The Return of Dracula (1958)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Paul Landres

Writer:

Pat Fielder (original screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

DRACULA-The Most Terrifying Name in the History of the World

Plot:

After a vampire leaves his native Balkans, he murders a Czech artist, assumes his identity, and moves in with the dead man's American cousins.

Plot Keywords:

Cousin | Dracula | Train | Vampire | Dual Identity

Cast

Francis Lederer	...	Count Dracula, posing as Bellac Gordal
Norma Eberhardt	...	Rachel Mayberry
Ray Stricklyn	...	Tim Hansen
Jimmy Baird	...	Mickey Mayberry (as Jimmie Baird)
Greta Granstedt	...	Cora Mayberry
Virginia Vincent	...	Jennie Blake
John Wengraf	...	John Meiermann
Gage Clarke	...	Doctor Rev. Whitfield
John McNamara	...	Sheriff Bicknell
Harry Harvey	...	Station Agent (as Harry Harvey Sr.)
Melvin F. Allen	...	Mel, the Baggage Clerk (as Mel F. Allen)
Dan Gachman	...	County Clerk
Hope Summers	...	Cornelia (scenes deleted)
Robert Lynn	...	Dr. Paul Beecher

Also Known As:

The Curse of Dracula
The Fantastic Disappearing Man (UK)

MPAA:

Rated PG for images of vampire violence.

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1997) | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Gramercy Pictures (I)

Trivia:

This film was first released as the top half of a double bill with The Flame Barrier (1958).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rachel goes to the window in her bedroom, the crucifix is shown outside of her nightgown, but when she leans out the window the crucifix isn't shown, then it is when she goes back in the bedroom.

Quotes:

[first lines]
narrator: It is a known fact that there existed in Central Europe a Count Dracula. Though human in appearance and cultured in manner, he was in truth a thing undead... a force of evil... a vampire. Feeding on the blood of innocent people, he turned them into his own kind, thus spreading his evil dominion ever wider. The attempts to find and destroy this evil were never proven fully successful, and so the search continues to this very day.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Soundtrack:

DIES IRAE

Dracula hits the suburbs.

Not bad B horror in which Count Dracula (Francis Lederer) poses as the foreign cousin of an all-American small town family. When he arrives, he clearly becomes attracted to daughter Rachel (Norma Eberhardt). He begins instituting a reign of terror, while being tracked by a modern-day Van Helsing named Meierman (John Wengraf).

The appearance of the famed blood sucker in hat and coat and stalking the streets of such a supposedly cheery setting is good for a variation on the classic story. Lederer is very dapper and really looks the part of a true creep; his eerie, hissing voice, beady eyes, and craggy face help him quite well in this regard. Eberhardt is a true beauty and has real appeal. Very likable in a sizable supporting role is Virginia Vincent, who in her later years would turn up as the matriarch in Wes Cravens' "The Hills Have Eyes".

Good script by Pat Fielder and direction by Paul Landres (the two also teamed up for "The Vampire" the previous year) combine to make a fairly spooky movie with a respectable amount of atmosphere. Shots of shadows, fog, and billowing drapes add to the tension. Some great shots in the film slowly pan to reveal Dracula, although these might have worked better without the seeming need to include loud "jump" music cues to accompany his appearance. (Otherwise, the score by Gerald Fried is most excellent.) I also feel that the final confrontation and resolution feel a little rushed and aren't altogether satisfying.

That said, the picture is engaging, quickly moving, low-budget genre fun. Most interesting is that for a picture that is almost completely in black & white, the bright splash of red that accompanies the staking of an unfortunate victim is quite dazzling.

It's always a joy to discover little pictures like this and it's great when their appearances on DVD can help give them new life.

7/10