House of Dracula
| House of Dracula | |
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theatrical release lobby card
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| Directed by | Erle C. Kenton |
| Produced by | Paul Malvern |
| Screenplay by | Edward T. Lowe Jr. |
| Story by |
Uncredited: Dwight V. Babcock George Bricker |
| Starring |
Lon Chaney Jr. Martha O'Driscoll John Carradine Lionel Atwill |
| Music by | William Lava (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | George Robinson |
| Edited by | Russell F. Schoengarth |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
House of Dracula is a 1945 American monster, crossover, horror film released by Universal Pictures. It was a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), Count Dracula (John Carradine) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.). The film – which was the seventh Universal film to feature Frankenstein's monster, as well as the fourth with Count Dracula and the Wolf Man – was a commercial success but would be one of the last Universal movies featuring Frankenstein's monster, vampires and werewolves, with the exception of the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), in which all three appear.
Count Dracula (John Carradine) greets the castle's owner, Dr. Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens). The Count, who introduces himself as "Baron Latos", explains that he has come to Visaria to find a cure for his vampirism. Dr. Edelmann agrees to help. Together with his assistants, Milizia (Martha O'Driscoll) and the hunchbacked Nina (Poni Adams), he has been working on a mysterious plant, the clavaria formosa, whose spores have the ability to reshape bone. Edelmann explains that he thinks vampirism can be cured by a series of blood transfusions. Dracula agrees to this, and Edelmann uses his own blood for the transfusions.
That night, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) arrives at the castle. He demands to see Dr. Edelmann about a cure for his lycanthropy. Talbot is asked to wait. Knowing that the moon is rising, Talbot has himself incarcerated by the police. A crowd of curious villagers gathers outside the police station, led by the suspicious Steinmuhl (Skelton Knaggs). Inspector Holtz (Lionel Atwill) asks Edelmann to see Talbot, and as the full moon rises, they both witness his transformation into the Wolfman. Edelmann and Milizia have him transferred to the castle the next morning. Edelmann tells him that he believes that Talbot's transformations are not triggered by the moonlight, but by pressure on the brain. He believes he can relieve the pressure, but Talbot must wait for him to gather more mold from his spores. Despondent by the thought of becoming the Wolfman again, Talbot says he wants to kill himself and jumps into the ocean. He ends up in a cave below the castle.
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