Critics have always turned their collective noses up at this 1943 Universal horror movie, but I loved it as a kid, found it genuinely frightening, and I re-watch it more frequently now as an adult than I do any of the other Universal horror "classics". Generally speaking, I found the characters to be surprisingly realistic and even idiosyncratic for a pre-1960's vampire movie, and the script I found delightfully imaginative, thrilling and intelligent. Overall, "Son of Dracula" is very different from the other horror films that were being routinely churned out by Universal and lesser "Poverty-Row" studios during this period.
Basically, the plot concerns Katherine Caldwell, well played by Louise Allbritton, who lives on her family's Louisiana estate, and schemes to lure Count Dracula (or Count Alucard) from the Carpathians to Louisiana so that she can use her wiles to achieve immortal life. This was an unprecedented plot twist; invariably, human beings in these movies were unwilling victims of vampires, werewolves, etc.--- they never voluntarily, even enthusiastically, sought out such a destiny (even Bela Lugosi's Dracula expresses a poignant envy over those mortals who can truly die-- this envy was not one that Bram Stoker's Dracula ever expressed, as far as I can remember). Katherine is more evil, cunning, and manipulative than Dracula. She leads him on, making him think that she is interested in becoming a vampire because she loves him. Her actual intent is to become a vampire, indoctrinate her childhood sweetheart and true love (played by Robert Paige) into an Undead existence so that they can be together forever, and discard Dracula once she's achieved her aim.
Some of the criticism of this film comes from Lon Chaney Jr. playing Dracula. Chaney wasn't a great actor, but, given the right part, he could be quite good, and I think his portrayal here has been underestimated. Some have criticised that his Dracula seems to be a bit obtuse, but I felt that the character as played by Chaney had become so supremely over-confident with the passing of the centuries that his resulting arrogance and short-sighted dismissal of even the possibility that human beings could ever be able to match wits with him feasible. I think it's a worthy, chilling performance.
The supporting cast is excellent. Frank Craven, who died soon after the making of this film, had a theatrical background, and his Dr. Brewster came across as very believable and genuine (Craven is buried in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY, not far from the graves of Lou Gehrig, Billie Burke, Davis Sarnoff, Ayn Rand, and Tommy Dorsey). Evelyn Ankers, the beautiful "Scream Queen" of the 1940's, is Katherine's blonde, virtuous sister (again, we have evil Katherine as dark in her coloring...Allbritton wore a black wig for the part...and her "good" sister is blonde and Aryan looking). J. Edward Bromberg plays Van Helsing stand-in Professor Lazlo (Bromberg was a victim of Hollywood's "black-listing" of the 1950's and he died young, his health undermined by the stress).
The director was Robert Siodmak; the writer was Curt Siodmak. They both do a commendable job, and I just wish there had been more pictures like this one. While not without flaws, it still stands up-- it's entertaining throughout, its ending is unique and legitimately poignant, and the films' "scares" still stand up even all these years later. The scene where Katherine is first seen as a vampire, her skin ghostly white, is very unsettling and creepy.
The only sour note, I guess, is in the portrayal of blacks, which unfortunately was the norm for Hollywood in those days. They're servants, maids, etc. Obviously, that was a reality in the Louisiana of plantations and Jim Crow, and the Hollywood of 1943 wasn't going to show any intelligent, proud blacks struggling heroically against oppression (not even vampiric oppression). Still, it would be less squirm-worthy as a picture if the blacks in "Son of Dracula" were a little less subservient, a little less of the "Yassah, Mastah" type. I guess with the limited budget, the film's producers weren't able to hire Hattie McDaniel. Instead, they hired Hattie's sister Etta to play...what else?...a maid.
That caveat aside though, this remains one of my favorite horror films-- professional critics be damned!
