backward and that must mean something! I know now that probably seems really cliche, but I think at the time it was pretty novel. There’s also a boy who shows up and he has bites on his neck. To be honest, I’m not too into most of the scenes where people are trying to figure out if Alucard is really Dracula.. I feel like they’re a little boring, I think they’re played a little too straight, and I don’t think anyone is quite as smart as they think they are. I would have rather that time been used on more of Katherine’s story, or even giving Evelyn Ankers more to do. However, I digress…
Curt Siodmak wrote Son of Dracula about a woman who is in love with a man that she’s afraid of losing, which I think is beautiful.
Finally, while Frank is in jail for Katherine’s murder, she appears in his cell. She tells him that though she married Alucard, she never loved him. It was all part of her plan for immortality, and she wants to make Frank immortal too so they can live together forever. All he has to do is destroy Dracula. Son of Dracula is available as part of the Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection, and available for rent on Amazon Prime. I will not spoil the ending so you can watch. The ending though is kind of a twist.
Son of Dracula’s story was conceived from the idea of a wish to live forever. Curt Siodmak wrote it about a woman who is in love with a man that she’s afraid of losing, and I think that’s really beautiful. That’s something personally that I love about Curt Siodmak’s writing. Even though he predominantly wrote B movies, he always had this A-quality depth and nuance in his ideas. You might think it’d be a happy family affair when Curt Siodmak got his brother Robert the job directing Son of Dracula, but they actually had something of a sibling rivalry. Robert’s first order of business after being hired, was to get Curt thrown off the film.
Robert Siodmak directed Son of Dracula, and due to a sibling rivalry with Curt Sidomak, his first order of business was trying to get Curt thrown off the film.
I do have some questions about Son of Dracula, and I know I’m not alone in these. Firstly, is Count Alucard actually the Son of Dracula or is he Dracula? I know that the name of the movie is Son of Dracula, so that should be case closed, but Alucard seems to identify himself in a way that implies that he is Dracula (not son of Dracula). I feel like Katherine does the same thing at one point. I’m also wondering, is there any connection between Maria and Count Alucard? Do they know each other? Are they brother and sister? Is there a Dracula family tree out there or is that something I have to make myself?
While we are on the topic of Alucard, let’s talk about Lon Chaney Jr. Some people think that he was an awful pick to play Count Alucard. The words that I hear most often are “All-American” and “cornfed”. Dracula (or even his son) is supposed to be charming and mysterious and exotic, and Lon Chaney is not those things. Still, I want to acknowledge that there are people out there who love Lon Chaney Jr. in the role. They think that he is charismatic or even menacing. If you’re one of those people, I would love to hear from you - what do you love about Lon Chaney Jr. as Count Alucard?
Son of Dracula is the first movie to show the man to bat transformation. You can find it about 8 minutes into the movie. At the end of the movie, we get the bat-to-man transformation too that I find very impressive. Interestingly, while we get to see Lon Chaney Jr. transform from man to bat and bat to man, and we get to see Katherine as a bat for quite some time. We never actually see her transformation and that’s kind of disappointing to me because I feel like there are some really fun things they could have done with th transformation in the shadows.
Louise Allbritton, Lon Chaney Jr., and Robert Paige together in Son of Dracula.
Son of Dracula started filming the first week of 1942, and was supposed to be release later that year, but for some reason held back until 1943. I’m not entirely sure why. When it was finally released, it was a great success. It was Universal’s best performing horror or sci-fi film that year.
The last thing I really enjoyed about this movie was Louise Allbritton. I thought she was fantastic in the role. I know a lot of people don’t like her wig in this movie, but I did. I love that she’s a woman and she’s the bad guy that was masterminding this whole thing on her quest for immortality. We don’t always get women like that in classic films so it’s really fun to see.
My three questions for you:
Is Alucard Dracula or Dracula’s son?
Was Lon Chaney Jr. the right pick for the role?
Which Siodmak brother do you like better, Curt or Robert?