El hombre que desapareció

I picked up The Return of Dracula on a whim for $5 at The Warehouse, expecting it to be a silly old B-movie. What a surprise I got.

I usually can't stand vampire movies (George Romero's Martin is my idea of a really good one), but this is one of the best I've seen. Visually, it's stylish and atmospheric. The script is above average. The music is effective, if a little pompous and overbearing at times. What makes the movie really click, though, is Francis Lederer as Dracula. His portrayal of fangface is as good as any I've ever seen.

The rest of the cast are competent, which makes them well above average for this sort of thing. The famed colour insert was present in my cheapo copy, which made up for the somewhat dodgy sound quality. Some of the scare scenes hold up quite well even 40+ years on. I'd recommend Return of Dracula highly to anyone who enjoys classy old B&W horror.

Not a bad Dracula updated adaptation as a man readying for a journey in Romania is killed and his identity stolen(seems to have been a problem even then). He moves in with his "family' only to start wreaking havoc in a small Californian town. The small town atmosphere is carried off fairly nicely in large part to the small town characterizations from the cast - most of whom were either character actors or unknowns at the time. Exception is Francis Lederer as the vampire with a very thick accent, but actually he gives some credibility to the role of the brooding, oft charming, malignant force cast into the lives of these newly found innocents. John Wengraf plays the Van Helsing type and is interesting when on screen yet the part is way too underdeveloped. There is not much for plot here to be honest and the story quickly wraps up in the last third, but director Paul Landres has competence(and a whole television episode list as his resume)and creates some effective scenes. The scene where Rachel is "dreaming" of seeing the vampire in her boudoir and then is wakened quickly by her brother even gave me a bit of a jolt. The acting is okay but pedestrian, and there is not much here in terms of great sets or effects. Nonetheless The Return of Dracula is a nice little film with a different twist to Dracula lore that I found interestingly conceived.

Paul Landres directed this better-than-expected updating of the Dracula legend. Francis Lederer(quite good) plays Count Dracula, who flees his native land when vampire-hunters threaten him. He kills a Czech artist on a train, and assumes his identity as "Cousin Bellac", who visits the man's family in America, where he stays. Young Rachel Mayberry(played by Norma Eberhardt) becomes infatuated with her "cousin", who is both suave and mysterious, which makes her boyfriend jealous. Meanwhile, Dracula proceeds to seduce a local blind girl named Jenny, with tragic consequences, which climaxes with a pursuit in a spooky cave... Good horror tale cleverly uses the premise of "Shadow Of A Doubt" to fine effect, resulting in an atmospheric Halloween-setting, with a good score. Not a classic, but better than the title would suggest.

Trivia note: Lederer would "return" as Dracula in a fine episode of the "Night Gallery" TV series called 'The Devil Is Not Mocked'.

One almost expects Ward, June, Wally and the Beav to visit too...Yes, this is an underrated masterpiece. "What? What did you say?" In the main title Dracula is shown standing still behind a three-stick candle...the "scene" reminds me of an icon in a Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox church...and what happens when Jennie is staked...Cousin Bellac temporarily reels and almost faints...reminds me of "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me"...and that line, "You will arise reborn in ME!"...there's a discernible anti-theology here and I hope whoever was responsible for it didn't believe it. But I'd not be surprised if there were a cult-especially in CA-which worships Dracula. The most chilling scene in the film is the scene in which Rachel is primping at the downstairs mirror, but-to me-the most chilling line of dialogue is the interchange between the pastor and Cousin Bellac concerning Rachel's charm, when Cousin Bellac says, "Why yes...I daresay she'd even charm the devil himself." Lederer-may he rest in peace-may have hated this film, but he turned in a truly great performance. Pity this film is so little credited.

Posing as a foreign relative, Count Dracula moves to an idyllic 1950s American town to look for a fresh batch of victims. Other than the odd hours he tends to keep, the family he's moved in with doesn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. They explain away his eccentricities to either being tired or his European heritage. But a couple of unusual deaths in the small town catch the eye and attention of an investigator hot on Dracula's trail. Can he track down Dracula before anyone else dies?

I've got to agree with several of the other comments on IMDb - The Return of Dracula is one spooky and fun little movie. It's also a real under-seen gem from the 50s that deserves a much wider audience. The movie's got a lot more atmosphere going for it than most of the other, cheaply made, b-type films of the period. Francis Lederer is suave and creepy enough to pull off the role of Bellac Gordal aka Dracula. There were at least two instances where I nearly jumped out of my skin as the camera panned to find Lederer. The score is another contributing factor to the eeriness of the movie. It hits all the right notes (pun intended). But my favorite moment in The Return of Dracula has to be the staking scene. It may go by quickly, but it's awesome. I won't spoil for those who haven't seen it, so I'll just say that it's one of those unexpected moments that make discovering these oddball 50s movies such a blast.