Son of Dracula (1943 film)

Son of Dracula
An illustrated image featuring a concerned image of a man and woman in the foreground. The background features a man in leaning over a woman who lies below her. The title of the film appears with the cast in the centre of the poster.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Siodmak
Screenplay byEric Taylor[1]
Story byCurt Siodmak[1]
Produced byFord Beebe[1]
Starring
CinematographyGeorge Robinson[1]
Edited bySaul A. Goodkind
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Company, Inc.[1][2]
Release dates
  • 20 October 1943 (1943-10-20) (Cine Olimpia, Mexico City)
Running time
78 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish[2]

Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard (Chaney Jr.) has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo (J. Edward Bromberg) who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.

The film is the third in Universal's Dracula film series following Dracula's Daughter (1936). The film was made under different circumstances than the previous two entries in the series with a new Chairman of the Board working at Universal and several horror sequels being made since the success of the film Son of Frankenstein (1939). The film was initially being written by Curt Siodmak who was later replaced by Eric Taylor. Filming began on January 7, 1943, and concluded on February 2. Few documents related to the film's production survive from studio files or trade reports.

Son of Dracula was held back from release for about six months before its premiere in the United States, with the earliest known release date being on October 20, 1943, at Cine Olimpia in Mexico City. On its initial release, the trade magazine Boxoffice declared Son of Dracula as a hit in the United States where its sales were 23% above average. Initial reception to the film was described as "varied" by film historian Gary Rhodes.

  1. ^ a b c d e f Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 365.
  2. ^ a b c d "Son of Dracula". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2020.