The death of Bela Lugosi in 1956 didn't instantly create a legend. That took time. But shortly after his death, an independent film honored him (sort of) by naming a character in this "Dracula" film "Bellac", obviously influenced by the forgotten old man of horror who had died in obscurity. Certainly, he had unreleased films ("Plan Nine From Outer Space"), but Bela Lugosi had slipped so far into obscurity that the only films he could get were so down the line of poverty row that they made his Monogram films look as if they had come from MGM. "Dracula" here is Francis Lederer, a grand old villain of the silver screen, once a romantic lead, but later cast in a variety of sinister roles, and now cast as the infamous Hungarian count. Somehow brought back from the dead after being killed in various ways under the acting chops of Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., and John Carradine, Dracula made a major comeback in the late 1950's. Not only was there Lederer in this enjoyable but predictable programmer, but Christopher Lee, who would create another legend in a series of Hammer films where he took over the role of the count, playing him more times on screen than any other actor.
Lederer's dashing older count has immigrated from Hungary to the United States, pretending to be "Bellac", a cousin of the Mayberry family (no relation to Andy Taylor's Mayberry). Strange occurrences begin to happen, including the sudden death of their cousin (Virginia Vincent), and when pretty Norma Eberhardt meets Lederer, she becomes disturbingly fascinated with him, even though she's involved with Ray Stricklyn. It's apparent that something involving Vincent's death is tied in with Lederer, and it is ironically on Halloween (during a stereotypical local party) that Eberhardt's obsession comes to its full power, following Lederer to an abandoned mine while a local priest and a European vampire hunter decide to check in on Vincent's casket.
Some amusing character performances includes a Margaret Hamilton like aunt who dresses as a witch, Eberhardt's younger brother (Jimmy Baird) who gets some really good lines (especially while in costume when asked where is costume is!), and John Wengraf as the visiting vampire hunter. This is a fine mixture of light comedy and gothic horror, with Lederer good in his one appearance as Mr. Toothy. Unfortunately, he is never seen exposing his fangs, so that does take away some of the horror element. I can see why this one has fallen into obscurity when compared to the Hammer series which took off right at the same time.
Lederer's dashing older count has immigrated from Hungary to the United States, pretending to be "Bellac", a cousin of the Mayberry family (no relation to Andy Taylor's Mayberry). Strange occurrences begin to happen, including the sudden death of their cousin (Virginia Vincent), and when pretty Norma Eberhardt meets Lederer, she becomes disturbingly fascinated with him, even though she's involved with Ray Stricklyn. It's apparent that something involving Vincent's death is tied in with Lederer, and it is ironically on Halloween (during a stereotypical local party) that Eberhardt's obsession comes to its full power, following Lederer to an abandoned mine while a local priest and a European vampire hunter decide to check in on Vincent's casket.
Some amusing character performances includes a Margaret Hamilton like aunt who dresses as a witch, Eberhardt's younger brother (Jimmy Baird) who gets some really good lines (especially while in costume when asked where is costume is!), and John Wengraf as the visiting vampire hunter. This is a fine mixture of light comedy and gothic horror, with Lederer good in his one appearance as Mr. Toothy. Unfortunately, he is never seen exposing his fangs, so that does take away some of the horror element. I can see why this one has fallen into obscurity when compared to the Hammer series which took off right at the same time.