Customer Reviews

House of Dracula [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

By the time this one came out, the formula was pretty threadbare. In what was to be the last of the Frankenstein/Dracula/Wolfman series, the Universal monsters converge on a clinic seeking a cure. Dracula shows up, followed by the Wolfman, who, while stumbling through a cave with the latest mad scientist, conveniently happens upon the Frankenstein monster. It seems that old Frank was fortunate enough to wash ashore under the good doctor's castle. That's when the fun really begins. This is about as contrived as it gets, but it's entertaining at times. John Carradine reprises his role as Dracula; he's no Bela Lugosi, but is far better in the role than Chaney was. So, enjoy it for what it is. It's not great, but not bad either.

This is a good Grade B movie that will please fans of old horror films, including younger viewers that didn't have the advantage to be raised on a steady diet of "Spook Spectacular" TV shows. This was the last of the Universal "Frankenstein" movies, never mind Abbott and Costello. The intelligent nuances and dark humor of the early James Whale entries in the series are replaced by a wildly improbable story (even for this kind of movie) that races to the inevitable fiery conclusion. There is one brilliant scene that transcends the movie's Grade B script. Dracula (John Carradine) enters the room as Miliza Morrelle (Martha O'Driscoll) softly plays Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata on the piano. Under Dracula's hypnotic stare, the music becomes strangely expressionistic and formless as Miliza begins to succumb to his evil power. She clutches a small crucifix at her neck, and Dracula turns swiftly away in fearful repugnance before the eternal symbol of truth and righteousness. Softly, Miliza's playing returns to the quiet strains of the "Moonlight" sonata, and she regains her composure.

The rest of the movie, if not edifying, is certainly entertaining. Larry "the Wolfman" Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) arrives at Dr. Edelman's (Onslow Stevens) gothic clinic on the same evening as the mysterious Baron Latos (i.e., Dracula). Both tormented gentlemen seek release from their peculiar ailments. In a Shakespearean twist of fate, the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) is also found nearby. For treatment Dracula is given blood transfusions, Talbot has brain surgery, and the monster gets shock therapy. For a second string horror film, this flick is an abundance of memorable characters. Aside from the monster "stars" there is also the hump-backed nurse, Nina (Jane Adams), and the disgruntled villager, slow-speaking Steinmuhl (Skelton Knaggs). He leads the obligatory "angry villagers with torches" scene. The movie even manages a Jekyll-Hyde character when the good Dr. Edelman transforms into an wild-eyed fiend. Lionel Atwill appears as Inspector Holtz, a low-fat version of his Inspector Krogh character from "Son of Frankenstein." There is nothing intellectual or artistic to report of this film, but it works very well as an entertaining "monster" movie for kids of all ages. Suspend disbelief for an hour and ten minutes and enjoy it.

Since ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN was a curtain-call for the classic Universal monsters, as well being played for laughs, HOUSE OF DRACULA has to be considered to be the official end of the Universal "Monster-Rally" saga. In this flick, both Dracula (a cadaverous John Carradine) and the Wolf Man (a now mustached Lon Chaney, Jr.) seek cures for their afflictions from a famed doctor (Onslow Stevens). In the course of the film, Stevens will get his blood contaminated by Drac, turning him into a Jekyll/Hyde type maniac. The now-sinister doctor also comes across the Frankenstein monster and seeks to revive the creature. It comes down to a finally cured Wolf Man to save the day. Needless to say, this movie suffers from rushed writing, and wild omissions. For instance, we get no explaination for Drac & Wolfie's returns after they were supposedly killed off in the previous HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. At least, the happy ending accorded Chaney's suffering Wolf Man makes for a somewhat satisfying wrap-up to this saga. Stevens is very solid as the doctor turned fiend, while Chaney is reliable in his signature role. Carradine adds a nice sense of chill as Dracula. Unfortunately, Glenn Strange has little to do, but lie on a table and stomp around for the final 5 minutes as the Frankenstein monster. Not the best of the Universal horrors, but recommended for fans of the classic monsters.

"House of Dracula" is a surprisingly sinister shocker from Universal right before it shut down it's B movie unit--and promptly fired all of its legendary cast and crew, including Evelyn Ankers, Fay Helm, Lon Chaney, David Bruce, etc. The whole movie is beautifully lit and photographed. The story is like an eerie dream, with everyone gliding around in a trance-like state. Martha O'Driscoll is wonderful as the nurse who falls in love with Chaney--the Wolfman. Her hushed voice and her playing of the Rachmoninoff Concerto are the highlights. Especially good is Onslow Stevens as the classical "mad" doctor. Since this is a fantasy movie, don't be surprised when all the monsters conveniently gather in the old mansion: John Carradine, as Dracula (good and chilling, but he still ain't Lugosi); Chaney as the Wolfman and Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein monster.There's even a female hunchback(Jane Adams) thrown in. Best scene: when the hunchback opens the door to the laboratory to check on the doctor and he has changed into a crazed, glittering eyed monster. His shadow, backlit onthe wall, races towards hers. Beautiful and dreamy and with terrific, expressionistic sets, this among the last of the Universal shockers. Enjoy it, buy it!

House of Dracula is an enjoyable classic monster film. Onslow Stevens is quite good as the compassionate, but mis-guided scientist who trys to "cure" Dracula, the Wolf Man and The Frankenstein Monster as well as his lovely, but Hunchedbacked, assistant, the ravishing Jane Adams. Quite an ambitious agenda for one film! The results are mixed, Dracula can't stop preying on pretty nurses and is dispatched by the good doctor. However Dracula, played very well by John Carradine, reverses a transfusion and curses the doctor with some of his blood. The doctor performs an operation and cures Lon Chaney Jr. of the Werewolf curse. Tragically, Dracula's blood turns the good doctor to evil and he revives the Frankenstein Monster and kills his pretty nurse before he is gunned down by the now ex-Wolfman. Lionel Atwill (always a welcome addition to these films!) is electrocuted by Frankenstein before the monster is consumed in the flames of the laboratory. This movie whatever its faults certainly doesn't drag!! All this and more happens in a brisk 70 minutes. What I don't understand is why Universal hasn't released "House of Dracula" on DVD with its other classic monster films? I have the VHS tape above as well as the Laserdisc release of 1995. Both show a print that is quite well preserved. So where is the DVD Universal???????? I would like to complete my collection~and get a few more as gifts!! My brother and I watched these as kids growing up, far better than the often sexually explicit "Slasher Flicks" that today's pre-teens are watching!! When our parents were that age movies like "House of Dracula" were what they watched at the Saturday afternoon Matinee. I am sure they would also love to see it again as well. I can only hope that Universal "digs it up", before the next full moon or at least in the near future for a DVD release!

Upon my first viewing I didn't really care for House of Dracula, which I even stated in my House of Frankenstein review, but I have to say now I really enjoyed it a lot more than the first time. While very flawed like the previous 2 crossover movies I think House of Dracula might now rate as my favorite of the crossover flicks (excluding Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, which I see as a separate entity of the series). Despite the many flaws of House of Dracula it's also a lot of fun to watch.

The biggest problem with House of Dracula is the same exact problem with House of Frankenstein; you have Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster and yet they don't appear on screen together and there were some problems mixing the three together in one film. Edward T. Lowe who wrote House of Frankenstein returns and writes House of Dracula. And his script for House of Frankenstein while good felt sort of like an anthology; the opening act was Dr. Niemann and his story and he remains in the movie. The 2nd act was Dracula; the 3rd act was The Wolf Man and the final act Frankenstein's Monster. It really felt like 4 different movies.

The script for House of Dracula pretty much has the same format, but the plots for Dracula and The Wolf Man work a little better as far as structure goes and it doesn't feel like it's a separate film. But like House of Frankenstein, the Monster again played by Glenn Strange appears around the middle of the movie, but isn't resurrected until the final act and again only gets to move about in the final few minutes. The script though by Edward T. Lowe works well with some really interesting ideas. I would have liked to have seen the Monsters appear together like in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, but Lowe isn't as good as a writer as Curt Siodmak was. But overall Lowe's script works well.

Erle C. Kenton returns as director and overall his scenes are mostly well paced, but it does lack in some areas. He never really elevates the movie besides simply being fun, which when all is said and done I suppose is all that really matters. Kenton was an alright director based on what I've seen and what he might lack he does make up for in creating a fun flick.

What makes House of Dracula work so well is it has a very solid cast and the actors make a lot more of the movie than maybe it should have been. John Carradine returns as Dracula and while he's no Lugosi, he's far better than he gets credit for. Onslow Stevens as Dr. Edlemann is the standout and his journey into madness works really well. Stevens gives a terrific performance and I really enjoyed the character. Like House of Frankenstein it's really tough to rate Glenn Strange since he doesn't come alive to the final few minutes. Based on his limited screen time he isn't bad, but obviously he cannot compare to Boris Karloff. No actor that played the Monster comes anywhere near Karloff.

Lon Chaney Jr. again delivers a great performance as Larry Talbot/ the Wolf Man. While like the previous part he's given little to do besides say the same thing over and over, Chaney is just so likeable in the role it works well. Despite being an Icon of the horror genre I can't help but feel Chaney is also slightly underrated. When your father is screen legend Lon Chaney Sr. it's easy to understand the expectations on Jr. but as I've stated before I've always like Jr. more. And I suppose being in an era with Karloff and Lugosi one might be overlooked and while in my opinion Karloff is the king of the genre, Chaney was still great and really did some great work and he deserves more credit than he gets despite being seen as an Icon.

House of Dracula is a flawed flick, but it moves at a quick pace and is only 67-minutes so even with the slow moments they don't last long. This is just as good as House of Frankenstein and maybe slightly better due to the fact this one runs at a shorter running time. House of Frankenstein was very enjoyable, but even though it was only 74-minutes it could have been chopped down a bit. House of Dracula had the perfect running time. There aren't many slow moments and again at 67-minutes it moves quickly. House of Dracula is far from great, but it's a lot of fun like the other crossover flicks.

Various legendary monsters are summoned by enterprising Dr. Edelman {Onslow Stevens} to develop "cures" for their conditions. Count Dracula arrives late on night as "Baron Latos" {John Carradine}, to undergo transfusion treatments*; and The Wolfman is to be neurologically injected with a wolvesbaine compound. Still, these creatures stay true to their natures, as Dracula seduces lovely blonde nurse Miliza during a moving rendition of Moonlight Sonata {the "music of My world" ~ Dracula}, and The Wolfman takes a suicidal leap off a cliff's edge hoping to end his lunar torment, but instead resides in the caves below the castle where Frankenstein's monster is discovered semi-submerged in the ruins, clutching his creator's skeleton.

After The Wolfman almost kills Dr. Edelman, they find the hidden chambers beneath the castle, and transport Frankenstein's creature back to the laboratory, where after a brief resuscitation attempt, decide against it, based on moralistic admonitions by hunchbacked nurse 'Nina', despite the overwhelming benefits to science and humankind this would engender.

Eventually, Dr. Edelman realizes the folly of inviting these darksome personages to the castle when he witnesses the slow somnambulism of nurse Meliza into Dracula's influence, and erroniously thinks he has been rid of this Prince of Darkness via a deceptive transfusion session, but his revenge is deeply ingrained into flesh and bone, as Edelman's mind is possessed of swirling visions of what he must now do, with Dracula's blood flowing in his veins - seems he himself was justifiably tricked into receiving vampire essence, which transforms him into a very Jeckyl & Hyde / Mad Scientist character, in which he murders a horse-driver and runs rampant at a local village, which causes the classically amusing 'villagers with torches and pitchforks' scene, but he manages to elude capture. He also began the successful resurrection of Frankenstein's creation, who is too quickly dispatched by the flame.

Meliza and a cured Wolfman fall in love, and hunchbacked Nina is de-humped, thus presenting a statuesque brunette beauty. John Carradine made for a curious, though always regal Count, and Frankenstein's monster is very nicely portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr., master monster man.

With shades of 'Mad Monster Party', House of Dracula contains several original monsters from cinematic arcana {with the exception of The Mummy and The Creature from The Black Lagoon} rolled into one film, mixed with an intriguing plot, Noir accoutrement, and gothically elegant environments, which is a most diabolically-pleasing combination.

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* Brings to mind Dr. Hoffman's treatments for Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows infamy.

"House of Dracula", really is a strange little film that often appears to not really be quite sure which story it is trying to tell. With a collection of some of Universal Studios' greatest monsters present in the form of Count Dracula, The Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's Monster, the story at times appears top heavy with monsters with not enough screen time devoted to all of them to adequately tell their stories. The main compensation in this final Universal horror effort released right at the end of World War Two is however a beautifully atmospheric production that in many ways doesn't obviously reveal it's "B" movie origins. The chief source of interest for me personally with "House of Dracula", is to see the great John Carradine in his performance as Count Dracula, and in his all too limited screen time he most capably takes on the character which is forever associated with the legendary Bela Lugosi from his 1931 version of "Dracula". Far too crowded with monsters and with the Frankenstein Monster coming off by far the worst with a tiny unimportant part, the story of "House of Dracula", at times seems rushed and under developed but it still has that distinctive Universal character about it that makes it an essential final installment in the collection of any lover of Universal Studio's horror efforts.

The action in this story begins at the remote home/laboratory of Dr. Edelman (Onslow Stevens) a doctor devoted to the betterment of mankind. Late one night he is visited by a gentleman claiming he is Baron Latos but who in actual fact is Count Dracula (John Carradine). The Count is supposedly seeking a cure for his vampirism and his visit coincides with one by the anguished Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney), who has also come to the doctor seeking a cure from the affliction of lycanthropy, which makes him turn into a werewolf at the full moon. While Larry is sincere in wanting to be cured the Count has other ideas and forms an attraction to Dr. Edelmen's attractive Assistant Miliza (Martha O"Driscoll) who he intends to turn into one of his evil brides. Dr. Edelmen begins working on a cure for both men and he and the Count undergo a series of blood transfusions by which Count Dracula will have all of his afflicted blood removed. With the help of his hunchbacked assistant Nina (Jane Adams), Dr. Edelman has a break through in producing a vaccine that will also cure Larry however Larry finds the wait unbearable and attempts to kill himself. During the search for him in the caves below the cliff face near the laboratory Dr. Edelman finds the body of Baron Frankenstein's monster encased in the mud. He then gets the idea of also reviving the monster and making sure that it only does good rather than evil like it has in the past. Warned by Nina that Count Dracula is causing trouble with Miliza Dr. Edelman finds his blood exchanged for some of Count Dracula's after Dracula reversed the blood flow during one of their sessions. Dr. Edelman finds himself now transformed into a deranged beast who is intent on resurrecting the monster for evil reasons. The doctor gets his revenge on Count Dracula by dragging his coffin into the sun light however in his deranged state he is shot by Larry as he prepares to attack the women and in the ensuring fight a fire breaks out in the laboratory which very quickly consumes Frankenstein's monster leaving Larry and Miliza now free to start new lives.

"House of Dracula", could never be regarded as one of Universal Studios best and really the whole plot and group of characters assembled are not carefully enough thought out for it to be truly satisfying. John Carradine a veteran of countless Hollywood productions does do a fine job as Count Dracula and he lends a debonair and suitably mysterious element to his playing which matches up to most of the best interpretations of Dracula over the years. Glenn Strange coming back again as Frankenstein's Monster has almost nothing to do in this outing and one has to wonder why his character was really included in the story at all as he brings nothing to it in his limited screen time and colourless performance. Lon Chaney performing yet again his own favourite character of the frantic Larry Talbot desperately trying to find a cure for his affliction as he was in such films as "The Wolf Man", and "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man", does well in his role. He manages to inject many sympathetic elements into his playing making Larry a full dimensional character that viewers can perhaps identify with. His transformation into the Werewolf employs the same top rate makeup work as was seen in the earlier films and Chaney, who was a reliable but largely unexciting actor seems to really come alive in these transformation scenes and takes on totally the persona of the sadistic werewolf out for blood. The main females in the cast tend to play fairly standard parts for these type of efforts however Jane Adams earned herself a piece of Universal horror history in her playing of the memorable hunchbacked assistant Nina. her lovely face combined with her twisted body is a visual image often revived to thi sday when discussions are made of 1940's Universal horror efforts. Director Erle C. Kenton has a hard time here getting all the different monster's story to mesh and admittedly is not always successful in making them into one coherent story. The very rushed ending to the story with no concluding dialogue is quite jarring and the frequent use of old stock footage from earlier efforts such as "Bride of Frankenstein", while a common practice in these types of efforts is very obvious and not really in keeping with the look of the rest of the film. The films other production values do however make it a still worthy successor to Universal's more successful earlier efforts. Dr. Edelman's laboratory is a terrific set and the lighting employed in this effort is first rate in creating a very eerie effect. I personally find John Carradine's transformations in a bat actually quite well done and although most bats flying through rooms in these horror efforts generally always look false this time the look is handled quite well.

In viewing "House of Dracula", it's wise not to expect to see a film in the vein of James Whale's early horror efforts as this story has so many wildly improbable story elements in it as to be almost unrecognisable as a successor to those earlier efforts. It's fun for horror buffs to enjoy on a much less critical level which is totally fine. My advise to you when watching this film is to simply put your thinking caps away and enjoy the eerie goings on in Universal's last horror efort of the 1940's. "House of Dracula", while having its faults makes an enjoyable time passer and should still be included in your horror film library.

The premise actually is a very intriguing one for the "classic horror genre," in that a well-respected doctor, apparently highly regarded for research and innovation that is vaguely left hanging, with a strong religious belief, is approached for healing... and has sufficient idealism to extend the healing arts even to Dracula! Of course, the viewer has no idea of how said doctor was known by Dracula and the Wolf Man, or how he conveniently has the Frankenstein monster on his property, and healing of one who has been dead (then un-dead) for centuries seems excessively ambitious, but the effect remains curiously poignant - the efforts of a man of science, sincerely good, who hopes to find cures for the mind and soul through healing metabolic processes. (That these monsters all had previously died in several feature films is irrelevant - that detail never stopped their reappearance before.)

I'm sure I'm not alone (amongst Universal horror film buffs) in having always found Larry Talbot (Wolf Man) to be an extremely sympathetic character. (Remember "The path you walked was thorny, through no fault of your own..." from the original?) This film, in all honesty, is so poorly executed (in the literary sense, since the filmography is good for the genre), and the plot so patchy, largely from seeking to integrate several different and unrelated monster themes, that it is only for fans of the series. Yet it is a great pleasure to see the decent and innocent Larry Talbot cured!

Much goes unexplained, of course, and the depiction of the doctor, quite moving in the beginning, is dreadful when, in a puzzling move, a bit of Dracula's blood turns him into (not a vampire but) a mad scientist seeking to kill. The Frankenstein monster would have been well left out, since he plays no real part in anything but the poor ending.

Still, it is fun, and just seeing the wolf man restored to health is worth an annual viewing.

This movie is one hour and seven minute long and was released on December 7, 1945. This movie was the final farewell to Dracula, Wolf Man and the Monster; if one does not count Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The movie is set several years in the future where House of Frankenstein ended. Dracula a. k. a. Baron Latos seemed the have escaped his sunlight death from the last movie and seeks a cure for his vampirism. Lawrence Talbot (the Wolf Man) seems immune from silver bullets because he was killed with one in the House of Frankenstein. So right there is a making for a poor script. The good Dr. Edelmann only goes evil when Baron Latos injects him with his blood. Creativity was not used in this movie. When Dr. Edelmann soul is debating between to bring the Monster back to life or destroy it, they are several flashbacks to several different Frankenstein movies. Even at the end, some of the film from the Ghost of Frankenstein was borrowed. If you must see this movie or even own, see if it can be down loaded.