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Dracula's Daughter

Countess Marya Zaleska: "Sandor, look at me. What do you see in my eyes?"
Sandor: "Death."

Another Universal classic that I don’t hear much about. This film is a direct sequel to the original Dracula, although not in quite the way one may expect.

With Gloria Holden as Countess Marya Zaleska, the titular daughter of Dracula, Otto Kruger as Doctor Jeffrey Garth, Marguerite Churchill as his free-spirited secretary Janet Blake, Irving Pichel as the countess’ creepy henchman Sandor, Nan Grey as Lili, the young woman down on her luck that agrees to model for the countess, and the return of Edward Van Sloan as Professor Von Helsing, we follow the countess as she strives to free herself of the curse she inherited from her father.

The opening of this one is interesting as the police discover the corpses of Renfield (whom Dracula had tossed down the stairs in Dracula), and Dracula himself, with a stake through his heart in his coffin. This gets Von Helsing in some trouble of course but also sets the stage for what is to come. Instead of a lawyer he calls for his greatest pupil, now a practicing psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Garth. Dr. Garth is obviously our main protagonist almost immediately, and he ties together the thread of Dracula and his daughter, the countess Zaleska as the film proceeds, as the situation with her father and her own desire to rid herself of vampirism (and another aspect we shall discuss in more detail later in this review) smash into each other.

We are soon introduced to the Countess Zaleska, her unusual manservant Sandor, and Dr. Garth’s plucky assistant, Janet Blake. It's obvious to the audience that the countess is a vampire almost immediately, although she is more subtle than I think most modern vampire movie fans may expect. The fact that she's also a reluctant vampire helps her here at first as well, since she’s not as overt as most portrayals of Dracula have been. She’s aloof and mysterious instead of bestial and menacing.

"Are you ready for your creepiness lessons, Countess?"

The countess feels very much like a prototype of the Morticia Addams we have in the eponymous 1960s TV show. Attractive but unusual, clad in black gowns and being darkly sensuous, we’ve seen her look in Elvira, Vampiria, and at many Halloween parties. She’s also a tragic figure that wishes to rid herself of her hunger for hemoglobin. This situation is not helped by her servant Sandor, a man that is one of the creepiest characters I’ve ever seen. It’s almost comic in a way how they interact, much like the opening quote of this review exemplifies. He is constantly encouraging her to embrace her undead state, a state she loathes and wishes to be free of, turning to both mysticism and science to break free from her curse.

But she has another aspect that made her an outsider back in 1936 when this film was made. The tagline used in some ads: "Save the women of London from Dracula's Daughter!" should speak volumes. Lesbian vampires have become so common that they have their own entry on TV Tropes, but in 1936 we only really had the short story Carmilla and the unfinished poem Christabel. Because of this, the film treats both her vampirism and her sexuality as things that she wants to "cure," even if she only mentions her desire to be free from her need for blood, the subtext of her also needing to change her sexuality permeates the film, and how it ties into the end is mentioned in some reviews of the movie I’ve seen online. Some of this was noted by some contemporary critics of the film, while others missed it completely. It’s most obvious in her interactions with Lili and when she is alone with Janet while she awaits Dr. Garth’s arrival later in the film. I think most modern audiences will pick up on her attraction to other women almost immediately, even though I also think most of us don’t find that her sexual orientation makes her a villain, despite the fact that they originally wanted to use it against her, for most of us today it's just a facet of her character.

"Are you really a qualified medical practitioner?"

Of course, the movie isn't very long, running at a spritely 71 minutes, which is both a blessing and a curse. The movie feels a bit too short as we follow our main cast's trials and tribulations, but it also means the countess’s plight isn’t dragged on for too long. The ending works, but I wish it had been less rushed and allowed for more empathy with the countess. She is the main villain, but she really doesn’t feel all that villainous to me, and I’m not a big fan of how the picture wraps up. I honestly find that I sympathize with her instead of reviling her. We spend a lot of time with her agonizing over her existence, so build up a rapport with the countess that I wish they would have developed further, and used that for a more satisfying ending.

The interactions and performance of the main characters are very good. I especially love the relationship between Dr. Garth and Janet. Marguerite Churchill and Otto Kruger have excellent onscreen chemistry as they playfully tease each other, making them both likeable, something not all horror movie protagonists always pull off well. Irving Pichel is delightfully creepy and weird as Sandor, and him constantly reminding the countess of her nature frustrates her to no end, even as she relies on his services. Gloria Holden is excellent as the countess, making her feel so real and relatable, yet simultaneously mysterious. Lili isn’t in the film all the long, but Nan Grey sells the plight of the destitute woman so very well. Edward Van Sloan isn't my favorite Von Helsing, as mine has always been Peter Cushing, but he’s great here as always, being that voice of wisdom even when others think he’s not all there with his tales of Dracula and vampires. The supporting cast is quite good too, even the sillier police officers work well, even if their comedic scenes can drag on a little too long at times.

"I'm quite sure that hickey is not from me!"

They really don’t fill in how she’s his daughter very well, though. She mentions her mother when recollecting her past, but that’s about it. With a different name and her being Hungarian while Dracula is Wallachian, it doesn’t seem like they thought her actual relation to Dracula out very well for this film. One can of course point out that Wallachia became a part of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian empire and is in Romania today, which works to a degree, but it still is an inadequate explanation of the situation.

This one was another one that I struggled to rate. The performances and atmosphere are very good, but I find the story merely okay instead of good or great. It is a slower moving film, although thankfully it lacks the glacial pace of the previous Universal horror film, Werewolf of London. It’s a solid entry in this collection, and while it may not be an amazing one, it’s far better than the worst films in the set. It’s worth a watch, especially if you’re interested in the previously mentioned lesbian subtext, or just an interest in a more tragic rather than evil main antagonist.

Two and a half reluctant vampires out of four.

-Doing some reading on this one and Gloria Holden really did not want to be in horror movies. One critic said that her revulsion for the role may have made her performance as a character that loathes herself come off so well.

-This film was made shortly after the Hays Code, which is part of why certain scenes, such as the scene with the countess and Lili, were toned down from the original plan. It’s obvious to anyone watching it today what the situation is, however. It’s actually still a sultry interaction, even if it is less racy than they had wanted to do at first.

-Bela Lugosi did not actually perform in the film. They used a wax bust for any scene where Dracula appeared. It works since he starts the film staked in his coffin due to the events of the original film, so not as bad as it may sound at first.

-The original idea for this film was going to be based on "Dracula’s Guest," a chapter cut from the original Dracula novel, but legal issues forced many changes during the creation and production of the final film. I also found that the aforementioned "Carmilla" may have also influenced this movie, but it’s not 100% clear on that point.

Morella is a Gen Xer who likes strange things a bit too much.

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