House of Dracula

The dawn.

House of Dracula has always been a particular favorite of mine for a number of reasons while a few nagging problems keep it from truly being completely satisfying.

I was fascinated at the use of medical science to cure the ills of Universal Studios' monsters. Using an anti toxin to cure Dracula's vampirism. Spores raised in a lab, mold, possibly available to solve Lawrence Talbot's werewolfery.

The evil I brought here will never live again.

How sadly wrong he is. In destroying the body of Dracula, the essence of evil remains to thrive in Edelmann's blood stream. Dracula will have Edelmann's body at night to use as he sees fit...including reviving Frankenstein's Monster. What an intriguing idea, good science, this time, is used against a saint of a man who gives to his patient, Dracula, only to receive the vampire's evil blood in return.

I'm of the belief that this film would have been better off without any mention of Frankenstein's Monster. The idea that Edelmann would have all of those electrical devices and mechanical gyros seems preposterous to me. He's not exactly a scientist who works with such types of equipment, but in order to revive the Monster all of this stuff seems necessary. I think if there is a criticism, it is the forced inclusion of the Monster: it does a disservice to the actor in the role and to the character itself.

In House of Frankenstein, it seemed important to have the Monster considering Karloff's self-absorbed, devious scientist, Dr. Niemann, had a devotion to Frankenstein's work, trying to return it to health, struggling to do so because of the thing's damaged, suffering tissues. But here it just seems to be stuffed into the plot because the filmmakers were obligated to include the Monster, despite the telling lack of creative use of the character. By this time, it is also evident that budget was lacking and patchwork scenes from past films were used to describe how Dracula-influenced "Hyde Edelmann" sets loose the Monster on an unprepared village, setting in motion the downfall of a good scientist, a humanistic medical genius who devoted himself to his fellow man.

Skelton Knaggs, that fascinating character actor known for playing the Dwight Frye type of creepy  misfits, causes the eventual village ruckus when his brother is killed by Hyde Edelmann for no apparent reason other than because the Dracula influence prevailed him to do so. If anything, Knaggs is in the movie to aggravate Lionel Atwill, yet again portraying a police inspector who is placed in the uncomfortable position of having to confront Edelmann at his home since the lunatic on the loose was lost when heading towards his estate.

In regards to Onslow Stevens, he's listed down the cast but has the most vital, important role in the film; sure at the end he's saddled with the Jekyll/Hyde character, but he does so really well. To be able to alternate between cherubic doc to amoral fiend and vice versa is neat to watch. For most of the film, he's trying to help cure the Monsters of what plagues them, but Dracula sets his sights on bringing nurse Miliza (Martha O'Driscoll) over to the darkside and such designs sets in motion all of the unfortunate events that soon alter the course of all characters involved with Dr. Franz Edelmann. Jane Adams has a marvelous little part as hunch-backed nurse, Nina, a beauty with a handicap Edelmann is certain he can cure with help from his mold. I think one of the casualties of this film is her heinous demise, how she is destroyed by Hyde Edelmann, and tossed aside like garbage.

Lon Chaney Jr. gets star treatment, but he's mining the whiny Larry Talbot bit that even has me, one of his diehard fans, somewhat weary, although I did think it was cool to see a lot of the werewolf in the movie. You see him in a jail cell, in a cave nearly strangling Edelmann who risked his life to see if Talbot was okay (after he took a suicidal leap from a cliff to the rushing waters below), but finally Larry is allowed to be cured of his full moon affliction which was truly satisfying. It ends with tragedy as two people die that do not deserve their fates, but that's the terror of Dracula for you...it wouldn't be a Universal Studios product without Dracula causing some mischief and mayhem. Too bad Frankenstein's Monster had become such a throwaway creature considering what Karloff had invested in the character in the first two James Whale movies, but by this point he's just a shambling colorless caricature of what it once was. Too bad.

I have always been a fan of John Carradine as Dracula, although I am bewildered at how he can transform from a bat into human form in a suit and top hat. I figure I'm in the minority but I like the touch regarding the top hat...it sets him apart from other Draculas. He is a bit thin, sophisticated, and not intimidating upon first appearance. I mean, he shows up inside Edelmann's house, standing next to him while the doc's sleeping yet isn't immediately scolded or chastised for his illegal presence in the living room when he awakens. I like how Carradine, though, slowly allows his wickedness to show, when using his hypnotic power to overwhelm Milizia through the use of music, doing so when others are working to find a cure for his vampirism, his eyes wide and aggressive. It's all relatively subtle, music used to further tell of how strong he is mentally. I also liked how other characters like Nina catch him on the verge of securing Milizia's will.

My blood has been contaminated by the blood of Dracula.