THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST

Charles Gordon, John Abbott, Adele Mara

THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST (1945). Director: Lesley Selander. Colorized.

In the village of Bokunda in Africa, dead bodies are turning up partially drained of blood. The natives believe a vampire is on the loose, something which is scoffed at by Father Gilchrist (Grant Withers of Jungle Jim), as well as Roy Hendrick (Charles Gordon), his girlfriend, Julie (Peggy Stewart), and her father Thomas (Emmett Vogan of Hop Harrigan). On an expedition to a nearby village, tavern owner Webb Fallon (John Abbott of Deception) puts a spell on Roy and reveals that he is four-hundred years old and fond of drinking blood. As more murders occur, Fallon develops an overwhelming "fondess" for Julie, whom he hopes to make one of the Undead to ease his loneliness. Will Roy be able to shrug off the mind control and save his lover? 

John Abbott as the unlikely vampire

The Vampire's Ghost -- there is actually no ghost in the picture -- is a cheap Republic horror film that has some well-staged sequences (a night time attack on gambler Roy Barcroft, for instance) but is overall mediocre. In motion pictures vampires tend to be frightening and/or romantic figures, but the funny-lookin' John Abbott more often played comical or weaselly roles. However, Abbott is a good enough actor to be entirely credible as the sinister Fallon. Republic contract player Charles Gordon, who only made ten pictures, is effective as Roy, who doesn't seem much of a match for Fallon. Peggy Stewart, and Adele Mara as the ill-fated dancer Lisa, are also good. Grant Withers and Roy Barcroft, old standbys in classic serials, go through their paces with panache, especially Barcroft. The conclusion at a jungle temple devoted to a long-gone cult of evil is so drawn out that the film, which is less than an hour long, temporarily seems interminable. Lesley Selander also directed the serial Jungle Raiders. 

Verdict: Worth seeing just once. **1/2. 

CURSE OF THE UNDEAD

CURSE OF THE UNDEAD (1959). Director: Edward Dein. 

In the old west the Sheriff (Edward Binns of Without Warning!), Dr. Carter (John Hoyt), and Preacher Dan (Eric Fleming) are appalled at the deaths of several young girls whose bodies are drained of blood. When Dr. Carter dies the same way, his son, Timmy (Jimmy Murphy of Wall of Noise), and daughter, Delores (Kathleen Crowley), are convinced that the perpetrator is Buffer (Bruce Gordon of The Scarface Mob), a neighbor who coveted Carter's land. Delores hires a gunslinger named Drake Robey (Michael Pate of Thunder on the Hill) to take care of Buffer, but she is unaware that it is Robey who is one of the Living Dead. Now the vampire and the preacher are in combat for the lady's immortal soul. 

Michael Pate carries Kathleen Crowley

Curse of the Undead is, I believe, the first of the horror-westerns. (Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula came out years later.) The picture has a good story -- although on occasion the script is confusing and inconsistent -- that needs a much stronger directorial hand, but the acting from every single player can not be faulted and is what makes the picture work. Michael Pate may not have possessed Tyrone Power-type looks, but he was still attractive and certainly charismatic in his way, and he gives a very good lead performance in this. He is matched by Kathleen Crowley, whose talent was greater than her TV-B movie origins. Jimmy Murphy also scores as Timmy, and has a particularly good scene when he challenges Buffer to a duel in the local saloon. As for Bruce Gordon, Elliott Ness' nemesis in so many episodes of The Untouchables, he also exhibits his customary charisma while also displaying a more vulnerable side to his character. Eric Fleming makes the most of his role as the preacher. Edward Dein also directed The Leech Woman. 

Verdict: It isn't always easy to be convincing in stories of this type, but all of the actors pull it off. **3/4. 

DRACULA AND HIS PALS

DRACULA AND HIS PALS,

This week Great Old Movies looks at films starring the venerable old baddie, Dracula. You can already find reviews of the original 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi, as well as posts on Dracula's Daughter; the first Hammer Dracula film starring Christopher Lee, The Horror of Dracula; and one of the best follow-ups, the excellent Dracula, Prince of Darkness; among many others. Just type in "Dracula" in the search bar above.

Now this week we have Francis Lederer in The Return of Dracula; Jack Palance doing his version of the count for Dan Curtis; Ingrid Pitt doing a turn as Countess Dracula; and even William Marshall as Blacula. There is also Italian director Dario Argento's version of the classic story; among others. Just scroll down to enjoy. And feel free to leave a comment whether you agree with my assessment or not.

Thanks for reading!

DRACULA A.D. 1972

New Blood: Christopher Neame as a young vampire

DRACULA A.D. 1972 (also known as Dracula A.D./1972). Director: Alan Gibson.

A prologue set in 1872 shows the deaths of both Dracula and Van Helsing after a final, furious battle, then the film jumps ahead 100 years in this first of Hammer's 20th century Dracula flicks. Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is the grandson of the great vsmpire hunter, living in modern London with his granddaughter, Jessica (Stephanie Beacham of Schizo). Jessica is friends with a man named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), who is apparently the reincarnation of one of Dracula's human slaves. Johnny enlists his friends in a black mass, the sole purpose of which is to revivify the ancient, blood-sucking count (Christopher Lee). Dracula snacks on several of Johnny's nubile friends and turns a decidedly willing Johnny into a vampire, but Drac wants revenge on the Van Helsing family and sets his sights on Jessica ... Dracula A.D. 1972 with its jazzy score is like a pop version of Dracula but it mostly works, primarily because of a fast pace and some excellent acting. Cushing and Lee give their usual classy and committed performances, and Neame is a real find as the dynamic and evil Alucard. Michael Coles makes an effective Inspector Murray and Caroline Munro [The Spy Who Loved Me] is fine as one of the count's first victims. The action sequences are well-staged by director Gibson. The vampire folklore in the film is confusing, as Dracula turns people into vampires with one bite without their dying first, and his other victims never rise from the grave. The group Stoneground perform the catchy enough "Alligator Man" in a party sequence. Neame has amassed nearly 100 credits and is still working today. Followed by The Satanic Rites of Dracula.

Verdict: Fun Dracula flick with excellent performances. ***.

THE HORROR COMICS:

THE HORROR COMICS: Fiends, Freaks and Fantastic Creatures, 1940s - 1980s. William Schoell. McFarland publishing; 2014.

Another shameless plug for my latest book, which covers about forty-five years of horror stories told in comic books. Many of these were influenced by films and radio, and sometimes the stories in horror comic books were turned into movies -- without crediting the comic book. Fans of the controversial and vivid EC horror comics will enjoy reading about the stories that were adapted for such series as Tales from the Crypt as well as for the theatrical films Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. Then there were long-running comics based on The Twilight Zone and Boris Karloff's Thriller. Giant bugs, bloodsucking vampires, flesh-eating fiends, giant voracious man-eating crabs, psychotic wives with axes, deals with the devil, adulterous husbands with murder on their minds, flesh-tearing werewolves, giant spiders with human heads and fangs, dinosaurs out-of-time and on the rampage, Frankenstein and Dracula -- The Horror Comics has it all. You'll read about such stories as "Airboy vs the Rats;" gory classics like "Foul Play;" weird ones like Simon and Kirby's "Head of the Family;" chilling heart-breakers like "Mr. Reilly, the Derelict" and "The Kid's Night Out;" adaptations of Poe, Lovecraft, Stevenson and Ray Bradbury -- and much more, such as the classic terror tale from Dell's Ghost Stories: "The Horror of Dread End," which gave many a kid nightmares back in the day. You can order direct from the publisher's website or from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

BLACK SUNDAY

Barbara Steele in satanic mode

BLACK SUNDAY (aka The Mask of Satan/La maschera del demonio/1960.) Director: Mario Bava.

This is the first film for which Bava was credited as director. The witch Asa (Barbara Steele) has a spiked mask hammered into her face and is entombed, but many years later some blood drips onto the mask and the witch is revived to get revenge on the descendants of those who destroyed her. Asa would also love to possess the mind and body of her lookalike, Katia (Steele, of course). Katia's brother Constantine (Enrico Olivieri) and doctor (John Richardson) do their best to foil the plans of the hateful and vampiric Asa. Although Black Sunday is a famous and influential movie it's still pretty mediocre, but is bolstered by the appearance of Steele with her distinctive, expressive and sensual face [but, who, sadly, is dubbed throughout] and by Bava's excellent cinematography. Like most of Bava's movies, Black Sunday is rich in atmosphere and has excellent settings, especially the castle where most of the action takes place, but it lacks tension and impact. Bava also directed The Whip and the Body/What three years later, but his best film is arguably Blood and Black Lace. 

Verdict: Everything Barbara Steele is in is interesting. **1/2.

TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA

Dracula (Christopher Lee) surveys the scene

TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970). Director: Peter Sasdy.

Three gentlemen who are respectable British citizens by day go to the fleshpots at night and crave ever-more excitement. This they certainly get when a dissolute Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde) tells them where they can find the remains of the one and only Dracula (Christopher Lee). For this ultimate thrill the three men pay the price -- literally and figuratively -- when they sort of reconstitute the vampire with fresh blood inside an old church and all Hell breaks loose ... Although Dracula's first appearance is perhaps not given the dramatic thrust it requires, Taste the Blood of Dracula is an attention-holder and features a lot of fine British actors giving it their all. Bates is especially good, along with Geoffrey Keene as Hargood, whose daughter, Alice (Linda Hayden) is in love with Paul (Anthony Corlan/Higgins), son of fellow "adventurer," Paxton (Peter Sallis); Higgins and Sallis also give noteworthy performances. Gwen Watford is fine as Hargood's wife, Martha. Roy Kinnear and Michael Ripper are also in the cast, and Lee plays with his customary authority. Sasdy also directed the memorable Hands of the Ripper for Hammer.

Verdict: Satisfying Hammer horror. ***.

FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2

"A black bloodsucker of indeterminate sex"

FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2 (1988). Director: Tommy Lee Wallace.

In this sequel to Fright Night, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is seeing a psychiatrist and has almost convinced himself that his bloodsucking opponent, Jerry, in the first film was not a vampire but merely a homicidal maniac. Unfortunately the dead Jerry's sister Regine (Julie Carmen) is in town hoping to get revenge against Jerry and Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), and she's got a whole host of vampires with her, including one who is given to turning into a wolf, a hulking strong man, and a black bloodsucker of indeterminate sex. Fright Night Part 2 is reasonably entertaining, but it doesn't blend its scares and laughs as well as the original, and it lacks the first film's originality and charm. However, it does have some good FX work and interesting scenes, and the acting is fine. Charley has a new girlfriend, Alex, played by Traci Lind.

Verdict: No Fright Night, but has its good points. **1/2.

FRIGHT NIGHT

Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985). Writer/director: Tom Holland.

High school student Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) becomes convinced that his new next-door neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire who is preying upon women in the neighborhood, but he has trouble convincing his girlfriend, Amy (Amanda Bearse), let alone the police. When Jerry tells Charley that his days are numbered, the desperate boy appeals to local television celebrity Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), who hosts a movie program called "Fright Night" and played a vampire hunter countless times in the cinema. Unfortunately, Vincent has no real skill at killing vampires and is horrified at the whole situation, first thinking Charley is unhinged, and almost becoming unhinged himself when he discovers the lad is telling the truth. When Amy is kidnapped by Jerry, these two unlikely vampire hunters have to gather up their courage to take action ... Fright Night skillfully blends suspense, scares, sensuality and humor in an absorbing and very entertaining movie that features top-notch performances from all of the named principals, as well as good work from Stephen Geoffreys as Charley's friend "Evil" Ed, and Jonathan Stark as Jerry's non-vampire but hardly human helpmate. One clever scene has Amy dancing with Jerry in a disco, glancing in the wall-length mirror, and seeing that she's apparently dancing with herself -- vampires cast no reflection. Excellent special effects throughout as well. Followed by Fright Night Part 2 and remade in 2011; this version was also good but had a lot less charm.

Verdict: Rousing, light-hearted horror thriller. ***.

DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE

Christopher Lee as Dracula

DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968). Director: Freddie Francis.

In this sequel to Dracula Prince of Darkness, the blood-lusting count (Christopher Lee) is freed from his icy prison but discovers that Monsignor Mueller (Rupert Davis) has placed a big cross against the door to his castle as part of his efforts of purification. Enraged, the count mind-controls a pliable priest (Ewan Hooper) and enlists his aid in getting revenge. Dracula sets his sights on the monsignor's pretty niece, Maria (Veronica Carlson), who has a boyfriend, Paul (Barry Andrews), who shocks the monsignor and her mother (Marion Mathie) by admitting he's an atheist [this development takes a predictable route in some ways but not in others]. The busty barmaid Zena (Barbara Ewing) has a yen for Paul but instead winds up the lover of Dracula. [The scene in which the count stalks her just before dawn is well handled except it appears to be daylight already!] The main problem with Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is that it follows the excellent Prince of Darkness [directed by Terence Fisher] and must suffer by comparison. Otherwise, it's effective enough on its own terms and boasts some very good acting from all the principals. Lee is given some dialogue this time around, but only interacts with others when he is controlling or attacking them.

Verdict: Not the best of the Count, but not bad. **1/2.

DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS

Dracula (Christopher Lee) in attack mode

DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966). Director: Terence Fisher.

Two couples are touring Europe -- Helen and Alan (Barbara Shelley, Charles Tingwell) and Alan's brother Charles (Francis Matthews) and his wife Diana (Suzan Farmer) -- when they are warned to stay away from Carlsbad by Father Sandor (Andrew Kier). Naturally, they go directly to Carlsbad despite Helen's sensible misgivings. There they wind up "guests" in Dracula's castle (which is not musty and full of cobwebs but quite beautiful and handsomely appointed) and given every courtesy by the late count's helpful manservant, Klove (Philip Latham). It isn't long before Dracula is no longer dead, however, and a cat and mouse game ensues between him and Klove and the two horrified couples. With top notch photography [Michael Reed], direction and acting -- Christopher Lee makes quite an impression as Dracula despite the fact he hasn't a line of dialogue --  this is one classy horror film, superior to its predecessor Horror of Dracula, good as that was. (Neither Lee nor Dracula actually appeared in the first follow-up, The Brides of Dracula.) Creepy and suspenseful, this one works every step of the way. As usual, James Bernard's music is a bonus. Peter Cushing's brief appearance at the opening is taken from a previous film.

Verdict: One you can really sink your teeth into. ***1/2.

VAMPIRE CIRCUS

VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972). Director: Robert Young.

Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman), who has been putting the bite on children in a small European village, vows to destroy everyone after the townspeople finally catch up with him and dispatch him. No one is allowed to leave the village because of a quarantine due to the "plague" of vampirism, but years later a gypsy circus troupe makes its way into Stettel, its entertainers putting the bite on everyone to not only avenge the count but bring him back to life. It's hard to get absorbed in this movie because out of its one-dimensional characters it has no real protagonist, the closest being Dr. Kersh (Richard Owens) who believes vampirism is no more than a disease and gets past the guards to go out and find a cure -- but he isn't seen for most of the movie. Similarly his son Anton (John Moulder-Brown of The Boys of Paul Street) only appears sporadically. A bigger problem is that for all the sex and bloodshed Vampire Circus is kind of tedious and uninvolving.Worse, there's a highly unpleasant emphasis on the erotic seduction of children. With some exceptions, the cast seems strangely unattractive as well.

Verdict: Manages the bizarre feat of making a circus of vampires seem as boring as it is repellent. **.

QUEEN OF BLOOD

The very odd Florence Marley as a sinister queen

QUEEN OF BLOOD (aka Planet of Blood/1966 ) Writer/director: Curtis Harrington.

Using footage from a foreign space epic or two for FX shots, Curtis Harrington [What's the Matter with Helen?] fashioned this quaint horror-sci-fi tale using some American actors and Czech-born Florence Marley. Astronauts Alan Brenner (John Saxon), Laura James (Judi Meredith) and Paul  Grant (Dennis Hopper), among others, fly to pick up an alien visitor who has landed on the wrong moon. The visitor is a silent, spooky, weird alien queen (perfectly cast Marley) with green skin, an acorn hairdo, and a certain strict diet that Dracula could empathize with. Before long the crew find themselves fighting off her unwelcome advances. Queen of Blood is disjointed, but eventually it becomes modestly entertaining. Basil Rathbone plays a doctor who seems more fascinated by Marley's appetite than appalled. The actors do the best they can, considering what they have to work with. Meredith was the princess in Jack the Giant Killer. Now and then you'll hear some of Ronald Stein's music from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Verdict: Okay, but no It, the Terror from Beyond Space. **1/2.

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960). Director: Terence Fisher.

A young French woman, Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur), on her way to a girls school to join the teaching staff, spends the night in the castle of a lonely old woman, Baroness Meinster (Martita Hunt), who tells her that her son, the baron (David Peel), lives by himself in another part of the castle. Marianne finds him and is shocked to see that he is in leg irons. Freeing him, she unleashes a wave of vampirism that engulfs the girl's school and brings in that legendary vampire hunter, Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). This sequel to Horror of Dracula  has its moments but suffers from the fact that there is no actual Dracula -- or Christopher Lee, who played the count in the first film -- in the story. Nonetheless Peel makes an impression as this substitute bloodsucker, and Freda Jackson scores as the housekeeper, Greta, who looked to the baron's needs for years and goes literally mad when he finally escapes; Hunt is also good as his mother. Cushing, of course, is excellent. Nothing terribly provocative happens at the girls school, but director Fisher still handles it with his usual dramatic flair.

Verdict: Entertaining if minor Hammer horror flick. **1/2.

FRIGHT NIGHT (2011)

Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin

FRIGHT NIGHT (2011). Director: Craig Gillespie.

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) discovers that his new next-door neighbor, Jerry (Colin Farrell), is a vampire who is preying upon everyone in their suburban Vegas neighborhood. At first his mother (Toni Collette) and girlfriend, Amy (the unfortunately named Imogene Poots) don't believe him, until Jerry -- who hasn't been invited into their home as vampires must be -- tries to blow up the place to get them out and get rid of them. Charley's nerdy friend, Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, another easy-to-forget moniker), who tried to warn him about Jerry, becomes an early victim/vampire, but Charley tries to enlist the aid of a horror host and performer named Peter Vincent (David Tennant). This remake of the original Fright Night is a souped-up, sexier, more elaborate version with more gore and special effects [but, if I recall correctly, not as much charm]. Chris Sarandon, who played the vampire in the original, has a cameo as a victim and still looks good enough [at 70!] to play the lead. The actors in this are all first-rate, with Farrell making a memorable villain. The movie does a good job of mixing humor with creepy and suspenseful scenes, such as a chase on the highway and an escape from Jerry's house. Not bad climax, either.

Verdict: Entertaining horror-comedy hokum. ***.

COUNT DRACULA

Christopher Lee

COUNT DRACULA  (1970). Director: Jess Franco [Jesus Franco].

This is probably not the worst movie directed by prolific Spanish hack Jess Franco, but it's still not very good. It is purported to be a [fairly] faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" with Lee playing the Count [and having more dialogue than he did in his first appearance as the vampire in the superior Horror of Dracula] and Herbert Lom as Professor Van Helsing, now running a clinic in which Renfield (Klaus Kinski) is one of the patients. Lawyer Jonathan Harker (German actor Fred Williams) pays a call on the count, barely escapes from him; discovers that Lucy (Soledad Miranda), a friend of his fiancee Mina's Maria Rohm), is suffering from some sort of blood disease; and so on. Lee (although he seems a bit bored at times) and Lom are fine, but the movie, told in a straight-forward but tedious manner, has absolutely no style and doesn't hold the attention.

Verdict: Watch Horror of Dracula or the original Dracula with Lugosi instead. *1/2.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964). Director: Sidney Salkan [Ubaldo Ragona]. 

This Italian production is the first film adaptation of Richard Matheson's excellent novel I Am Legend. Vincent Price stars as Robert Morgan, who seems to be the last human left alive in a world over-run with blood-drinking vampires. The movie is fairly faithful to the novel, and at least takes place in the United States. [Of course in the book the man's last name was Neville, and he wasn't a scientist; the movie also simplifies the business with "living" vampires vs. dead vampires.]. Franca Bettoia gives a vivid portrait of a woman, Ruth, that Morgan encounters late in the picture. Perhaps the best scene has Morgan's wife coming back from her grave. The Last Man on Earth is moody and atmospheric, Price isn't at all bad, but the picture isn't very well directed and isn't nearly intense enough to be fully effective. Comes close, though. 

Verdict: Just misses. **1/2.

DAYBREAKERS

DAYBREAKERS (2009). Written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig.

Taking its cue from such films as The Last Man on Earth, Omega Men [a remake of the first film], comics like Planet of the Vampires and so on, Daybreakers presents an Earth in which a plague of vampirism has erupted through the world and only 5% of the population are human. Although humans are captured and harvested for their blood, there is still a severe shortage, resulting in violent outbreaks by "subsiders," the name for vampires who attack other vampires and drink non-human blood. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire with a social conscience who is trying to come up with a substitute for blood so that the human race he once belonged to won't become extinct. His boss, Bromley (Sam Neill) believes that even if he invents a substitute there will always be vampires who want and can afford the real thing. Dalton's brother Frankie (Michael Dorman) is a hunter who captures humans and the very one who turned his brother into a vampire. Edward hooks up with a band of humans fighting to hold on to their humanity, which include Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and "Elvis" (Willem Dafoe) who's discovered the way to turn a vampire back into a human.

Daybreakers is one of the more intriguing treatments of vampirism. The film has real suspense and is directed with flair and assurance. Hawke, Dafoe, Neill and the others turn in fine performances that help you stay absorbed in what's happening on the screen. There are some powerful moments such as when a bunch of deteriorating "subsiders," including Bromley's daughter Allison (Isabel Lucas), are forced into the sun where they burst into flames and become ashes. Since the film is not afraid to have "humanistic" moments, it seems a shame that its intelligence is blunted by obligatory, over-familiar and dumbed-down moments of extreme gore meant to please the Fangoria crowd but which aren't really necessary in a film of real quality. They prevent Daybreakers from being the outstanding horror drama that for much of its length it is.

Verdict: Comes close to being a very memorable horror film. ***.

HORROR OF DRACULA

HORROR OF DRACULA (1958). Director: Terence Fisher.

Peter Cushing (the sole name above the title) is Van Helsing and Christopher Lee appears for the first time as Count Dracula in this creditable version of the venerable old story. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay is an intelligent reworking of the basic storyline with an occasional flash of black humor. A big difference between this Hammer version and the Universal version with Lugosi, is that Dracula has hardly any dialogue and is nearly a mute role (Lee only gets a few lines when he first appears to Jonathan Harker -- John Van Eyssen -- in his castle). There are no parlor scenes with Dracula interacting with or talking to any of the other characters -- he is only seen skulking about or preying on them. The movie is fast-paced and occasionally scary and some key scenes, such as the climax and the killing of undead Lucy (Carol Marsh) in the crypt, are well-staged. One minus: Harker arrives at Castle Dracula in bright sunlight, and some of the sets, especially crypts, are over-lit. The cast is uniformly good, however, and Lee makes a ghoulish and powerful -- if not very sinister -- Dracula. Michael Gough is as delightfully intense as ever as Lucy's brother, Arthur, and Melissa Stribling is fine as his wife, Mina. James Bernard's music is a big help as well.

Verdict: Quite good in fact. ***.

HOUSE OF DRACULA

HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

Sequel to House of Frankenstein ignores the fact that both Dracula and The Wolf Man seemingly died at the end of that film and has both Larry Talbot(Lon Chaney Jr.) and Count Dracula (improbably) asking decent Dr. Edelman (Onslow Stevens) to cure them of their respective curses. Conveniently, Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) is found in the caverns below Edelman's sanitarium, along with the skeleton of Dr. Niemann from House of Frankenstein. Before long Dracula (John Carradine) is up to his old tricks, infecting Edelman (who becomes a sort of vampire without dying) with his evil -- Talked out of reviving the monster by his kindly hunchbacked assistant Nina (Jane Adams), he now decides to bring the creature back to life in the climax. Strangely compelling horror film plays fast and loose with supernatural legends, but offers a kind of scientific explanation for both vampirism (parasites in the blood) and lycanthropy (something to do with self-hypnosis, overactive hormones, and pressure in the cranial cavity). Lionel Atwill is back as another police inspector. The Wolf Man and Dracula are in the same room only for a few seconds. They would interact more -- and Dracula would actually meet The Monster -- in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Verdict: Great fun! ***.