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Son of Dracula (1943)
Director Robert Siodmak's first Universal film was this
Dracula derivative - it was the third film in Universal's continuing
series of films, preceded by the original Bela Lugosi classic Dracula
(1931), and its sequel Dracula's Daughter (1936). [Note:
The next Universal film to feature the Dracula character was House
of Frankenstein (1944).] The film
featured a 'son of Dracula' character, Hungarian Count Alucard, notable
as the first Dracula to make an appearance on US soil - in the contemporary
American South, and the first Dracula film to show the Count's transformation
into a bat (as a mist):
- in the film's opening, a train bearing Count Alucard's
possessions arrived in New
Orleans, LA; Katherine (or "Kay") Caldwell (Louise Allbritton) had
sent family physician Dr. Harry Brewster (Frank Craven) and her own
childhood sweetheart-fiancee Frank Stanley (Robert Paige) to greet
Count Alucard (Lon Chaney, Jr. with his sole Dracula appearance);
he was nowhere to be found, although he was accompanied by lots
of suspicious-looking baggage (that were ultimately discovered empty!)
- meanwhile, Katherine (who was interested in occult
matters, the supernatural and things "morbid" after a trip to Budapest,
Hungary) was visiting the swamp-dwelling home of gypsy voodoo practitioner
Madame Queen Zimba (Adeline De Walt Reynolds) who warned about the
Count and the coming of death: ("The angel of death hovers over a
great house. I see it in ruins. Weeds, vines growing over it, bats
flying in and out the broken windows...Alucard is not his name. You
must stop him before it is too late. Stop him before death comes
to Dark Oaks....I see you marrying a corpse, living in a grave")
- a strange squawking, wing-flapping bat materialized
nearby and she died of a heart attack due to fright
- the Caldwell's plantation, known as Dark Oaks, was
the site of a welcoming reception to honor Alucard's arrival; due
to the Count's absence (although he made a startling appearance outside),
aging and wheel-chaired Colonel Caldwell (George Irving) retired
to his upstairs bedroom - and was soon approached by the same bat
figure - and found dead in his bed (of an apparent heart failure
- and "literally frightened to death") although he had two suspicious
wound-marks on his throat
- during the reading of the Colonel's will and
instructions that split the Colonel's inheritance equally, Katherine
produced a late-dated, alternative will that gave her the sole possession
of the Dark Oaks estate, while her younger sister Claire Caldwell
(Evelyn Ankers) would receive all cash and securities
- Katherine was lured to the swamp where the Count's
coffin rose from the murky waters; he materialized from smoke or
mist that emerged from the opening box; he magically moved across
the murky waters towards her, and urged from them to visit a Justice
of the Peace Mr. Jonathan Kirby (Robert Dudley) where they were promptly
married
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The Count's Coffin Rising From Swampy Waters - With
Misty Transformation
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- Alucard immediately moved into Dark Oaks with Katherine,
stating his preference for it over his homeland: "My land is dry
and desolate. The soil is red with the blood of a hundred races.
There is no life left there. Here you have a young and vital race...Ours
will be a different life, without material needs, a life that will
last through eternity"
- during a major confrontational scene at Dark Oaks,
Frank insisted that the Count leave town ("Kay will have the marriage
annulled and if you show up here again, you'll be jailed!");
when Frank pulled out his gun, Kay hid behind the Count; he aimed
and shot twice at the Count, but the bullets went through the Count's
apparently-transparent body and struck Katherine dead; Frank fired
more shots into the Count's body, without any effect; he fled from
the plantation and was pursued by the Count (in the form of a bat)
into the swamp, but was saved by falling unconscious in a graveyard
with a crucifix as dawn also approached
- Frank's story of Katherine's death caused him to think
he was insane or hallucinating: ("Am I insane? Could I have shot
through Alucard and killed her without hurting him?...The bullets
went through him without even hurting him and killed Kay");
his account was contradicted by Dr. Brewster who visited Dark Oaks
that same night, where he spoke to both the Count and his newly-wed
Katherine (seated in bed); she specified that in the couple's ongoing
scientific research, they mostly worked during the day and shouldn't
be disturbed
- eventually, Frank confessed to Katherine's "murder" and
was jailed after Sheriff Dawes (Patrick Moriarity) searched Dark
Oaks and found her dead in a coffin; he transferred her body to the
morgue in the coffin
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Kay Found In Coffin
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Professor Lazlo Driving the Count Away with a Crucifix
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Kay Transforming into Mist and a Bat to Escape From
Morgue
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- meanwhile, an authoritative Hungarian specialist
and source on vampires named Professor Lazlo (J. Edward Bromberg)
from Muirfield University had been questioned earlier and then was
summoned to the case; he suspected that the Count was an evil vampire
(Count Alucard was Dracula spelled backwards); he claimed: "the last
Count Dracula died in the Middle Ages...According to the legends
of my people, the last Count Dracula became one of the undead, a
vampire, and was finally destroyed in the 19th century"; when the
Count encountered him, Lazlo proved he was a vampire when he repelled the
Count away with a crucifix held in the palm of his hand
- in the County Morgue, Kay transformed
into mist and escaped through the opening under the doorway; she then
flew away as a bat - seen in silhouette through the morgue's doors
- in the film's climactic scene, the 'undead' Katherine
(in bat form) visited Frank in his jail cell; as he slept, she bit
his neck - the first step in slowly turning him into a vampire like
herself; then in human form, she appeared to him, but he didn't believe
she was alive: ("You seem to be cold, like death. You seem to be
Kay, but there's a strange difference. It's almost as if I didn't
know you"); she confessed her love for Frank: ("I
don't love him (Alucard), Frank. I never did") and she encouraged
him to join her as an "undead" immortal: ("Count Alucard is immortal.
Through him, I attained immortality. Through me, you will do the
same and we will spend eternity together"); when he refused, she
told him that he was already infected by her bite: ("I've already
told you, you have no choice. Frank, isn't eternity together better
than a few years of ordinary life?"); he agreed to destroy Dracula
by either one of two methods: ("Either drive a stake through his
heart or burn his grave before he reaches it. You must do this Frank,
for us!")
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As a Bat, Kay Sucked Blood From
Frank's Neck in His Jail Cell
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Kay to Frank: "We will spend eternity together"
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- after Frank's escape from his cell (with Katherine's
help), he set the Count's coffin on fire in the swamp (to destroy
the Count's daytime sanctuary), and then, the Count perished
in the rising sun (he melted away to skeletal form - revealing the
remains of a bony hand and arm)
- in the downbeat conclusion set at Dark Oaks, Frank
entered Katherine's room in the plantation, opened her coffin, and
placed his own ring onto her left finger; then, he set Katherine's
coffin on fire - to release her from the curse of the vampire; he
stood there mourning the loss of his love as the flames consumed
her
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Frank's Goodbye to Kay
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Kay's Fiery End
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Final Image
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(l to r): Dr. Brewster and Frank Stanley at Train Station
Alucard's Suspicious Baggage
Katherine "Kay" Caldwell (Louise Allbritton)
Queen Zimba Dying of Fright From Flying Bat
First View of Count Alucard Outside Plantation
Kay with Count
Frank's Confrontation - Bullets Struck Katherine Through the
Count's Body
Frank Saved When He Fell Unconscious by Gravesite
The 'Undead' Kay in Bed After Being Shot Dead
Frank's Fiery Destruction of the Count's Coffin in the Swamp
The Count's Shriveled Skeletal Hand in Sun
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