Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
MitchellCombden
Dracula's daughter (1936) is directed by Lambert Hillyer. this is the official sequel to Tod Browning's memorable and atmospheric universal horror classic an follows the daughter of Dracula, Hungarian countess Marya Zaleska. she seeks release from the evil influence of the evil known as Dracula.what the film does right is it hits all the right notes in the atmosphere department while also staying true to it's characters motivations. countess Zaleska played wonderfully by Gloria Holden is a tortured and sympathetic character that is seeking release from the evil influence of Dracula and can not seem to shake her evil urges and impulses. her assistant Sandor played by Irving Pichel acts as a contrast to the character Jeffrey Garth played by Otto Kruger (Kruger does a great job here as well). Garth informs her there is a way to release herself from the curse while Sandor tells her there is no escape and that evil will always prevail. but Sandor isn't simply there saying these things for the sake of being there and saying them to provide contrast. he is saying these things because his character plays a much deeper role in the context of the plot. he seeks immortality and if he is to achieve his goal he mustn't let Zaleska achieve hers. but back to Gloria Holden's performance. her screen presence is what makes the film work so well. charming, sensual, hypnotizing and desperate she chews the scenery in nearly every scene she's in. in the original Dracula Lugosi portrayed Dracula as a more sinister and evil character. but because of his Charisma and style we also rooted for him because we couldn't help but to want to see more of him. in this film however we do feel genuine sympathy for our female Dracula, this is something that was not present in the previous film and this makes this sequel very unique and ground breaking. Edward Van Sloan returns as Professor Von Helsing and does an excellent job as well.I should also mention that the score is utterly haunting and wonderful in this film. one of the best of the universal era horror scores. now, some people speak of a lesbian undertone or sub text in the film that I was not fully aware of. while I do believe it is possible for it to be an underlying thing here I do not think it was intentional.so in short, the performances are all great, the character are all written well and the atmosphere and story are on point.one thing that is a massive negative here though is the comedy that is shoe horned in. it feels terribly out of place and has not aged well at all. the ending also felt a tad bit rushed. while it was good and I'm aware that the intent was to create a suspenseful and climactic ending I think it could have been a tad bit better.overall Dracula's Daughter is a classic and the second best in the universal Dracula legacy.the verdict: 8.5/10
Michael_Elliott
Dracula's Daughter (1936) *** (out of 4) Countess Zeleska (Gloria Holden) shows up at the police station where Dracula's dead body is laying in rest after he was killed by Professor Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). Pretty soon more bodies are showing up with their blood drained and soon the female vampire has her eyes on a doctor Otto Kruger).Sequels are hardly ever good but that was never the case at Universal when it came to their monster movies. More times than not the studio managed to turn out very good sequels and sometimes they would pass up even the original film. Most people feel that BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is better than FRANKENSTEIN and there are others who feel that this film is much better than its 1931 original with Bela Lugosi. DRACULA'S DAUGHTER is certainly a different type of picture than what was being made during this period of the genre.Horror films were banned starting around this time so that might explain why much of the more Gothic elements are left off the screen. There really aren't all that many attacks as the movie is a lot more suggestive, which actually helped the movie in the long run. Of course, by being more suggestive there's a lot of stuff people like to guess at including that DRACULA'S DAUGHTER is an early example of a lesbian vampire. There are a couple seduction scenes where the Countess attacks women and it seems pretty clear there was some intent behind them from the filmmakers.The performances are a major plus with Holden doing a terrific job in the title role. She certainly captures the sexuality of the character but more importantly she captures the coldness and the tortured side of her sole. Both Kruger and Van Sloan are good in their parts as are Marguerite Churchill and Irving Pichel. Billy Bevan is here with some comic elements, which were probably inspired by those in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN but they don't work nearly as well here. Another major plus is that DRACULA'S DAUGHTER has a very strong atmosphere that helps make it quite memorable.
John T. Ryan
OUR STORY OPENS up at the death of Count Dracula at the hand of Van Helsing. The descent of the stake through the heart, followed by the obligatory super sigh, marked the passing on of the Dracula dynasty to yet another "generation".IN A HIGHLY SUBTLE manner, the eerie horror of "the Undead" is continued; quietly maintaining the dark and creepy ambiance; which was established by Director Todd Browning in Dracula (Universal, 1931). Hence, the howl of the wolf, the flapping batwings and mirrors' lacking reflections all became standard elements of Universal Pictures dark mythology.THE CHARACTERIZATION OF the female vampire heir to the Dracula estate is both multi-faceted and at the same time, fascinating. British born actress, Gloria Holden, projects a very feminine persona, a most unusual sort of beauty and a slow, deliberate speech pattern. All the while she is speaking, she seems to be crying underneath. Nearly expressionless and wooden, her countenance is as one truly dead.IN MORE RECENT times, with the wave of handsomer, sexier vampires, such as Frank Langella's portrayal in Dracula (Mirisch Company/Universal, 1979), the notion that the vampire used sex as a springboard to his sanguinary conquests came to the forefront. DRACULA'S DAUGHTER , is the prime example appears to be somewhat ahead of the curve; albeit in the form of lesbianism. The scene where Countess Zeleska (Dracula) auditions a poor girl from the street as a potential artists' model.THIS IS PROBABLY a major entry in the resume of director, Lambert Hillyer; whose output had a very unusual range. Starting in the days of the Silent Screen and William S. Hart westerns, to titles such as THE INVISIBLE RAY(Universal, 1936), BATMAN Serial (Columbia, 1943)and down to ZIV TV Productions' THE CISCO KID, HIGHWAY PATROL and I LED 3 LIVES. The durable and versatile Mr. Hillyer never lacked work during a 40+ year ride on the Hollywood Merry Go Round.THERE IS A LESSON here for our bright, young and well educated filmmakers of the 21st Century. In DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (as with so many of the other horror classics of the day). That is namely, subtle horror with hints of the frightening is much more effective and scary than all of that Technicolor blood & gore that we see all too often today.
Claudio Carvalho
In London, two policemen find the body of a man, Renfield, with neck broken and Dracula with a stake through his heart. They arrest Prof. Von Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) that tells that he did it and take him to the Scotland Yard. The inspector Sir Basil Humphrey (Gilbert Emery) asks Von Helsing who might defend him and the professor asks for the psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger). Meanwhile, the mysterious Countess Marya Zeleska (Gloria Holden), who is Dracula's daughter, compels the policeman that is in charge to take care of the bodies and takes Dracula's body with her to bury him with her assistant Sandor (Irving Pichel) before dawn, expecting to be released from the family's curse. In Edinburgh, Jeffrey is hunting with friends and his assistant Janet Blake (Marguerite Churchill) comes to tell him that he has an appointment with the Scotland Yard to help his friend Von Helsing. When Von Helsing tells him about Dracula, Jeffrey believes that he is obsessed with the vampire and promises to help him. During the night, he goes to a party where he meets the Hungarian Countess and he tells his theories about the vampire blood thirsty that he believes is an obsession. Now, Countess Zeleska believes that Jeffrey can heal her and release her from her blood thirsty and she wants to bring him to her castle to spend the eternal life with her in Transylvania."Dracula's Daughter" is a great vampire movie, with the dramatic story of a vampire woman that wishes to be free from the curse of her father, Dracula. The plot is naive and funny, and the relationship between the annoying Jeffrey and the witty Janet is amusing. This is one of the best movies of Universal Studios in this genre. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Filha de Drácula" ("The Dracula's Daughter")
