THE RETURN OF DRACULA

Francis Lederer as Dracula

THE RETURN OF DRACULA (1958). Director: Paul Landres.

When a young artist named Bellac Gordal (Norbert Schiller) begins a journey to America, he is waylaid and murdered by Dracula (Francis Lederer of Terror is a Man) --having just escaped from his pursuers --  who takes his place in modern-day California. Pretending to be a cousin, Dracula enters the household of young Rachel Mayberry (Norma Eberhardt of Live Fast, Die Young), along with her mother and little brother, Mickey (Jimmy Baird). Dracula/Bellac tries to keep to himself, although the others keep pestering him, but he is much more interested in, say, drinking the blood of Rachel's blind friend, Jenny (Virginia Vincent of I Want to Live!). He also sets his sights on Rachel, but her boyfriend, Tim (Ray Stricklyn), may have something to say about that. Meanwhile a policeman from Europe continues his hunt for Dracula in the U.S. I wouldn't be surprised if this film was rushed out as an answer to Hammer's Horror of Dracula, released the same year, but the films are miles apart in quality. Lederer was always a kind of oily leading man, even in comedies like Midnight, but in this he seems more charming than menacing, mostly due to his underplaying, as if he were afraid to seem too hammy. The production is widescreen and in black and white, except for a quick color insert showing a stake going into somebody's heart with blood spurting. Only of passing interest, The Return of Dracula has little style or excitement and proved no threat to Hammer's Dracula production. Paul Landres also directed The Vanpire the following year and it was slightly better than this.

Verdict: Stick with Christopher Lee. **.

LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG

"Touch" Connors and Troy Donahue

LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG (1958). Director: Paul Henreid.

After his days as a romantic lead were over, Paul Henreid became a director of mostly television and often bad B movies such as this. Live Fast, Die Young concerns two sisters (Mary Murphy and Norma Eberhardt) who have a series of misadventures after striking out on their own, with one, Jill, meeting the wrong men and eventually becoming embroiled in criminal activities. Murphy managed to amass 67 credits, including The Mad Magician, while Eberhardt did mostly TV work after this. More interesting cast members include Joan Marshall, who starred in Homicidal as "Jean Arless," Troy Donahue, and Michael [formerly "Touch"] Connors as a couple of bad guys. Gordon Jones [The Green Hornet] plays the girls' unpleasant father. The movie is too tedious to have much entertainment value. Among Henreid's better directorial efforts are the zesty Girls on the Loose with Mara Corday and Dead Ringer with Bette Davis.

Verdict: Moves slow, dies fast. *.