It's old. It's slow. But overall, it's pretty entertaining.
This is a sequel to the original "Dracula" that starred Bela Lugosi. Dracula's daughter, Contessa Zoleska (played by Gloria Holden), comes to London to try and rid herself of her Father's vampiric curse. This sequel is quite different from the original, with Contessa seeming somewhat sympathetic at times.
The performances of Holden and Otto Kruger are the clinchers here. Kruger is solid as the psychologist and Holden is at once creepy and riveting. She is also clearly a threat, which adds even more to the complexity of the character.
This was so much more entertaining than I'd been expecting and the little comedic asides were an added bonus.
It's pretty damn' queer as-is, but can you imagine how gloriously queer it might have been if James Whale had directed it as planned?
Dracula's Daughter begins with the arresting of Von Helsing for the murder of Count Dracula. He's convinced he has finally saved the world from a vampire but the officers refuse to believe that. They encourage him to get a lawyer but he asks for Jeffrey Garth, a psychiatrist. While Dracula's corpse is being guarded, a mysterious woman hypnotizes the guard and steals the body. She then burns it hoping that she'll be free from the vampire curse. Turns out she still has that bloodthirsty urges but she finds hope when she encounters Dr. Garth and hearing his psychology talk. First of all, yes for bisexual representation. This film has a really good cast. Gloria Holden is perfect as the title character. She's more sympathetic and I really love her eerie presence. The police officers brings good energy into the film and some playful interactions between Dr. Garth and his secretary make it more fun to watch. I also find it interesting that the film doesn't focus on her killing urge. The fact that she doesn't want to be a vampire anymore and desperately trying to live a normal life can be seen as she suffers from psychological disorder. Overall I’m really impressed with this film. It'd be even better if there's more vampire action.
The Dracula legacy continues in Universal’s follow-up film Dracula’s Daughter. Picking up where the last film ended, Von Helsing is charged with the murder of Count Dracula; meanwhile the mysterious Countess Marya Zaleska comes to London to see the remains of Dracula, looking to cure herself of his curse. This is a rather poor sequel that stretched the material and doesn’t have a clear story arc. Additionally, the film isn’t as well cast and no one is able to bring the level of charisma that Bela Lugosi did. There are some interesting things in Dracula’s Daughter, but it doesn’t have the dark and foreboding tone that made Dracula so compelling and terrifying.
Shout by WambieBlockedParent2022-06-03T14:37:00Z
Janet Blake: Please come right away. This is the zoo speaking.
Dr. Garth: The what? The zoo?
Janet Blake: Ja! One of our elephants is seeing pink men!