House of Dracula (1945)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Erle C. Kenton

Writer:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

HORROR UPON HORROR in the HOUSE OF DRACULA

Plot:

Count Dracula and the Wolf Man seek a cure for their afflictions; a hunchbacked woman, a mad scientist and the Frankenstein monster have their own troubles.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Monster | Cure | Cave | Frankenstein's Monster

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Lawrence Stewart Talbot / The Wolf Man (as Lon Chaney)
John Carradine	...	Count Dracula
Martha O'Driscoll	...	Miliza Morrelle
Lionel Atwill	...	Police Inspector Holtz
Onslow Stevens	...	Dr. Franz Edlemann
Jane Adams	...	Nina
Ludwig Stössel	...	Siegfried (as Ludwig Stossel)
Glenn Strange	...	The Frankenstein Monster
Skelton Knaggs	...	Steinmuhl

Also Known As:

The Wolf Man's Cure

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:PG | USA:Approved (Certificate #11300) | Finland:(Banned) (1947) | USA:Unrated (DVD) | Sweden:7 | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 (2004)

Filming Locations:

European Village set, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Footage of Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster from Bride of Frankenstein (1935) appears during a dream sequence, intermixed with footage of Glenn Strange in the same role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening scene, and at various moments during the film, Count Dracula casts a visible shadow: Classic cinematic vampires cast no shadows.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Edelman: What are you doing here? Who are you?
Count Dracula: I am Baron Latos. I have come to you for help.
Dr. Edelman: It's five o'clock in the morning.
Count Dracula: I must apologize for the intrusion. But travel is very difficult for me, and I've come a long way.
Dr. Edelman: I don't understand.
Count Dracula: Perhaps you will, after you've led me to the basement room of this castle.
Dr. Edelman: Eh - a very strange request. This castle is my home!
Count Dracula: Have no fear, doctor. Had conditions permitted, I would have presented myself in the usual manner.
Dr. Edelman: Well, it is most unusual...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Let Him Have It (1991)

House Of Dracula (1945) **1/2

I enjoyed this more the second time around, because at first I was disappointed to watch how poorly the Universal monsters fared when compared to earlier outings. In fact, Dracula (John Carradine) does little but lust after the female assistant of the 'celebrated' doctor (Onslow Stevens) who's supposed to cure his vampirism; though Lon Chaney Jr., returning as The Wolf Man, changes a couple of times in the film, nothing ever comes of these - but, for once, we do get a happy ending for him here; the Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange) doesn't appear until half the film is over and, till the very last sequence, is strapped to an operating table (still, his final rampage and come-uppance, though partly lifted from THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN [1942], is effective enough).

The film, however, belongs to Onslow Stevens who manages both facets of the doctor's personality - the intellectual, rather cold scientist who finds logic even in the supernatural and, when infected with Dracula's blood, the prowling Hyde-like menace who re-activates the Frankenstein monster (whom he just happens to come across in a cave, by the way) for his sinister purposes...but these, needless to say, are thwarted by the nth stomping of the castle grounds by the angry villagers, led by a dignified Lionel Atwill and zombie-like Skelton Knaggs! Besides Stevens' 'monster', the film features a girl hunchback(!) - I remember laughing out loud at her introduction when I first watched the film but, thinking about it now, her presence does serve a purpose as Stevens' experiments are supposed to help cure her deformity (apparently, there ain't nothing this doctor can't fix!). Despite the general cheapness of the production, I was struck by the shadowy lighting, the music (some of it, admittedly, borrowed from earlier pictures) and the set design - elements which are always a pleasure to look out for in these Universal 'classics'.