The Return Of Dracula
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''The Return of Dracula'' is a 1958 American
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
directed by
Paul Landres Paul Landres (August 12, 1912 – December 26, 2001) was an American film and television editor and director. He directed episodes of ''The Lone Ranger'', '' Maverick'' and '' Flipper'', among many other TV series. He directed the vampire film ...
, and starring Francis Lederer, Norma Eberhardt, and
Ray Stricklyn Lewis Raymond Stricklyn (October 8, 1928 – May 14, 2002) was an American film actor, stage actor, television actor, soap opera star and publicist. His acting career took off with B-movie Westerns that placed his boyish good looks playing oppo ...
. It follows
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
, who murders an artist aboard a train in
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
, and proceeds to impersonate the man, traveling to meet with his extended family in a small California town. The film is primarily in black and white, aside from one brief color sequence. It was released on May 21, 1958, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
by
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
as the top half of a
double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...
with '' The Flame Barrier''.


Plot

In
the balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
, Investigator John Meierman and several assistants attempt to trap
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...
inside his tomb in a cemetery, but upon opening his casket, they find it empty. Nearby, Dracula, who has fled, boards a train. He murders Bellac Gordal, a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
artist en route to the United States to visit his extended family in the small community of Carleton,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Dracula proceeds to impersonate Bellac, assuming his identity. After arriving in California, Dracula, posing as Bellac, is met by Bellac's widowed cousin, Cora, and her children, the young Mickey, and teenaged Rachel. Rachel is especially eager to meet her cousin, as she has a shared passion for art, specifically clothing design. The family quickly finds Bellac's behavior eccentric, as he maintains a social detachment from them. The day after Bellac's arrival, Mickey's beloved cat goes missing and is subsequently found mutilated in an abandoned mineshaft. Unbeknownst to the others, Bellac has established a secret resting place in the abandoned mine, replete with a coffin where he goes to sleep. Rachel is disappointed by his absence one day, as she hoped to show him the town, but she eventually meets him at dusk— he explains he spent the day painting. Rachel departs to her night shift at the local parish house, where she tends to elderly and infirm residents, including a blind woman, Jennie. After Rachel finishes her shift, Bellac awakens Jennie, who offers to give her the ability of sight before biting her neck. In the morning, Rachel is summoned to the parish house and is driven there by her boyfriend, Tim. Rachel finds Jennie feverish and hysterical upon arriving, claiming a man entered her room through the window. When she attempts to get out of bed, Jennie collapses and dies. After Jennie's funeral, Cora and Rachel are approached by Mack Bryant, a detective appointed by Meierman. He asks about cousin Bellac and mentions that an unidentified man was thrown from a train to his death in Germany. Bellac appears at the home, and Bryant examines his immigration records and passport before meeting with Meierman outside to divulge his findings. Bellac visits Jennie's tomb in the mausoleum and awakens her from the dead. Later, Bryant hears Jennie's voice beckoning him in the woods near the train station. When he goes to investigate, he is fatally mauled by a white wolf (portrayed by a white
German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally b ...
). That night, Rachel invites Bellac to attend a
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
costume party A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Anglosphere, Anglo culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or st ...
at the parish house the following day, but Bellac declines. Rachel confronts Bellac about his isolation from the family, but he remains evasive. Rachel later falls asleep while reading and has what seems to be a nightmare in which Bellac asks her to remove Jennie's crucifix pendant from her neck and offers her eternal life. In the morning, Rachel finds the crucifix lying on the floor, suspecting it was not a dream. Meierman visits the parish house and confronts Reverend Whitfield with his findings. Meanwhile, before departing for the Halloween party, Rachel finds a portrait of herself in Bellac's room depicting her inside a coffin. When Bellac appears downstairs, Rachel grows terrified when she realizes his reflection does not appear in a mirror. Tim arrives moments later, and Rachel leaves with him to the party in a
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
-like state. Whitfield and Meierman confront Rachel at the party, asking her to help them entrap Bellac. After finding Jennie's crypt empty, Meierman, Whitfield, and other police stake out the cemetery, where they soon witness Jennie returning to her crypt. Simultaneously, Rachel leaves the party and flees to the abandoned mineshaft to visit Bellac. As Meierman drives a stake through Jennie's heart, killing her, Bellac collapses before Rachel, who snaps out of her hypnosis. Tim arrives at the mineshaft, having followed Rachel there, and finds her hysterical. Tim attempts to escort Rachel out of the mine, but Bellac blocks their exit and entreats Tim to join him in "helping" Rachel, claiming the three of them will "survive this dying world" together. Bellac momentarily hypnotizes Tim, but Tim approaches him with Jennie's crucifix, forcing Bellac to fall into a shaft below. He is impaled through the back and chest on a large wooden post and disintegrates into a clothed skeleton.


Cast


Production

Filming of ''The Return of Dracula'' took place in October 1957.


Soundtrack

It is one of a handful of horror films that use the melody of " Dies Irae" as its opening theme tune. Others include '' The Shining'', '' The Car'' and '' The Mephisto Waltz''.


Release

''The Return of Dracula'' premiered theatrically in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
on May 21, 1958, as the top half of a
double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...
with '' The Flame Barrier''. To promote the film,
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
advertised that 12
insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
had refused to assume any liability risk for those admitted to see the feature. When shown on U.S. television, it was retitled ''Curse of Dracula''. In the UK, it was released theatrically as ''The Fantastic Disappearing Man''. Later in 1958, the
Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
film '' Horror of Dracula'' appeared in theaters in both the UK and the U.S. and ''The Return of Dracula'' was eclipsed as a result, due to
Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...
's new stardom as the Count.


Critical response

Geoffrey M. Warren of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' dismissed the film, writing that it "could have been put off indefinitely and no one would have ever known."


Home media

''The Return of Dracula'' was released on DVD by
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
in 2007 as a '' Midnite Movies Double Feature'' with Landres' previous film, '' The Vampire'' (1957). It was re-released on DVD as an exclusive release from BestBuy.


Legacy

On October 27, 1971, Lederer reprised his role of Count Dracula on an episode of ''
Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...
'' titled "The Devil Is Not Mocked". In this story, Dracula tells his grandson how he fought the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


See also

*
List of American films of 1958 A list of American films released in 1958. The musical romantic comedy film '' Gigi'' won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. A-B C-F G-K L-R S-Z Documentaries See also * 1958 in the United States References External links 195 ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Return Of Dracula, The 1958 films 1958 horror films American black-and-white films American supernatural horror films American vampire films Dracula films American films about Halloween Films scored by Gerald Fried Films directed by Paul Landres Films set in California United Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language horror films