Dracula’s Daughter (1936) - film review

Arrested by Scotland Yard for the murder of Count Dracula, Professor Van Helsing contacts one of his former students, the psychiatrist Dr Jeffrey Garth, to defend him in his impending trial.  Meanwhile, Dracula’s body has been stolen by a mysterious young woman named Countess Marya Zaleska, who is in fact the vampire’s daughter.  The Countess burns her father’s body, believing that this will exorcise the evil within her and make her a normal human being.  When this fails, she tries to persuade Dr Garth to use his knowledge of the mind to save her.  When Garth refuses to help her, the Countess flees to her father’s castle in Transylvania, taking with her Garth’s assistant, Janet.  Garth has no choice but to follow, not knowing that the Countess has resolved to transform him into a vampire...

Dracula (1931) was the first in Universal Pictures’ series of gothic horror films but it took a full five years before the company made a sequel to this film (remarkable when you consider how popular it had been).  That sequel, Dracula’s Daughter, is widely considered the best of Universal’s vampire offerings, surpassing the original 1931 film in both its narrative complexity and its production values.

Dracula’s Daughter originated as a treatment of a short story by Bram Stoker (entitled Dracula’s Guest) which was originally part of his Dracula novel.  MGM executive David O. Selznick bought the rights to the story from Stoker’s widow and subsequently sold these on to Universal at a profit, knowing that he would not be able to make a film himself with the name Dracula in the title.   

In her first leading film role, Gloria Holden is cast as the titular vampiric offspring and looks perfect for the part, even though she resented having to play it.  Her cold elegance and air of disdain give her a chilling alien quality which makes her the scariest and sexiest of all the screen vampires.  Much has been written about the film’s lesbian overtones and there is certainly an overt dark sensuality in Holden’s scenes with her female victims.

Stylishly directed by Lambert Hillyer (better known as a director of westerns), Dracula’s Daughter is far better paced than the original Dracula film, although it is perhaps slightly less atmospheric. With is satisfying blend of horror and comedy, it is without doubt one of the most enjoyable of Universal’s early horror films.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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