Son of Dracula (1943)

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Eric Taylor (screenplay)
Curt Siodmak (story)

Release Date:

5 November 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Can You Take It? More Startling . . . More Blood-Curdling Than Anything You've Ever Seen!

Plot:

Count Alucard (read his name backwards) finds his way from Budapest to the swamps of the Deep South; his four nemeses are a medical doctor, a university professor, a jilted fiancé and the woman he loves.

Plot Keywords:

Count | Occult | Swamp | Professor | Doctor

Cast

Robert Paige	...	Frank Stanley
Louise Allbritton	...	Katherine Caldwell
Evelyn Ankers	...	Claire Caldwell
Frank Craven	...	Dr. Brewster
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Prof. Lazlo
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Judge Simmons
Adeline De Walt Reynolds	...	Madame Zimba (as Adeline DeWalt Reynolds)
Pat Moriarity	...	Sheriff Dawes (as Patrick Moriarity)
Etta McDaniel	...	Sarah
George Irving	...	Col. Caldwell
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Count Dracula (as Lon Chaney)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Bates	...	Tommy Land (uncredited)
Joan Blair	...	Mrs. Land (uncredited)
Jess Lee Brooks	...	Stephen, the Valet (uncredited)
Jimmy the Crow	...	Madame Zimba's Crow (uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti	...	Dr. Peters, the Coroner (uncredited)
Robert Dudley	...	Jonathan Kirby, Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Ben Erway	...	Deputy Shooting at Frank (uncredited)
Robert F. Hill	...	Deputy Shooting at Frank (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Andy, Servant Who Greets Dracula (uncredited)
George Meeker	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore	...	Matthew, Plantation Worker (uncredited)
Jack Rockwell	...	Jack, Deputy (uncredited)
Walter Sande	...	Mac, Deputy (uncredited)
Emmett Smith	...	Servant (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Siodmak

Writing credits
Eric Taylor		(screenplay)
Curt Siodmak		(story) (as Curtis Siodmak)

Produced by
Ford Beebe	....	producer
Donald H. Brown	....	associate producer
Jack J. Gross	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hans J. Salter		(as H.J. Salter)

Cinematography by
George Robinson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Saul A. Goodkind		(as Saul Goodkind)

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman
Martin Obzina

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(as R.A. Gausman)
Edward R. Robinson		(as E.R. Robinson)

Costume Design by
Vera West		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Emmy Eckhardt	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Jack P. Pierce	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Melville Shyer	....	assistant director
Ford Beebe	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wally Kirkpatrick	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound director
Charles Carroll	....	sound technician
Edwin Wetzel	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Walter Bluemel	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Max Nippell	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Roland Smith	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Fielder	....	wardrober: women (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Carl Himm	....	assistant cutter (uncredited)

Music Department
Werner R. Heymann	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Charles Previn	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Mary Chaffee	....	script clerk (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as Universal Pictures Company Inc.)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Screen Gems (1957) (USA) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2007) (Canada) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Brazil:10 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 (original rating) | Sweden:7 (re-rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #9194) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 (2004)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In the film, the vampires never display any fangs. Mexico's German Robles became the first actor to show fangs as a vampire, in 1957 (Hammer's first Dracula appeared in 1958).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Doctor Brewster is reading a book about Dracula, the page he is viewing consists of the same two paragraphs repeated throughout the two pages.

Quotes:

Count Dracula:[as his coffin is burning] Put it out! Put it out, I tell ya'!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Creature Features: Son of Dracula (#1.6)" (1970)

A Classic Of Its Kind !

An incredibly atmospheric film! One of Chaney's best! Cinematography and direction are excellent! This was a third in the line of Dracula films for Universal. The story line does not take place in the Carpathian Mountains but in the deep south. Count Alucard arrives at his new destination seeking new blood! The six foot two and one half inch massive Lon Chaney Jr. strikes an imposing figure as Count Alucard, both brutal and powerful! Chaney makes a convincing member of the undead! Chaney was a major horror star at Universal, when he was making this film. He would become the fourth legendary horror king in American cinema after his father, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff! All the actors are excellent. Louise Allbritton is very alluring and beautiful, as Katherine Caldwell Thirsting for knowledge about the undead! Her performance is also superb! Robert Paige is stand out in his performance as a man on the brink of madness, as he is slowing going insane! A truly incredible performance! The dark moodiness of the film transcends perfectly! There are many great atmospheric scenes to name just a few, when Chaney materializes on the top of a coffin, that has just risen out of the swamp, and when Allbritton passes though the bars to see Paige. The misty vapor that leaves the coffin and transforms into a bat! And the transformatiom scenes from man into bat are excellent! The film has some film noir overtones, director Robert Siodmak, went on to do the incredible film noir classic (THE KILLERS).The incredible ending is one of the best in Universal horror! This film is a truly underrated classic!