Tonight, on MeTV- we shake a sinister family tree to harvest an early Universal horror classic. considered to be the first sequel to the original Bela Lugosi “Dracula” film. We meet the previously unknown female child of the infamous count, who is set in her father’s ways, which she wants desperately to leave behind- yet is unable to drop her corpuscle addiction- and must deal with the irresistible thirst she has inherited by virtue of being- “Dracula’s Daughter”!
This film was meant to capitalize on the success of the wildly popular “Dracula”- and actually picks up right where the original ended! In the dungeon of Carfax Abbey, vampire hunter Van Helsing (named VON Helsing, for some reason in this film) standing over the now-inert body of Count Dracula – which is sporting a wooden stake through its heart, courtesy of Von- or Van (let’s just go with “Von” for the rest of this blog)! The police burst in upon him, realize that he has the stake-driving weapon in hand, and immediately take him into custody for murder. When Dracula's body is locked up in the local police department, with only a lone policeman on duty, a mysterious hooded woman drops by- and, after using a strange hypnotic power on the officer, makes off with the Count's body!
She spirits it away to engulf it in a funeral pyre that she hopes will free her of her family curse (Leaving us viewers to ponder how the Count managed to return in additional sequels after this fiery final rest). The burning question of whether or not the flames have brought her the salvation she seeks is soon answered- as her odd "assistant" Sandor underlines that her behavior indicates that she has NOT lost her desire for human blood!
Meanwhile, the incarcerated Von Helsing , needing proof that he is quite sane. contacts his brilliant though somewhat skeptical former student, Jeffery Garth, to help prove that he is not a homicidal lunatic; that his act of “murder” was actually a brave heroic act; and that vampires actually exist! While trying to come up with a plan to aid his mentor, Garth attends a society party, where he encounters a stranger who also happens to drop by -a visiting artist, Countess Marya Zaleska (in reality, the daughter of the Count that Von Helsing slew!) Jeffrey converses with other guests about his work in curing the cravings of his patients, which the Countess overhears. It dawns on her that he might help her to defeat a craving that she does not reveal to him, as she asks for his assistance in defeating it. Although he has no clue as to what her affliction might be, he agrees to help her.
Soon, however, there is a rash of attacks in the area, with victims drained of blood. Jeffrey’s secretary (who hopes to be promoted to the title of girlfriend as well) takes an instant dislike to the Countess- definitely for good reason- as the vampire vixen continues her horrible habit. Jeffrey and Van Helsing strive to prove that a vampire does exist-and that said menace will do anything to remove threats to its existence- eventually taking us back to the Transylvania castle where the original vampire story began - and where certain lives could end!
This 1936 film was made 5 years after the original “Dracula”- and provides an eerie atmosphere, in no small part due to Gloria Holden’s portrayal of the Countess. Edward Van Sloan (or, is he VON Sloane this time out?!) makes his second appearance as Dracula’s nemesis, Von Helsing, with Otto Krueger as the psychologist hero Jeffrey, and Marguerite Churchill as his lovesick secretary. We’ll talk about the cast, and find that Gwengoolie is thinking she is related to a certain family; and we throw in two songs, one requested by fans who loved the “Hey Svengoolie’ tune we showed last week. We’ll also show you some previously unseen highlights of the 2024 Flashback Weekend convention brimming with star-studded Sven shtick- including the 45th anniversary celebration panel with Nick Digilio hosting, and special guest stars including Ted Raimi, our old friend Tom Atkins, and the lovely Jordan Ladd ( daughter of the equally lovely “Charlie’s Angels” star Cheryl Ladd) who also does a fun one-on-one interview with us; the immortal Joe Bob Briggs and I talk about the worst horror movies – and even more ( the result of having a shorter movie)!
Meet “Dracula’s Daughter” tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check your local listings (or www.metv.com) for time and channel where you can watch in your area. Feel free to join in on the live-Tweeting on Twitter and live posting on Bluesky during the show tonight -we end up trending nationally in both places- so please be sure to use the hashtag #svengoolie ! In the Chicago area this morning, our viewers get an encore of Karloff and his comedic pursuers (who become the pursued) in “Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at 11 am on WCIU, The U!
We have been very happy to hear from so many of our fans who got Sven merchandise as gifts during the holidays. You can still find various items perfect for your winter wardrobe, both indoors and out, as well as collectibles that are must-haves for Sven devotees in our store- so please check them out under “the store” tab right here on our website.
We have many friends in the Los Angeles area, some of whom have had to evacuate- our thoughts are with everyone during this horrible catastrophe.
Please join us tonight for Dracula’s distaff offspring- who says she wants to go to rehab, but we don’t know-know-know!
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STR = Being able to crush a TOMATO
DEX = Being able to dodge a TOMATO
CON = Being able to eat a bad TOMATO
INT = Knowing a TOMATO is a Fruit
WIS = Knowing not to put a TOMATO in Fruit Salad
CHR = Being able to sell a TOMATO based Fruit Salad
LERV
The post by "them"- Maybe, but hopefully not, with METV in background.
Of course, sadly, the old Steamer, which I took when I was a kid, has been recycled.
BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) does better on this score than many, and OK, we get a nice scene where one of Baron Meinsters' victims emerges from the ground. And we even see her again at the windmill later. Do she and the other vampiress simply wait around for the windmill to burn them into the peaceful rest promised by the legend? We'll never know.
Just sayin.
David O. Selznick was on the committee that formed the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and knew full well that after July 1st, 1934, no motion picture could be made in the US with a seal of approval from the new code enforcement group. It seems pretty obvious that both he and John Balderston knew that this script had no chance of approval. It probably was one of Selznick’s rather Machiavellian torments, knowing he might reclaim the script and rights 15 months later. For Balderston’s part, he may well have just had some fun writing whatever outrageous thing he wanted, knowing it would literally become someone else’s problem. Nor did Balderston write this script without reviewing the same “controversial” material that had influenced Bram Stoker decades earlier.
Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873)
is mostly forgotten today, but he was actually one of the most influential horror writers of all time. In an era when gothic tale relied on shock value, Le Fanu preferred to create atmosphere and leave the reader wondering if what had happened was a natural occurrence – or a supernatural one. His terror in the unseen and unknown literally changed the course of horror writing to this day. In addition to John Balderston, filmmaker Val Lewton (THE CAT PEOPLE) and author Ann Rice both credit Le Fanu as a major inspiration. A successful newspaper publisher, his 1872 work CARMILLA is still cited as the first English work about a lesbian character. Carmilla is a vampire, and although she admits having had many lovers/victims of both genders, the story centers on her (ultimately) impossible relationship with one woman. Eight years after its publication, Le Fanu hired a young Bram Stoker. And other than Universal needing a 3 month deadline to start filming DRACULA’S DAUGHTER in January, 1936) which Selznick gave them, the rest IS history.
Thanks for indulging me, happy Eve of Sventurday, and don’t let the tomatoes bite.
So I'm right there with you: We should all be so...fortunate.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=THE%20PHANTOM%20SHIP&mid=CB438FA968601624B84ECB438FA968601624B84E&ajaxhist=0
Balderston’s adaptation of DRACULA ran on Broadway for 261 performances (and the actor didn't remain so anonymous).
Meanwhile, the rags to riches to rags story of Universal studios under Carl Laemmle Sr. continued to unfold. By 1930, Universal hadn’t had a real moneymaker for a couple of years. It was a big risk to try a horror film, but Carl Laemmle Jr. was enthusiastic about the project, and Universal paid Florence Balcombe $40,000 (roughly $75,000,000 in 2025) for the literary rights to the novel, as well as exclusive rights to use the name Dracula. John Balderston was brought in as part of a team of writers to produce the screenplay. That was only the beginning of Balderston’s career in Tinsel Town: by the time he was named professor of dramatic writing at USC in 1952, his credits included work on GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and GASLIGHT (1944).
It was common knowledge in Hollywood that Universal was ready to make a sequel to FRANKENSTEIN even before the film was released in 1931. But that desire for fast results was quickly bogged down in trying to find a suitable script for the next film installment. When two years had passed and the script problems at Universal were unresolved, master negotiator David O. Selznick probably believed he had an excellent prospective sale if he offered original author’s rights and a script for a new sequel following DRACULA. He and Florence Balcombe had agreed that no characters from the first movie would appear in the sequel. They had also agreed on potential titles, only one of which included the original character: DRACULA’S DAUGHTER. In addition, Selznick included a production start date of October 1935 in the contract, after which the rights would revert back to MGM. John Balderston was hired to produce a script, and in September 1934, Selznick sold the rights and the script to Universal for a tidy $12,500.
One question remains: How did a film that bears no resemblance to its purported source story end up being made? All, or at least most, will be answered next time, when we meet the last character in this tale of back lot baggage…DRACULA’S GRANDDADDY!
