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DRACULAīS DAUGHTER 1936. (Universal Studios) Actors: Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Irving PIchel, Edward Van Sloan, Nan Grey, hedda Hopper. Director: Lambert Hillyer "Please tell me that this isnīt the last of my blood red lipstick" .Countess Marya ZAleska asks her man servant Sandor. |
One of those rare sequels that is actually the equal of, if not better than, the original film (in this case the 1931 version of Dracula). It operates under the same premise as the original and continues its storyline, taking it in refreshing directions. An example of this creativity is the filmīs willingness to explore vampirism as an affliction from which the vampire earnestly sought release, a theme that was hardly touched on in the first movie. It is also significant to note that this is the first movie to feature a female vampire.
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The story begins with the final scene from Dracula, after which Van Helsing is arrested for killing Dracula. Draculaīs daughter, Countess Marya Zalesky (Gloria Holden), steals the Countīs body and burns it, hoping that this will free her from vampirism and allow her to lead a normal life. Alas, her wish goes unfulfilled. Her servant, Sandor, places Draculaīs ring on her finger, and soon afterwrd the Countess begins claiming female victims (a fact not lost on lesbian vampie fans). |
Marya then has a chance to encounter psychiatrist Dr. Geoffrey Garth (Otto Kruger), who offers to help her overcome vampirism. Her struggle to overcome her affliction takes her back to Transylvania, with Garth not far behind. Marya hopes to force Garth to stay with her, but a jealous Sandor has other plans and causes her undoing,.
Draculaīs Daughter found some of its inspiration in "Draculaīs Guest", a story published by Bram Stoker that had originally been written to be an opening chapter in the Dracula novel. In 1977, Carl Dreadstone wrote a novel, Draculaīs Daughter, inspired by the movie.