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| Queen Zimba and Kay |
I have just always
enjoyed “Son of Dracula” (1943); it’s a fun alternative to the sequels of
Universal Monster series which were often hampered by mediocre plots with logic
problems. The Monster of this sequel isn’t really Dracula as much as Kay, who allowed
her father to die, willing to feed from Frank (without his approval, doing so
without his knowledge) which starts his vampire transition. She chose vampirism
voluntarily, and influences Frank (he actually pulls a gun and shoots at
Dracula with intentions to kill him just for being pushed to the ground!) to
burn the coffin with Transylvanian dirt Dracula has hidden in a swamp drainage
flume. The love affair of Kay and Frank is of the utmost importance in Siodmak’s
film, while Dracula is a plot device more than the actual head villain…his
vampire bite gives Kay immortality, and Kay wants to be rid of him and then
convince Frank to join her among the ranks of the undead in an “unholy alliance”.
Frank gets out of jail thanks to Kay, the sheriff is flummoxed by all the
vampire mess, Frank’s ally in Doc Brewster and a Professor Lazlo from the
Carpathian Mountains with knowledge of Dracula, and the jailor listens in on a
lot of conversation, quite the snooper (but all he hears comes in handy!).
Dracula tosses Frank around numerous times, even in fire as his coffin burns in
hideaway drainage tunnel. Dracula, through the performance of Chaney, Jr, is
quite an asshole, a jerk to everyone, but he’s not in this much. Kay is the
real mastermind here, successful in being rid of Dracula without his even
knowing it, but she fails to realize that Frank has a conscience. At one point,
Kay even plots to kill her sister, Claire, and Doc Brewster, because they
threaten her “blood marriage” with Frank. Her fear of death and love of the
occult is ultimately what drives everything, but Frank loves the mortal woman
before all the Dracula business. He must kill the evil that is what she
becomes. The excellent melancholic music really hits the right tragic notes at
the end. A minor classic whose heroes are a town doc looking out for the best
interests of his friend and a Hungarian professor with history of Dracula’s reign
of terror. And vampires who form in and out of mist and into and out of bats…Siodmak
got to have some fun here.
--Brian
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| Frank, in an agonizing daze |
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| Dracula, as the sun kisses his face |
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| Plans between Kay and "Alucard" |
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| Kay was always "morbid" |
==
Much like the "brief passages" platform for
"The Twilight Zone", I thought it would be ideal for most of the
remaining Universal Studios Classic Monster sequels. The point of the “brief
passages” part is to try and limit myself to just a “mini-review” five-to-six
line paragraph for each sequel, probably not difficult since I've more than
contributed enough about them on the blog in the past.
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