A Wolf In Dracula’s Clothing
1943’s Son Of Dracula misses the mark. I hate saying that because I’m a huge fan of its star, Lon Chaney, Jr., but the story never seems to find its footing. Chaney is well known for playing not only the Wolf Man, but also Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, and Dracula in various films in those franchises. His work as Count Alucard in Son of Dracula, though, is quite forgettable.
The film’s plot centers around a wealthy family, the Caldwells, in New Orleans and how one of the Caldwell daughters schemes to become both wealthy and immortal. Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton) uses Count Alucard in a dastardly plan to eliminate her ailing father, Colonel Caldwell (George Irving), gain immortality, and eventually take control of the entire family estate by removing her sister, Claire (Evelyn Ankers), from the picture. She also plans on having her boyfriend, Frank Stanley (Robert Paige), murder the Count once she is immortal, and promises to make him a vampire so that they can live together forever.
The plot is somewhat muddied, but I do like how it has a human (Allbritton) manipulate the vampire (Chaney) in order to gain power. In almost every other vampire film, Universal or otherwise, it is always the vampire that manipulates humans to get what it wants. This was a fresh take on the vampire story, but is was executed poorly in my opinion.
Chaney seems out of place as Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards) and his on screen presence comes off a bit humorous to me. Paige does a fine job as Frank, who battles with the sudden marriage of his girlfriend to the mysterious Count and then spirals out of control as she reveals her true plans AFTER he believes that he accidentally murdered her. The rest of the cast, especially Frank Craven, Evelyn Ankers, and J. Edward Bromberg, give solid performances as well.
It should also be noted that the brother and sister of Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel, also appear in this film as servants at the Caldwell Estate. Sam and Etta McDaniel have small roles but do fine jobs with their performances.
The real star of this film is Allbritton. Her portrayal of the manipulative and glory-hungry Katherine shines despite a weak script and a sometimes dull film. There is never any doubt that she is in control not only of Alucard, but of Frank as well. Had the film itself been better, this movie might have become a favorite of mine.
Special effects master John P. Fulton once again shows off his skills on the screen. Son of Dracula is the first horror film to depict a vampire transforming from a bat into human form. Alucard also didn’t creak open his casket when he rose in the evening, opting instead to transform into a mist in order to slink out of the coffin. Alucard’s materialization out of the mist looked great on the screen and was an excellent plot device that allowed him to move throughout the film without being detected.
It’s a shame that this film wasn’t that good. It had a unique plot, trailblazing special effects, and a performance from Allbritton that deserved a better film. Chaney was miscast in this movie in my opinion, but he was excellent in so many other films that this performance is forgivable.
Thank you for reading my post. I saw Joker last night and plan on reviewing it in addition to my regular Thirty-One Days O’Horror posts later this week.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 