Son of Dracula - 1943

Director:                 Robert Siodmak
Screenplay:             Eric Taylor
Original Story:         Curt Siodmak
Photography:          George Robinson
Editor:                    Saul A. Goodkind
Art Directors:         John B. Goodman and
                                 Martin Obzina
Set Decorators:      Russell A. Gausman and
                                Edward R. Robinson
Make up:                Jack P. Pierce

Cast
Count Alucard/Dracula           Lon Chaney, Jr.
Katherine Caldwell                Louise Allbritton
Frank Stanley                        Robert Paige
Claire Caldwell                      Evelyn Ankers
Dr. Harry Brewster                Frank Craven
Prof. Lazlo                            J. Edward Bromberg
Judge Simmons                      Samuel S. Hinds
Queen Zimba                        Adeline de Walt Reynolds
Sheriff Dawes                        Patrick Moriarity
Col. Caldwell                        George Irving
Sarah                                    Etta McDaniel

Much to Bela Lugosi’s dismay, when Universal decided to continue its Dracula franchise, they turned to their utility pinch hitter Lon Chaney, Jr. The Wolf Man was all his of course (“my baby” Chaney called the role). But the studio wanted to take as much advantage of the Chaney name as possible, casting him in many horror roles, such as Kharis the Mummy several times, and also as the Frankenstein creature when the occasion demanded. For “Son of Dracula” he was given the title role, in spite of having no physical resemblance to his “father”. Some have argued that his large, blocky physique was completely wrong to portray the elegant Count. However, Chaney always used his physicality well.



The character he portrays is named Count Alucard, and if you can spell that backwards you have a clue to his real identity. He is identified as “Count Dracula” in the credits, however it’s never really established within the story if he is supposed to be the original, or his son, or a more distant relation, or maybe just a good friend. He has come to America to seek fresh victims, describing it as a “young and virile race”. Yum. He arrives at the plantation home of the soon to be deceased Colonel Caldwell and his daughters Kay and Clair. He and Kay met in Hungary and are meeting secretly.


Kay has been engaged to Frank who raises strong objections to the Count, informing Kay that the Hungarian is an imposter. Kay tells Frank to trust her, that whatever she does, she still loves him and is doing the right thing for both of them. When Frank confronts the two after they have returned from a visit to the local justice of the peace, he fires his pistol at Alucard, but the bullets go through him and seem to kill Kay instead. In despair, Frank turns himself in to the sheriff for the murder of his love.


Dr. Brewster and Professor Lazlo, an authority on the occult and our Van Helsing stand-in, finally spell Alucard backwards and catch on to what is happening. Meanwhile a seemingly alive Kay tells the doctor that she and her husband plan a quiet life, and, oh yes, please tell Frank goodbye. Alucard (oh heck, let’s just call him Dracula, ok?) reinforces this request to the doctor in a quietly threatening and forceful scene.


Visiting him in jail, Kay explains to Frank that her plan all along has been to achieve immortality through Dracula, dispose of him, and then share the vampiric gift with Frank so they can exist happily eternally after. She tells Frank where to find Dracula’s coffin and how to destroy him. He does this, but also ends the movie by doing the right thing for the woman he loves.

Frank, as played by Robert Paige, is a more interesting character than one would imagine. Thankfully, he is no David Manners clone – a pretty boy who is essentially useless. It is also refreshing that he does not instantly fall in love with the younger sister and form a vampire fighting team with her. His love for Kay is true and lasting, and will not be changed by little things like death, undead-ness, shapeshifting into bats or a collection of coffins in the basement. Frank starts out as a bit of a stuffed shirt. But, the actor moves convincingly through cool and calm, to outraged jealousy, to murder, to end-of-his-rope madness. He finally arrives at a place where he has lost everything but the deep love he has for Kay. His final wordless scene is shocking and yet deeply touching.


Interestingly, our no-account Count has come to America as a classic gold digger. He is marrying into money and property, not to mention a “young and vital” blood supply. Kay turns the tables on him, when she reveals herself to be a gold digger as well, using him to attain eternal life, not diamonds or a home on the Riviera.


Chaney is a quietly commanding Count. He doesn’t try for any kind of European accent, which is probably just as well. But his vocal delivery is firm, quiet and dignified. His physical presence is just as imposing and hard to ignore. When he grabs Frank by the throat and tosses him aside, he looks as if he could easily do it even without any supernatural super strength. He may not be an ideal Count Dracula, but he isn’t bad at all.


There are a few noteworthy special effects, especially the scene when Dracula’s coffin rises from the swamp and he glides over the water towards Kay. This is also the first movie to show the transformation into bat and back again. The effect may seem rather primitive to us today, it’s not exactly Industrial Light and Magic, but considering the technology of the time it looks pretty darn good.


The story is supposed to take place somewhere in the deep south and the sets are outstanding. An early scene with Kay walking through the swamp to visit an old gypsy looks great by any standard. Some of the Mummy series (“Ghost”, “Tomb” – see reviews below) have Kharis traipsing around a very ordinary, non-atmospheric New England. SoD’s swamp and plantation have a nice, eerie feel to them.


I remember being disappointed by the movie when I was young. I grew up on the Universal films and loved them, but this one always seemed tame and a little boring. Now I can appreciate it much more. I believe it is one of the better Universal flicks from the forties. It has an adult tone and a well written script. The previous sequel, “Dracula’s Daughter”, I have reviewed below. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t get this movie confused with a 1974 mess of the same name starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. Don’t even ask.


Families, …boy, you can’t live with them and you can’t kill them, right? At least not without a good wooden stake.

The Mummy's Curse - 1944

 

Director:                          Leslie Goodwins

Screenplay:                     Bernard L. Schubert

Original Story

    and Adaptation:            Leon Abrams, Dwight V. Babcock,

                                             and TH Richmond

Photography:                    Virgil Miller

Camera Operator:           William Dodds

Photographic Effects:      John P. Fulton

Editor:                                Fred R. Feitshans, Jr

Song, "Hey You",

     Music:                           Oliver Drake

     Lyrics:                           Frank Orth

Make up:                          Jack P. Pierce

Cast

Kharis                         Lon Chaney, Jr.

Dr. Ilzor Zandaab       Peter Coe

Ananka                       Virginia Christine

Betty Walsh                Kay Harding

Dr. James Halsey      Dennis Moore

Ragheb                       Marrtin Kosleck

Cajun Joe                   Kurt Katch

Tante Berthe              Ann Codee

(Before you start reading, you really should go back and read the first 3 parts of this.  1st -"Mummy's Hand",  2nd -"Mummy's Tomb", and 3rd - "Mummy's Ghost".  Then you will be able to truly appreciate the grandeur of the story.  For that matter, start with "The Mummy".  You'll be glad you did.)

Believe it or not, and why wouldn’t you, "The Mummy's Curse" takes place 25 years after the last episode of this four part undead epic, "The Mummy's Ghost". We have to be well into the 21st century by now, but it still looks suspiciously like 1944. Universal announced the start of this project even before the last one had been released. It was shot over a two week period at bargain basement rates. Every expense was spared for this one.

We are now in Louisiana among some very low rent Hollywood Cajuns who speak in a variety of accents and who are working on a government project to drain the swamp. They are whiling away their free time in a bar being entertained by Tante Berthe who sings a “French” song. Yes, this one has music.

Two stiffs from the Scripps Museum show up to try to recover the bodies of Kharis and Ananka which had slipped into the swamp in Massachusetts in the last movie, remember? Whenever I try to think that one through my head feels as if it is about to explode. Time and space are meaningless! I think we’ve hit a wormhole! Somebody call Stephen Hawking! One of the museum reps is a Dr. Zandaab, who in a stunning and unprecedented plot twist turns out to be a high priest of Arkam! And he’s really working to revive Kharis!! And find the princess!!! I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.

Since in the last two films we have not revisited the old footage from "The Mummy”, Zandaab must think we are nostalgic for it. As he tells the tale to his new assistant/evil henchman Ragheb, we see the misty vision of the ancient story with Karloff still recognizable in some scenes and Tom Tyler standing in for the close-ups…

Jay Leno: So Kharis, does this clip need any set up?

Kharis: No Jay, you infidel dog, may your bones never find rest.

Leno: Hey, that’s what Conan said to me too. (Audience groans and laughter.) Ok, can we roll that?

A bulldozer moving earth uncovers the body of Ananka. Her resurrection from the swamp is probably the most striking and beautiful scene in the series. One hand appears out of the muck. Then very slowly her head and torso emerge encrusted with mud. As she painfully struggles to stand and then walk she is drawn by the warmth and light of the sun. She finds a pond, slips in and washes off the mud. We next see her wandering through the swamp looking as if she had just come from the beauty shop. I guess those mud pack facials do wonders after all.

She is played by Virginia Christine, who about 25 years later would get a much cushier gig as Folgers Coffee’s Mrs. Olsen.

One of the Cajun workers finds her and takes her to Tante Berthe who takes care of her and is killed by Kharis for her trouble.

 Ananka then finds refuge in the archeologists’ camp and impresses them with her knowledge of ancient Egypt and with her inability to know who the heck she is. Kharis tracks her down, and chases her. He stops to kill some bystander and Ananka escapes. He chases her some more, more bystanders are killed and she escapes again. Then the hero gets into the act, and he chases Kharis, and on and on. I think Kharis’ problem was a short attention span. He corners his princess and is within grabbing distance; he sees someone about 30 feet away and has to go strangle them, letting Ananka escape…again! Focus Kharis, focus!! Eyes on the prize!

This is probably as good a time as any to mention one of my favorite goofy bits from the mummy series. Kharis has one good arm and is dragging one foot. Whoever he is chasing is always moving like a running back heading for the end zone, but Kharis always catches up. He probably doesn’t even break a sweat worrying about it.

There is another little switcheroo at the end. This time it is not the high priest who falls for the charms of the heroine, it is the evil henchman. He lures trusting, innocent Betty away to have his evil henchman way with her. The high priest tries to halt these shenanigans so the evil guy kills him. This pisses off Kharis who then goes after evil guy. In their struggle the ruins collapse and the building falls down killing them both. What better way to end than to bring the house down? Kharis had to at least be grateful that he wasn’t set on fire again. Ananka is lying in her sarcophagus fully mummified for perhaps the last time.

Unlike the last movie where he did a good job of bringing some depth and pathos to his character, here Chaney looks tired and just shuffles through the role. It’s too bad more care wasn’t put into these movies in terms of decent scripts. Chaney might have been able to carry through and make Kharis his own unique monster, as he did with the Wolf Man. He also happens to be the most full figured mummy you will ever see.

I know I still sound as if I don’t like this movie. That’s not true. I say again that I love this series beyond the reach of any common sense. All the gaps in logic and continuity just add to their charm.

All right class, let’s have a final review before the test. What have we learned about mummy movies today?

1. If you are a scientist in the movie and you try something “just to see what happens”, you deserve what you get.

2. If you are the young hero and you have a dog – just relax and let the dog do the heavy lifting.

3. If you are the mummy always make friends with the film editor. That way it doesn’t matter how slowly you move, you will always catch up to your victim.

4. For the love of heaven, never brew NINE tana leaves!

Last and most important -

5. There is no more irresistibly alluring female on the planet than the heroine of a B-monster movie.

Well, there you have it. We have completed our marathon. Hopefully you are all still in one piece and have retained your sanity. As for me, I’m going to dust myself off and move on to something that will help me regain my faith in the goodness of humanity, something to help me make sense of the universe again, something wholesome and uplifting. What would that be? Zombie movies, what else?!

Have a comment about this post?  Please, be my guest.  Indulge yourself.  I would love to hear from you.  Click on “Comments” below.  Thanks!

The Mummy's Ghost - 1944

-->

Director:                         Reginald LeBorg

Screenplay:                   Griffin Jay, Henry Sucher & Brenda Weisberg

Original Story:               Griffin Jay & Henry Sucher

Photography:                William Sickner

Makeup:                        Jack P. Pierce

Cast

Kharis:                          Lon Chaney, Jr.

Yousef Bey:                  John Carradine

Tom:                             Robert Lowery

Amina:                          Ramsay Ames

Inspector Walgreen:    Barton MacLane

High Priest:                  George Zucco

Prof. Norman:              Frank Reicher

Sheriff Elwood          :  Harry Shannon

Coroner:                       Emmett Vogan

Dr. Ayad:                      Lester Sharpe

Night Watchman:         Oscar O'Shea

 (Before you start reading, you really should go back and read the first 2 parts of this.  1st -"The Mummy's Hand",  2nd -"Mummy's Tomb".  Then you will be able to truly appreciate the grandeur of the story.  For that matter, start with "The Mummy".  You'll be glad you did.)

Here we go again!  A few stock shots of the Sphinx and the pyramids establish that we are supposed to be in Egypt. We have moved ahead from "The Mummy's Tomb" and meet some old and some new characters.  George Zucco returns to play the REALLY old high priest once more.  He sends a new young priest, Yousef Bey, on a mission to reunite the lovers, Kharis and Ananka.  He is played by everyone’s ninth or tenth favorite old horror actor, John Carradine.

Carradine had a half and half career – half distinguished, as in many Shakespearean roles on stage, as well as in great movies such as “Stagecoach”, "The Grapes of Wrath”, "Drums Along the Mohawk"; and half cheese-filled ham rolls like this one.   He was an actor of great ability, but who also had a great ability to chew the scenery like nobody’s business. In this he manages, for the most part, to remain dignified and slightly underplay his role.  I give him credit, since it can’t be easy for an actor to sell something like this:

“I swear by the mighty power of Amon-Ra, whose anger can shatter the

 world and by the dread horror of Set, that I shall never forsake my

trust as a Priest of Arkam. Nor shall I rest until the Princess Ananka

and Kharis are safe once more in the Hills of Arkam.”

In "The Mummy's Ghost" we seem to have wandered away from the Valley of the Seven Jackals, and the priests of the sect of the temple of Karnak have now become the priests of the sect of the temple of Arkam.  On an historical note:  This is actually the first documented instance of a successful sects change.  And isn’t Arkam the same place where H.P.Lovecraft said that Miskatonic University was located?  Ok, maybe not.

This time it is Ananka who was cursed and doomed, with Kharis buried with her as her guardian into eternity.  Her mummy was discovered and  removed by Stephen Banning in “The Mummy's Hand” and brought to the Scripps museum.  This one is fresh and unique since it does not rehash the back-story by showing the archival film from 1932’s “The Mummy”. 

As a matter of fact, as soon as the High Priest starts into his spiel, we dissolve to a university classroom back in Massachusetts, where Professor Norman is lecturing the students about Kharis, etc.  Professor Norman, appeared in “Tomb” as the scientist who determined that it was indeed a mummy who was murdering the good townsfolk of Mapelton.  His lecture provides the exposition needed to get us back on track.  We are introduced to our young heroine Amina, an Egyptian exchange student.  Guess whom she is going to be the reincarnated form of?  No…really….guess.  We know this for certain when moody music starts up and she looks worried when the word ‘Egypt’ is spoken.  Her boyfriend, Tommy says, “What’s wrong with Egypt?  It’s as modern and up to date as any other country.”  Were we courting Egypt as an Allied country in 1944?   We also meet the other major character and real hero of the piece, Tom’s dog Peanuts. 

After we leave the lecture hall things start to heat up when Kharis appears.  Apparently he’s just been wandering around the countryside unseen for the past five years.  Yousef Bey arrives and starts brewing up some tana leaf tea, which brings Kharis tout suite.  They agree on the usual game plan – find Ananka and take her back to Egypt.  They go to the Scripps Museum where her mummified remains are on display.  Kharis reaches into the sarcophagus to cop a feel (give him a break, it’s been a long time), but her body disappears, leaving only the wrappings.  Bey tells him that her soul has entered another form.  Kharis has a hissy fit and busts up the museum, kills a guard, you know - the usual. 

For all the good natured ribbing I am giving this movie, I have to say – Lon Chaney did a pretty good job with this one, even though it was one of his least favorite roles.  He was able to convey some actual emotion from underneath all that costume and make-up.  He uses hand gestures, posture, his head and body; everything except his face and voice.  He somehow conveys anger, grief, and frustration with some simple movements and makes a more sympathetic character than we have seen in the other episodes.  This was another actor who could turn in a great performance when given a chance: “Of Mice and Men” proved that. 

Prof. Norman now does a spectacularly stupid thing, considering he was in the last movie and is fully aware of the existence of Kharis.  He has been entrusted with the sarcophagus containing the tana leaves.  He follows the directions on the side of the package and brews nine just to see what would happen.  Needless to say, Kharis gets a whiff of the tana-tantalizing potion and hot-foots it over to the Norman home.  The Professor is strangled, and so does not have to appear in the next movie.  It is actually one of the most effective scenes in the series.  Norman is alone in his dark office, lit by a single lamp.  Kharis appears at the French doors, and we get some nice POV shots between the two characters as Kharis comes closer. 

Meanwhile, Amina has been awakened by something and in a trance, follows Kharis.  She faints outside the Norman home and is discovered there by the police.  Suspicion falls on her, and Tom tries to help by planning to elope with her to New York.  She has also developed a new birthmark on her arm, and has a new Bride of Frankenstein white streak in her hair which no one remarks upon.

While Kharis is looking for her, she takes another trance induced stroll.  He recognizes her and carries her off.  Aminas hair continues turning whiter in each scene, and it continues to not be noticed by anyone. 

Honey, LOVE what you've done with your hair!

Carradine (surprise!) is instantly overwhelmed by her beauty.  The oath that he took above is sort of fading away.  He then has a nice little hammy scene where he argues with himself for and against making Amina Mrs. Priest of Arkam and not returning to Egypt as planned.  Kharis overhears this screwy monologue and gets mighty peeved, realizing how hard it would be to start dating again after all this time.  He takes care of the priest with one punch and throws him out the window. 

And what has our little hero been doing this whole time?  Peanuts witnessed the abduction and starts barking his head off to awaken the landlady who calls Tom and the police.  Peanuts has followed Kharis and Amina so can lead the search party to the right place.  Tom attempts to fight Kharis but is coldcocked by one sweep of a 3000 year old hand, leaving Peanuts to carry on alone.  He then barks out orders and leads the search party to follow Kharis.  Really, this dog is a natural leader.  I almost wish I could say I was making this up. 

Our hero, Peanuts (center) gets some support from fellow actors.

Tom shows up just in time to see Kharis carry a now fully white-haired-withered-mummified Amina into the swamp and disappear under the water. That would be the swamps of Massachusetts.  I’ll let you think about that one for a minute.

Ready for our last stop?  Jambalaya…crawfish pie…file gumbo!  That’s right!  Me-oh-my-oh, we are headed next to bayou country, Louisiana U.S.A.  Son of a gun, gonna have big fun with "The Mummy's Curse”.


Have a comment about this post?  Please, be my guest.  Indulge yourself.  I would love to hear from you.  Click on “Comments” below.  Thanks!

The Mummy's Tomb - 1942

 Director:                           Harold Young

Screenplay:                       Neil P. Varnick (story)

                                             Griffin Jay & Henry Sucher (writers)

Cinematography:             George Robinson

Make-up:                          Jack P. Pierce (special make-up)

Cast

Kharis:                              Lon Chaney, Jr.

Stephen Banning:           Dick Foran

Dr. John Banning:           John Hubbard

Isobel Evans:                   Elyse Knox

Andoheb:                        George Zucco

'Babe' Hanson :              Wallace Ford

Mehemet Bey:                Turhan Bey

Prof. Norman:                 Frank Reicher

-->

Dry, dusty ones.

(Before you start reading this you really should go back and read the review for "The Mummy's Hand".  For that matter, start with "The Mummy".  You'll be glad you did.  )

It is 25 years after the end of "The Mummy's Hand” and we are in Mapleton, Massachussettes listening to a now codgerly Steve Banning entertain his son and his son’s fiancée with stories of his adventures with Kharis.

We see his story in flashback using extended clips from the previous movie.  Later, we return to Egypt briefly and find out that….holy cow!.. Andoheb did not really die in the last one and neither did Kharis!  How in the world can I ever trust my eyes again?

Andoheb is once again played by Mr. Creepy himself, George Zucco.  A new priest, played by Turhan Bey, is given the back story and told to run with it.  This poor shlemiel sails with Kharis (who unfortunately has to travel steerage) to Mapelton where the Princess is on display in the museum.  Their mission is to bring her back to Egypt to her sacred tomb.  Oh yeah, and kill the members of the expedition who defiled her tomb, Banning and Babe Hansen, and their families and pretty much anyone else who gets in the way.

Turhan takes a job as caretaker at the little town cemetery in order to have cover for his real job of babysitting Kharis.  Ok, look – I can roll with a lot, but what was Turhan told exactly?  “Go my son, blend in with the townsfolk.  Don’t be conspicuous”.    Right, - a young, handsome foreigner, who looks like he has a Savile Row tailor working as a small town cemetery caretaker.   I’m trying to imagine him pushing a lawn mower.  Sorry.  If I get stuck in all the gaps in logic we’ll be here all day.  Have I mentioned that I love these movies?

Actor Turhan Bey.  Not your typical small town cemetery caretaker.

Much killing ensues, Banning is killed, then his sister, then Babe Hansen (his name was Jensen in the previous movie.  Don’t ask me.)  Sonny boy is next on the list, but….Turhan Bey gets a load of the young fiancée, and guess what?  No, …really.  Guess.  He decides that she should be HIS wife, so Kharis has to kidnap yet another ingénue.  Kharis is trapped inside the Banning home and is set on fire…again.  The fiancée is rescued and Sonny gets a telegram that he has been given a commission in the Army Medical Corps (it IS 1942 after all).  And speaking of WWII, there is also a distinct and distasteful flavor of war-time xenophobia in the way Turhan is dispatched.  A veritable lynch mob posse goes after him, confronts him at the cemetery and shoots him when he reaches into his sleeve for his gun.  Maybe he was Egyptian and not Japanese, but dang it, he was SOME kind of foreigner wasn’t he? 

Every setting, even in the Egyptian scenes looks suspiciously like southern California.  We have taken a step down in production values since "The Mummy's Hand".  Even though that one was filmed on the studio backlot, it had a feeling of a higher budget and more interesting direction.  “Tomb” has Kharis in the US, running around in backyards and through picket fences.

There are no long scenes set in Egypt, and the whole thing, from the sets to the direction feels more pedestrian.  Old scenes of angry torch-bearing villagers are borrowed from “Frankenstein” and “Bride of…”   You will hear the same music themes over and over, sometimes borrowed from movies such as “Son of Frankenstein”.   Reduce, Reuse, Recyle!

The mummy’s makeup is still by Jack Pierce, but it degrades as the series continues, looking more and more cheap over time.  It has come a long way down from the intricately and painstakingly applied layers of make-up in "The Mummy"”, to a mask and a modified union suit that can be slipped on by Chaney.  I will talk about Lon Chaney in the next two reviews. 

All of these faults, or shortcomings I’ve described merely add to the charm of these flicks as far as I’m concerned. Affection goes a long way in reviewing them.  In this case, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, it breeds something much more warm and fuzzy.  The whole series is cozy and comfortable like wrapping up in a soft blanket and sipping tea on a cool autumn afternoon. 

Well, are we ready for the next chapter in our saga?  Onward then, dear friends.  We are about to meet "The Mummy's Ghost".

Have a comment about this post?  Please, be my guest.  Indulge yourself.  I would love to hear from you.  Click on “Comments” below.  Thanks!