Dracula's Daughter
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| Dracula's Daughter | |
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| Directed by | Lambert Hillyer |
| Written by | Bram Stoker (story Dracula's Guest) Garrett Fort (screenplay) |
| Starring | Otto Kruger Gloria Holden Marguerite Churchill Edward Van Sloan |
| Release date(s) | May 11 1936 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | US: 71 min. |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Dracula (1931) |
| Followed by | Son of Dracula (1943) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 horror film, a sequel to the 1931 film Dracula.
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[edit] Plot
This sequel begins a few moments after the previous film ends: Count Dracula has just been killed by Professor Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). Van Helsing is taken by police to Scotland Yard where he explains that he indeed did kill Count Dracula, but because he was already dead for over 500 years, it can't be considered murder. Van Helsing, instead of hiring a lawyer, enlists the aid of a psychiatrist who was once one of his star students. The doctor agrees to help Van Helsing any way he can. Meanwhile, Dracula's daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden), with the aid of her companion, Sandor (Irving Pichel}, steals Dracula’s body from Scotland Yard and burns it so she can be a normal mortal. However, her eternal thirst for human blood can't be quenched; the Countess continues to kill and sleep in her coffin during daylight hours. After a chance meeting with the same doctor who is defending Van Helsing, the Countess asks the psychiatrist to help cure her vampirism, without telling the man that she is actually a vampire.
Universal had always been keen to develop a proper sequel to their monster hit Dracula (one of the earliest scripts was based upon Dracula's Guest, a deleted chapter from Bram Stoker's novel), but it would take many years before it would eventually emerge from development hell. With the success of Bride of Frankenstein in 1935, Universal was convinced that a sequel to the original Dracula should follow in a similar vein and centre around another female monster. James Whale was hired to write the screenplay, but the executives became worried by the extravagance of Whale's ideas, especially as it would feature all the original cast. Faced with directing a low-budget sequel Whale left the project, as did everyone else, except for Edward Van Sloan who would reprise his role as Van Helsing.
[edit] Critical reaction
Curiously neglected, Dracula's Daughter was generally considered to be one of the weaker Universal horror pictures, thanks in part to the lack of recognised stars such as Bela Lugosi. However, its strong central performance by Gloria Holden and moody theatrics would eventually see it somewhat rehabilitated in more recent years, and today is recognised as a worthy follow up to Tod Browning's original movie. In addition, an infamous scene between the countess and a young female victim was featured in the documentary The Celluloid Closet (1995), helping to perpetuate the sexual aspects of the film's reputation.
Universal's Dracula series would continue seven years later with Son of Dracula.
[edit] Trivia
- Bela Lugosi was originally scheduled to reprise his role of Dracula for this sequel -- and even appeared in several publicity stills -- but for unknown reasons, possibly linked to James Whale's departure, the production went ahead without its original star. However, Lugosi had a pay-or-play contract, and thus received one of his largest salaries despite having not even appeared in the film.
- As was common with other Universal productions of the time, the same castle interior set featured at the end of the film was also used in Universal's long running Flash Gordon serial, as was some of its soundtrack.
- An early treatment for the Dracula's Daughter screenplay was written by film director Kurt Neumann, later famous for his science fiction films.
[edit] External links
- EOFFTV - The Universal Dracula series
- Dracula's Daughter at the Internet Movie Database
