Starting the month off right
Returning to tradition again, Dracula's Daughter (1936), a film that has opened most Octobers for the last ten years, was once again the film I chose for my first viewing of the Halloween season. The modern romantic equivalent of Lubitsch between psychiatrist, Otto Krueger, and his ribbing, snapping secretary, Marguerite Churchill, meeting the Gothic of London's foggy, shadowy streets near Chelsea and the outer wilderness where Dracula's daughter, Countess Zaleska (Gloria Holden), burns away the body of her master, hoping that doing so will release her of the vampire curse, while her dark, foreboding human, lurching servant, Sandor (Irving Pichel) urges her to remain as she is: a predator on the prowl for more blood. Some I have noticed consider it dull and rather laborious, but I enjoy Holden's elegant, statuesque figure, while Pichel, as the evil henchman encourages her to remain undead. We later learn he was promised to be undead like her...curious she hadn't already turned him. He sure looked the part, but maybe that was his own choosing...to mimic the very image of what he wanted to be. The flirting and barbs between Churchill and Krueger, often playfully quarreling, is a way to offer a lighthearted part to compensate for Holden's gloom and doom. The allure and sensuality of the scene with the lovely street urchin, drawn from a bridge she's about to jump, to the studio, where she meets Zaleska, frightened of Sandor but not as concerned with the countess (the film's newest moment which stood out to me was how Nan Grey's Lili is creeped out by Sandor yet doesn't realize the greater threat is Zaleska who doesn't appear to be the monster she truly is).
So that balance of modern and Gothic London, later taking us to Transylvania where Zaleska returns to Dracula's castle (even if for a few minutes, it was a nice revisit, reversing the previous film which starts at Castle Dracula and ends in London at Carfax Abby) hoping to have Krueger's Jeffrey Garth surrender to her in exchange for the life of Churchill's Janet, with Sandor, all pissed and preparing to use the bow and arrows to get even, actually doing more harm than good for his own situation; this offers right smart enough goodies for this Gothic horror fan.
I wanted to see Carradine as Dracula, so I popped in House of Dracula (1945), which also gives me a little Wolf Man for good measure. As I have said over and over, finally seeing Talbot be rid of his lycanthropic misery was a nice touch, even if poor hunchback, Nina (Jane Adams), isn't spared (a cruel decision by the screenplay) thanks to Onslow Stevens' caring and gentle doctor/scientist being inflicted with Dracula's evil blood, turning him into Hyde. I never understood why Stevens was billed so low considering how terrific he is in the film. Didn't make sense. Still, Carradine in top hat and cape, aged a bit to give him an older appearance, aristocratic and stern-voiced, rather skinny yet suspicious despite carrying on airs of desiring a cure for his vampirism; I really enjoy his time in the film. Yes, it is rather disappointing we got Lugosi only once as Dracula for Universal (and basically for Columbia in Return of the Vampire), but Carradine as the dark prince, often going by Baron Latos when concealing his identity, gave him a legendary part not once, but twice. Mentioning the cruelty of the screenplay, Nina gives up her chance at having a body corrected of its "ugliness" so that Talbot can be spared anymore transformation into the werewolf, deciding to "wait a little longer", falling prey to lecherous Hyde.
There's great tragedy very reminiscent of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where Stevens' Dr. Edelmann is taken advantage of due to his benevolence, as Dracula poisons him, that inner corruption spoiling his future...what he could offer mankind is tarnished just by meeting Dracula and agreeing to help him. Siegfried, a simple servant, and Nina, both happen to be in the cross hairs. There's nowhere for him to go but down. Still, you'd think if Dracula corrupted him, he'd be less save and primitive and more insidious, careful, and sneaky about his murdering. Frankenstein's Monster, though, has no business in this movie. Glenn Strange was betrayed by the B- Movies Universal produced in the 40s.
Martha O’Driscoll, as a nurse/secretary who works for Edelmann and was eyed by Dracula to be his undead bride, winds up affectionate (and vice versa) towards Talbot…something haunting about him, and she works day and night before his procedure to see he’s better.
So that balance of modern and Gothic London, later taking us to Transylvania where Zaleska returns to Dracula's castle (even if for a few minutes, it was a nice revisit, reversing the previous film which starts at Castle Dracula and ends in London at Carfax Abby) hoping to have Krueger's Jeffrey Garth surrender to her in exchange for the life of Churchill's Janet, with Sandor, all pissed and preparing to use the bow and arrows to get even, actually doing more harm than good for his own situation; this offers right smart enough goodies for this Gothic horror fan.
I wanted to see Carradine as Dracula, so I popped in House of Dracula (1945), which also gives me a little Wolf Man for good measure. As I have said over and over, finally seeing Talbot be rid of his lycanthropic misery was a nice touch, even if poor hunchback, Nina (Jane Adams), isn't spared (a cruel decision by the screenplay) thanks to Onslow Stevens' caring and gentle doctor/scientist being inflicted with Dracula's evil blood, turning him into Hyde. I never understood why Stevens was billed so low considering how terrific he is in the film. Didn't make sense. Still, Carradine in top hat and cape, aged a bit to give him an older appearance, aristocratic and stern-voiced, rather skinny yet suspicious despite carrying on airs of desiring a cure for his vampirism; I really enjoy his time in the film. Yes, it is rather disappointing we got Lugosi only once as Dracula for Universal (and basically for Columbia in Return of the Vampire), but Carradine as the dark prince, often going by Baron Latos when concealing his identity, gave him a legendary part not once, but twice. Mentioning the cruelty of the screenplay, Nina gives up her chance at having a body corrected of its "ugliness" so that Talbot can be spared anymore transformation into the werewolf, deciding to "wait a little longer", falling prey to lecherous Hyde.
There's great tragedy very reminiscent of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where Stevens' Dr. Edelmann is taken advantage of due to his benevolence, as Dracula poisons him, that inner corruption spoiling his future...what he could offer mankind is tarnished just by meeting Dracula and agreeing to help him. Siegfried, a simple servant, and Nina, both happen to be in the cross hairs. There's nowhere for him to go but down. Still, you'd think if Dracula corrupted him, he'd be less save and primitive and more insidious, careful, and sneaky about his murdering. Frankenstein's Monster, though, has no business in this movie. Glenn Strange was betrayed by the B- Movies Universal produced in the 40s.
Martha O’Driscoll, as a nurse/secretary who works for Edelmann and was eyed by Dracula to be his undead bride, winds up affectionate (and vice versa) towards Talbot…something haunting about him, and she works day and night before his procedure to see he’s better.
Comments
Post a Comment