Movie Info
Movie Name: House of Dracula
Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre(s): Horror/B-Movie
Release Date(s): December 7, 1945
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Look into my eyes…no not at the mirror…my eyes
Count Dracula (John Carradine) has come to Dr. Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens) for help in curing his vampirism. Unfortunately, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) also is seeking Edelmann’s experiments to cure him from his lycanthropy. When Edelmann stands in the way of Dracula taking his servant Milizia (Martha Driscoll), Dracula infects Edelmann with his blood before Dracula is killed. Now Edelmann is fighting the vampire effects of Dracula while trying to save Talbot and his hunchback servant Nina (Jane Adams). Could the Frankenstein monster be the key to the cure or will the blood infection kill Edelmann before he finds the answer?
Presenting the Monster! The End.
Directed by Erle C. Kenton, House of Dracula was the sequel to Universal’s House of Frankenstein (1944) and used the same technique of essentially a “monster mash” with many of the Universal monsters. Just like the modern Jason Vs. Freddy, this movie is suppose to be a great throw-down between all the monsters, but nothing much happens in that sense.
The movie keeps all the monsters separate for the most part. The Wolf Man is only seen in a couple of scenes and never interacts with Frankenstein or Dracula. Frankenstein barely appears in the movie (serving no real purpose) and never encounters Dracula who is already dead. It seems quite pointless…you have this image of them working together or fighting, and there is no fight.
There is also the case of the poor hunchback Nina. She’s kind of perceived as a monster in the film (though she isn’t evil and isn’t portrayed that way). They spend a lot of time building up her character and the idea that she could be cured, but then they end it all by unceremoniously killing her in what seems like little more than an afterthought.
Aren’t I sympathetic & caring? Now break my neck!
The “House” movies of Universal Pictures were a good idea, but like many money making good ideas, never very developed. It is hard to develop a story around three characters from three different time periods and have it make sense. It is also too bad that other than Lon Chaney, Jr. that more of the original actors couldn’t have been brought in to work the movies. It might have led to a better script or at least a more classic feel.
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