Son of Dracula (1943)

 

After the demise of Dracula (1931) and Dracula's Daughter (1936), it was only natural that the third film in Universal's movie series would be Son of Dracula. This film is not the direct sequel that Dracula's Daughter was as it takes places well after the supposed demise of the original Count Dracula. This film has the original Dracula's supposed demise having happened in the 19th century, something that is obviously not true in the previous movies but is in line with Bram Stoker's original Dracula novel. 

In this film, Dracula comes to America, when Katherine Caldwell (Louise Allbritton) invites a certain Count Alucard (Lon Chaney Jr.) to her New Orleans plantation. Noticing a similarity between the name Alucard and Dracula (Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards), Professor Brewster (Frank Craven) begins to except that he might have some relation to the famous vampire. When strange things begin to happen, and he finds that there is no such persona as Count Alucard. these suspicions become more than simple hunches. 

The third entry in this series is a surprisingly strong horror film. While it may not keep those used to modern horror movies up at night, it is still is a tense and exciting film. The climax is especially exciting, suspenseful and cinematic. This scene will stay in your mind long after the film finishes. This movie also features many more effectively creepy scenes that are helped by a wonderful sense of atmosphere. While a Dracula story set in New Orleans may seem strange at first, the filmmakers make great use of the swamplands. The depiction of these swamplands at night is pure horror filmmaking at its best. The use of moonlight, fog, shadows and great cinematography make these swamplands seem like the stuff nightmares are made of. All the visuals in this film are simply wonderful. The special effects by John P. Fulton (a mainstay on the Universal monster films starting with The Invisible Man (1933)) are fantastic and hold up extremely well today (this marks the first time we see Dracula turn into a bat onscreen). 

This movie does have its flaws though. The idea that Count Dracula would try to hide his identity by taking the obvious pseudonym of Count Alucard is simply dumb and hard to believe. The romance is also not that interest here. Especially since the romantic male lead (Robert Paige) is quite underwritten and bland. 

This movie was directed by Robert Siodmak and marks the only Universal monster film that he directed. However, he was very talented director that deserves to be better know. His filmography includes the brilliant German silent arthouse film, People on Sunday (1930, which includes no real story and no professional actors) and many film noir classics including The Killers (1946). He brought a real film-noir feel to the early scenes that works perfectly here. 

This marked the only time Count Dracula was played by Lon Chaney Jr. Lon Chaney Jr. was not only the son of one of the most respected actors of the silent era but a well-respected actor in his own right. This was especially due to his role in the brilliant film version of Of Mice and Men (1939). He had already made his mark on the world of Universal monsters with his lead role in The Wolf Man (1941). The same year as Son of Dracula, would reprise his role as the Wolf Man in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). He remains a controversial choice to play Dracula as he is so drastically different from Bela Lugosi, due to his large physique, American accent and lack of the sophisticated elegance that Lugosi brought to the role While it took me a while to get used to this different take on the character, he eventually won me over. His menacing and purposely understated performance works quite well here making him feel more like an unstoppable force of nature than the seductive depiction Bela Lugosi gave. If he had played the character in the 1931 film, this performance wouldn't have worked but it fits this movie. 

While this movie did not cause the sensation that Frankenstein (1931) or Dracula did, it was a hit at the box office. It received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised Siodmak's direction, while others criticized it as being too derivative of early Universal horror films. The film would be reissued to theaters in 1948. 

A review in Film Bulletin stated, "Horror hokum to the n'th degree, 'Son of Dracula' is made-to-order for thrill devotees who will crowd the houses and bring in hefty grosses. Where its parent picture of a dozen years ago was weirdly unbelievable - and extremely shuddery, this one is utterly fantastic - and occasionally ridiculous. And Lon Chaney Jr. is unable to give his portrayal of Count Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards) the eerie quality that Bela Lugosi originally imparted to the vampire role. An excellent production, with numerous weird and imaginative effects and some suspenseful moments in the story will raise chills among many members of the average audience. There will be the customary audible shrieks, but also many unexpected laughs - in the better class theatres. However, the highly exploitable title - and an above average cast for horror films - makes this a fair attraction for all situations."   

I love the way that theater owners used to go out of their way to promote films for themselves. The following is a short article from an issue Showman's Trade Review dated March, 26, 1949 (considering the date, this article was probably talking about an incident that occurred upon the 1948 reissue).

"A believer in the efficiency of street ballyhoo in exploiting pictures is manager Lou Fuhrman of the Temple, Cortland, N.Y. For 'The Son of Dracula' he sent a masked man, weirdly costumed through the streets with copy stating he was the son of Dracula and 'See me at ........' For 'Blood and Sand' he sent a man carrying a glass of tomato juice in one hand and a glass of sand in the other parading about town. Sign copy announced film's opening date." 

Ballyhoo, Sep 1960







Resources Used 

https://lantern.mediahist.org/

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90801/son-of-dracula#articles-reviews?articleId=1358247

 

Movie Review: Hitpig!

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A really fun, if not exactly memorable animated comedy.

This animated comedy follows a bounty hunter pig, who is supposed to deliver an elephant back to her abusive owner. However something unexpected happens along the way, the pig becomes friends with the elephant he is supposed to return. While this story follows every story beat you might expect, there is a real charm to it. That is because underneath all the over-the-top comedy, the filmmakers truly care truly care about these characters. The budding friendship between Hitpig and Pickles the elephant is really heartfelt and even a little touching. Though you may see them coming the sentimental moments feel earned instead of forced. Our main characters may not be complex, but they are likable and sometimes that is the most important thing. It also helps that the movie moves at a fast breezy pace and never once gets boring. The animation is surprising quite good here. While being from a small studio, it may not be at same level as a Disney film, the animation is always very pleasing to look at and its budgetary limitations are not as obvious as one might expect. The design work also helps give this movie a quirky and fun look. Making this movie even more delightful is wonderful voice acting from a top-notch cast. 

Like most animated feature films today, this movie is filled with almost constant gags. Because of this the jokes can be really hit and miss. This film can be really funny, but there are also plenty of gags that fall completely flat. The fart jokes can especially feel lazy and forced. 

This movie also has a problem with too many bland supporting characters. Also while I appreciated and agree with this film's message about animal rights, I did feel it was told in an unsubtle and heavy-handed way.

This film was directed by Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss. This is the first feature film directed by Cinzia Angelini. However she has worked as an animator for such major studios as DreamWorks (The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Madagascar (2005), Shrek Forever After (2010)) and Disney (Meet the Robinsons (2007), Bolt (2008)) and Pixar (Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010)). She even did CGI for one of the all-time best superhero movies, Spider-Man 2 (2004). David Feiss directed many episodes of the 1990's Hanna-Barbera animated shows, Cow and Chicken and I am Weasel. As a storyboard artist he worked on such feature films as Open Season (2006), Rango (2011), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Free Birds (2013), Penguins of Madagascar (2014), Minions (2015), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), Despicable Me 3 (2017), The Adams Family 2 (2021), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) and Despicable Me 4 (2024).   

Though its familiarity may make this not exactly a memorable film, this is a charming and fun movie that is a delight for animation fans. 

 

   

Movie Review: Anora

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

A delightful dramedy from Sean Baker. 

This film's story revolves around a young sex worker, who a young and extremely wealthy Russian immigrant hires to be his girlfriend for a week. After having an incredibly fun week together, he asks her to marry him. The two impulsively get married, yet he talks very little about his parents. From here the story takes one unexpected turn after another. There is never a moment when you can see where this film is going and when you think you do, it has a different surprise around the corner. Because of this when the movie truly gets going it becomes one heck of a fun ride that keeps one's eyes glued to the screen. This movie also benefits from a wonderful sense of humor. While the humor in the earlier scenes isn't particularly great, as the movie's plot gets truly moving it becomes laugh out loud funny. And once the laughs begin to start, they just keep coming. These laughs range from silly slapstick to explicit sex jokes to smart and clever character-based humor. Once the film reached its mid-section, the audience I saw this with was laughing at nearly every joke, something unheard of in a comedy (or even dramedy). However, the greatest charm of this film is its title character. The stripper with a hidden heart of gold has been a movie cliché since back when movies used to call them hostesses. Still this movie manages to make this character feel completely real to us. She is a completely likable and relatable character that keeps this somewhat cynical movie still so enjoyable and not meanspirited. Yet the film does not play down her flaws but puts them on full display. This however does not make her less likable but only more human. Making this character all the more human and relatable is Mikey Madison's very charismatic performance. How much we care about this character also makes it, so the emotional moments hit perfectly. The supporting characters are also delightful and some of them even turn out to be more complex than cliché characters they first seem to be. This is one of the hallmarks of director Sean Baker's films. Though the characters his movies portray may not be people one may typically look up to, but he never judges them and urges us to do the same. It is what makes his films special, and it is fully on display here. 

My main problem with this movie is that the early scenes go on too long. Thet can drag and feel repetitive at times and the humor in these scenes doesn't compare to how funny the movie will get near its midpoint. 

This is a real treat.

Cowboy Church #195

 Hello my friends and welcome back to another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Near to the Heart of God. This hymn was written by Cleland McAfee, a pastor and choir leader at the Presbyterian Church at Park College in Parkville, Mo. This song came about after his two infant nieces passed away from diphtheria. His daughter recounted in her book, Near to the Heart of God, “The family and town were stricken with grief. My father often told us how he sat long and late thinking of what could be said in word and song on the coming Sunday.... So he wrote the little song. The choir learned it at the regular Saturday night rehearsal, and afterward they went to Howard McAfee’s home and sang it as they stood under the sky outside the darkened, quarantined house. It was sung again on Sunday morning at the communion service.... The hymn was first included in The Choir Leader, October, 1903.”

 This is followed by Willie Nelson with his self-penned gospel song, In God's Eyes. Speaking about this song Willie stated, "I needed to remind myself that, although I've strayed from the straight and narrow, I never strayed from my core beliefs. In 'In God's Eyes,' the next song in the sequence, I made that very point." This song comes from Willie's 1971 album, Yesterday's Wine. About this album Willie would state, "I looked up and simply began asking questions. Rather than keep those questions to myself, I put them into songs. The songs became my own particular prayers, my own personal reflections. I strung those prayers and reflections together in a loose-fitting suite. Music critics were throwing around the term 'concept album' - like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club or Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. I suppose you could say this new notion of mine came together as a concept album. Rather than trying to write a bunch of hit singles, I simply followed the natural path taken by my mind."

Afterwards is Jimmie Widener and the Voices of the West with their 1955 recording of Whose Side Are You On. 

Then comes J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers with their 1946 recording of Before Judgement Day. 

Next is The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Power in the Blood. Though there may be many tough times we may face in life and days that seem overwhelming, the blessing of Jesus Christ and the power of his love is greater than any hardship we might face. Roy Rogers sings lead on this track and the great bass vocals are by Hugh Farr. 

A Singer of Songs in my mind gets down to the essence of Johnny Cash and honestly when I first I found out I was surprised he had not written it. What is interesting is that when interviewed about this recording for the Unearthed Box set, Johnny stated, "Good song but I don't know whose it is." Producer Rick Rubin in comments for the box set stated that he felt this was "one of the most touching and emotional of all the songs." However, he admitted "I have no idea where it came from. I don't even remember recording it." He wondered how he could have possibly missed putting this song on one of the albums he and Johnny did together. Johnny's song John Carter Cash however shed light on where this song came from. "Every once in a while, I'd bring in a song or two - he knows instantly, when he hears a song, whether it will work out for him or not. This was written by Tim O'Connell." This song was recorded during the sessions for Johnny's third album for Rick Rubin, Solitary Man. Johnny was at heart simply a singer and a storyteller and he knew that there was no greater story than that of Jesus Christ. 

Today's musical selection ends with Mac Wiseman with Hold Fast to the Right. 

Now for a message from S.M. Lockridge. 

Now for an episode of The Lone Ranger radio show. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #202

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

 Solid Serenade (1946) is one of the most iconic Tom and Jerry films. Tom playing the big bass fiddle, while singing Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby is an image that is etched in the minds of cartoon fans and always will be. A huge reason why this film is so endearing to me, and many other cartoon fans is the song, Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby. This jazz classic has now become immortalized because of this cartoon. However, it was not created for this film. The song dates back to just a few years before the cartoon. In 1943 jazz singer and bandleader Louis Jordan (with His Tympani Five) recorded this song (which Jordan himself co-wrote with Billy Austin) and had a #1 hit with it. It would soon afterwards be recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller and The Andrew Sisters. In this cartoon it was sung by Ira “Buck” Woods, an African Amercian singer and trumpeter who appeared in small parts in a few feature films, most prominently in Reunion in France (1942), which features Joan Crawford and John Wayne. His rendition of this song is simply fantastic and there is no wonder that this cartoon and this performance would bring immortality to this song.  The animation for this film was divided mostly by giving animators lengthy sequences. The opening scene is animated Ray Patterson as was the scene in which Spike chases Tom after putting the more vicious dentures in his mouth. Ken Muse animates the whole scene of Tom serenading Toodles with the exception of the tiny insert of Jerry getting the pie set to throw at Tom (which is animated by Ed Barge). Ed Barge animates Tom and Jerry's chase in the kitchen. Michael Lah (who had replaced Irv Spence who moved to John Sutherland Productions) animates the funniest scenes in the film, including the aforementioned scene in which Tom hits Spike on the head with a brick. He also animates Tom throwing the stick and telling Spike to fetch it, Tom sneaking in kisses from Toodles as he is avoiding Spike and Tom accidentally romancing Spike instead of Toodles. The ending of the film starting from when Tom thinks he has trapped Jerry in the doghouse is all animated by Pete Burness. Pete Burness and Ray Patterson would be uncredited for this cartoon. Clips from this film would later be reused in the Tom and Jerry cartoons, Jerry's Diary (1949), Smitten Kitten (1952) and Smarty Cat (1955). The gag of the jazz music making Jerry bounce out of bed and around his bedroom was somewhat reused in one of Hanna-Barbera's TV cartoons, The Flintstones episode, The Swimming Pool (1960) as the music at a pool party causing a neighbor to do pretty much the same thing. 

Next is a classic Terry Toons short, Golden Egg Goosie (1951). 

Now for Sylvester and Tweety in Tweet and Lovely (1959). This is one of my favorite Sylvester and Tweety films. Voice actor Mel Blanc would later write, "Sylvester has always been a favorite of mine. He's always been the easiest character for me to play. When I was show the first model sheet for Sylvester with his floppy jaws and generally disheveled appearance, I said to Friz Freleng, 'A big sloppy cat should have a big shthloppy voice. He should spray even more than Daffy.' While recording Sylvester cartoons my scripts would get so covered in sylvia I'd repeatedly have to wipe them clean. I used to suggest to actress June Foray, who voiced Tweety's vigilant owner Granny that she wear a raincoat to the sessions." 

Next is Krazy Kat in The Restless Sax (1931). Though in the earliest Krazy Kat cartoons for Columbia, the character greatly resembled the Krazy Kat in George Herriman's classic comic strip (which these cartoons were supposedly adaptations of), by this time the character had been turned into a Mickey Mouse clone. Despite this, the film is still very much worth watching due to some very creative and surreal gags that can be truly funny. The scene at the cafe is especially delightful. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Now for a classic silent Out of the Inkwell short, Koko's Crib (1929). 

I have mentioned many times on this blog that I am a fan of the cartoons Jack Kinney directed for Disney. These were some of the studio's funniest, often providing an almost Tex Avery like sense of humor that I find irrespirable. Next comes one of those great cartoons, Motor Mania (1950). Despite this film being such a comedic tour de force, it also had a successful life as a safety film. This film received the National Safety Council Award. This cartoon was even used in 1953 in Oakland, California as a mandatory part in its Traffic Violator School. No need to look at this film as an educational experience, it is just as fast paced and funny as any of Jack Kinney's great cartoons for Disney.

Up next is the last of 17 theatrical cartoon shorts starring The Blue Racer, Little Boa Peep (1974). In this short film, our favorite blue snake tries to be a sheepdog. The only problem is he doesn't know what a sheep looks like. 

Now to close with a country music classic. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.

Resources Used

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck


https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/tom-jerry-in-solid-serenade-1946/

https://tomandjerry.fandom.com/wiki/Solid_Serenade

Silent Film of the Month: When Knights Were Cold (1923)

 

Run Time: 20 minutes. Studio: Quality Film Productions. Director: Frank Fouce. Writer: Tom Miranda. Producer: Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson. Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Mae Laurel, Catherine Bennett, Scotty MacGregor, Billy Armstrong. Cinematographer: Irving G. Ries.

Though Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are both best remembered as a classic comedy team, both of them had somewhat successful film careers before teaming up. Some of Stan Laurel's best films before teaming with Oliver Hardy were a series of silent short films that parodied popular movies of the day. These shorts often were filled with delightful absurd humor that is still laugh out loud funny today. Though only the second half of the film is known to exist today's When Knights Were Cold remains one of the finest examples of these Stan Laurel movie parodies.   

In this parody of the Marion Davies led costume drama, When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922) (a working title for this film was When Knighthood Was in Flour), Stan stars as a Robin Hood like hero (another working title was Rob ’em Good). From what still exists of the film we see him on the run from an army of knights and rescue a princess from an evil villain. 

 This film is legitimately laugh out loud funny. That the comedy does not exist in its entirety does not hurt the enjoyment of it because the story is not as important as the constant assault of gags here. There is a real absurdity to these gags that is simply delightful. Some historians have compared the humor here to that of Monty Python and I fully agree with this assessment. The sight of Stan and the knights having a chase wearing music-hall half-horse costumes is simply hilarious in itself and is absurd comedy at its best. This would be funny enough without the great gags surrounding it. Add these gags and you have a comedy classic. The gags are also wonderfully silly from Stan watering a plant he is standing on so he can get to the high up window to a jazz band at a wedding in medieval times. Stan's performance here is also wonderful. Though his over the top acting and laughing to the camera that he was doing at the time, could be off-putting in some of his other early films, it works perfectly in these movie parodies. With this short kidding Douglas Fairbanks just as much as When Knighthood Was in Flower, Stan's gestures to the camera made for a delightful kidding of Fairbanks. 

This is the only film, which I can find that Frank Fouce directed. Though he does receive a producer's credit on the William Beaudine directed feature film, Men in Her Life (1931). This makes it all the more surprising how well paced this short is. 

Actress Mae Laurel's real name was Mae Dahlberg. From 1917 to 1925 she was Stan Laurel's professional partner and common-law wife. The two worked heavily together on stage and even appeared in a few films. One of her most important contributions to comedy history is that she was the one who suggested that Stan Jefferson change his name to Stan Laurel. Their partnership started to dissolve when Stan quit stage work completely and signed a 12-picture contract with producer Joe Rock in 1924. One of the stipulations of this contract was that Mae Laurel couldn't appear in any of these films as he felt that her temperament was hampering Stan's work. By 1925 they were no longer a team and no longer living together.

This film marked the screen debut of actress, Catherine Bennett, who would appear in a few feature films as well as some of the Monty Banks comedy shorts. Billy Armstrong who plays the Earl of Tabasco will be a familiar face to silent comedy fans especially for his roles in some of Charlie Chaplin's shorts for the Essany studio. 

For anyone interested what exists of this film can be watched below on YouTube. It can also be found on Flicker Alley's indispensable Blu-Ray set, Laurel or Hardy: Early Solo Films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.  

 

  

Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)

 

As a fan of both Scooby-Doo! and DC Comics, this direct to video movie is a pure delight and just as fun as I hoped it would be. 

When the Justice League disappears, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson go into the Hall of Justice to investigate. When they go in, they are scared out by a phantom. To take care of this creepy mystery they call the Mystery Inc. gang to investigate. When the Mystery Inc. Gang arrives in Metropolis; they find with the Justice League gone the city is overrun with Supervillains. The gang teams up with Kyrpto the super dog to save the day. 

This movie is simply a lot of fun. The whole movie moves at a very fast pace with gags and action galore. Because of this the film is non-stop fun from start to finish. Most of the gags are quite good. I especially love some of the incidental gags, such as Scooby putting on a red lantern ring, Scooby and Shaggy running away from Solomon Grundy on Flash's Cosmic Treadmill or Shaggy shooting a variety of crazy and increasingly silly arrows from Green Arrow's arsenal. These are just little cartoon jokes that could have easily been left out but add so much to the fun. These little moments also perfectly capture the spirit of this film. They have fun with the sillier parts of DC's history but never makes fun of them. As someone who loves the sillier parts of DC comics, this movie serves as a perfect tribute to just what I love about DC comics. For DC fans there are so many fun Easter eggs to try and catch here. And for Hanna-Barbera fans some of these Easter eggs even reference the Super Friends cartoons. The action scenes are a lot of fun as well and a delight to watch. The climatic action scene is wonderful. 

This movie also does a wonderful job of combining DC comics fun with a typical Scooby mystery. The mystery element is especially strong here. This mystery has quite a few plot twists and each one works great. Just when you think you know where this mystery is going, it has another twist on top of it. This is definitely one of the better Scooby mysteries in recent years. Yet as much as this mystery works as a Scooby mystery, it works just as well as a superhero story, perfectly using the vast world of DC heroes and villains to its advantage. 

Director Cecilia Aranovich has worked with both the DC and the Scooby-Doo! characters before this. She had directed a few of the direct to video Scooby-Doo! movies before this (Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019), Scooby-Doo: Return to Zombie Island (2019), Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)). On the DC side she has directed various episodes of TV's DC Superhero Girls and some of the direct to video movies based off the show, as well as some episodes of Harley Quinn. This film marks the first Scooby-Doo movie written by T.K. O'Brian and I hope not his last. 

This is a pure delight for both fans of Scooby-Doo and DC.