House of Dracula (1945)

67 mins | Horror | 7 December 1945

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HISTORY

The working titles of this film were The Wolf Man vs. Dracula and Dracula vs. Wolf Man. According to Apr 1944 HR news items, Ford Beebe was originally assigned to produce and direct this film, with production planned for late Oct 1944. Modern sources report, however, that the script for the unrealized Beebe project may have differed greatly from the one used for this film. Following on the heels of the 1944 release House of Frankenstein (see entry), House of Dracula was the seventh Universal film to feature "Frankenstein's Monster," as well as the fourth Universal film to include the vampire "Dracula" and "Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man." Although all three characters appeared in the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this was the final Universal horror film to feature all three monsters. Lon Chaney had played Larry Talbot in all three previous Wolf Man films, and Glenn Strange made his second appearance as Frankenstein's Monster.
       House of Dracula was also the second film in which actor John Carradine portrayed Dracula, a role he reprised in three later films: the 1966 Embassy Pictures release Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1961-70; F6.0412), a 1969 Mexican film Las vampiras and the 1979 release Nocturna. HR production charts include Charles Judels and Billy Green in the cast, but their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Modern sources credit George Bricker and Dwight V. Babcock with the story and add the following names to the ...

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The working titles of this film were The Wolf Man vs. Dracula and Dracula vs. Wolf Man. According to Apr 1944 HR news items, Ford Beebe was originally assigned to produce and direct this film, with production planned for late Oct 1944. Modern sources report, however, that the script for the unrealized Beebe project may have differed greatly from the one used for this film. Following on the heels of the 1944 release House of Frankenstein (see entry), House of Dracula was the seventh Universal film to feature "Frankenstein's Monster," as well as the fourth Universal film to include the vampire "Dracula" and "Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man." Although all three characters appeared in the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this was the final Universal horror film to feature all three monsters. Lon Chaney had played Larry Talbot in all three previous Wolf Man films, and Glenn Strange made his second appearance as Frankenstein's Monster.
       House of Dracula was also the second film in which actor John Carradine portrayed Dracula, a role he reprised in three later films: the 1966 Embassy Pictures release Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1961-70; F6.0412), a 1969 Mexican film Las vampiras and the 1979 release Nocturna. HR production charts include Charles Judels and Billy Green in the cast, but their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Modern sources credit George Bricker and Dwight V. Babcock with the story and add the following names to the crew credits: Stunts Walter DePalma, Arthur W. Stern and Carey Loftin. For additional information on the aforementioned Universal series noted above, please consult the Series Index and see the entries for Frankenstein (F3.1465), Dracula (F3.1121) and The Wolf Man (see entries).

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
15 Dec 1945
---
Daily Variety
29 Nov 1945
p. 3
Film Daily
3 Dec 1945
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
26 Apr 1944
p. 1
Hollywood Reporter
4 Oct 1944
p. 14
Hollywood Reporter
21 Sep 1945
p. 9
Hollywood Reporter
29 Nov 1945
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
6 Oct 1945
p. 2670
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
8 Dec 1945
p. 2746
New York Times
22 Dec 1945
p. 16
Variety
5 Dec 1945
p. 16
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Joe Gershenson
Exec prod
WRITER
Orig scr, Orig scr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
John Martin
2d cam
ART DIRECTORS
John B. Goodman
Art dir
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
SET DECORATORS
Set dec
COSTUMES
Gowns
MUSIC
Mus dir
SOUND
Dir of sd
[Sd] tech
Re-rec and eff mixer
VISUAL EFFECTS
Spec photog
Matte paintings
MAKEUP
Jack P. Pierce
Makeup artist
Hairstylist
SOURCES
MUSIC
Piano Sonata No. 2 in C# minor ("Moonlight Sonata") by Ludwig van Beethoven.
SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
DETAILS
Series:
Alternate Titles:
Dracula vs. Wolf Man
The Wolf Man vs. Dracula
Release Date:
7 December 1945
Production Date:
mid Sep--late Oct 1945
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Universal Pictures Co., inc.
29 November 1945
LP28
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
67
Length(in feet):
6,019
Country:
United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
11300
SYNOPSIS

Count Dracula arrives at the seaside Visarian home of Dr. Franz Edelman, a renowned surgeon, in hopes of finding a cure for his vampirism. After viewing Dracula's coffin and discovering an unknown parasite in his blood, the initially skeptical Edelman agrees to take the vampire's case. As Edelman begins his treatment of Dracula, Lawrence Talbot arrives at the castle and insists on seeing the surgeon. Turned away, Larry later transforms into a werewolf before the astonished eyes of Edelman, police inspector Holtz and Miliza Morelle, one of the surgeon's nurses. The next morning, Edelman offers to treat Larry with an experimental mold, but the werewolf jumps off a seaside cliff when he is told that he must wait until enough mold can be cultivated. That night, Edelman is lowered to sea-level in a boson's chair, where he rescues Larry from a cave and convinces him to live. Also found inside the cave is the Frankenstein Monster, encased in mud. Edelman begins to revive the creature, but is convinced to stop by Nina, his hunchbacked nurse. Meanwhile, Dracula becomes infatuated with Miliza and decides to remain a vampire. During his next blood transfusion, Dracula hypnotizes Edelman and Nina, then infects the surgeon with his own blood. Edelman and Nina awaken just in time to save Miliza from the vampire's lecherous clutches, and Dracula is killed when he is exposed to the sun's rays by Edelman. Realizing that he has become a vampire, Edelman offers to treat Nina immediately with the cultivated mold, but the nurse unselfishly insists that the surgeon cure Larry first. While recuperating from his treatment, Larry learns that ...

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Count Dracula arrives at the seaside Visarian home of Dr. Franz Edelman, a renowned surgeon, in hopes of finding a cure for his vampirism. After viewing Dracula's coffin and discovering an unknown parasite in his blood, the initially skeptical Edelman agrees to take the vampire's case. As Edelman begins his treatment of Dracula, Lawrence Talbot arrives at the castle and insists on seeing the surgeon. Turned away, Larry later transforms into a werewolf before the astonished eyes of Edelman, police inspector Holtz and Miliza Morelle, one of the surgeon's nurses. The next morning, Edelman offers to treat Larry with an experimental mold, but the werewolf jumps off a seaside cliff when he is told that he must wait until enough mold can be cultivated. That night, Edelman is lowered to sea-level in a boson's chair, where he rescues Larry from a cave and convinces him to live. Also found inside the cave is the Frankenstein Monster, encased in mud. Edelman begins to revive the creature, but is convinced to stop by Nina, his hunchbacked nurse. Meanwhile, Dracula becomes infatuated with Miliza and decides to remain a vampire. During his next blood transfusion, Dracula hypnotizes Edelman and Nina, then infects the surgeon with his own blood. Edelman and Nina awaken just in time to save Miliza from the vampire's lecherous clutches, and Dracula is killed when he is exposed to the sun's rays by Edelman. Realizing that he has become a vampire, Edelman offers to treat Nina immediately with the cultivated mold, but the nurse unselfishly insists that the surgeon cure Larry first. While recuperating from his treatment, Larry learns that a blood-thirsty Edelman has killed Zeigfried, one of his servants, but says nothing out of sympathy and gratitude. Larry then agrees to kill the physician should Edelman be unable to cure himself of his vampirism. Later, Larry walks out into the moonlight to discover that the treatment has been a success, while the vampire Edelman sneaks back into his laboratory and revives the Frankenstein monster. Edelman then kills Nina, forcing Larry to shoot and kill him. The monster chases after Larry, knocking over various chemicals and setting a fire in the laboratory. The police and villagers arrive just as Larry and Miliza flee and the monster and the castle are engulfed in flames.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.