Review of House of Dracula (1945) by Byron B — 05 Nov 2010

Such a cheesy mess! Really it is the House of Dr. Edelman. Carradine is Dracula, the complete gentleman, this time. He comes to the doctor's house to be cured of being a vampire. THE Dracula doesn't want to be a vampire anymore! He knows the doctor's beautiful blond nurse Miliza from some time in the past and his blood lust makes him start avoiding the doctors treatments.

Lon Chaney Jr. is a pleasure to see return as Lawrence Talbot who as always seeks a cure from turning into a wolf. Dr. Edelman (Stevens) also has a pretty, but hunchbacked nurse named Nina who he plans to help with a little cosmetic surgery.

Not that it matters how, but Frankenstein's monster is uncovered too and the doctor's lab happens to have the necessary equipment to charge him up. Edelman is experimenting with some miracle plant that would make the hump removal safe and fix Talbot's brain gland problem.

For Dracula Edelman thinks his own blood is the solution, except that Dracula reverses the transfusion once. Somehow Edelman is not turned into a vampire. Evidently 10cc's is not enough! Rather than having another vampire in the house, Edelman is tormented with a Jekyll and Hyde type of mad scientist duality.

In his "Hyde" state he dreams of setting the Frankenstein monster loose and he upsets the villagers by killing a man. It is Dr. Edelman's house and he is the focus. All of the other classic monsters that are the selling point of this movie hardly get any screen time.

And in a flash it is over.