The Return of Dracula (1958)

Dreadfully Boring

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Very well done vampire film with a strong performance by Francis Lederer as the undead nobleman and Norma Eberhardt as the object of his carnal desire.The Count has become not just a blood thirsty monster but a political enemy of the state in his native Romania and has to flee for his...er ..ah .. "life" so to speak. He kills and assume he identity of an artist traveling to America to connect with a cousin. The Count finds the small northern California town she lives in much to his liking. The woman's daughter is both attracted and suspicious of her new"cousin". and he is very attracted to her. His usual living habits and almost hypnotic charm raise some red flags, however, particularly with the young lady's jealous boyfriend. A vampire hunter arrives in the town to investigate the strange circumstances of the artists immigration to the United States. It becomes a taunt and tense race against time. As other review's have pointed out, this basically a remake of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" and there is nothing wrong with that. Giving the story a supernatural element gives a different slant and makes it very watchable. Lederer has said was not happy playing Dracula but he was certainly effective .His characterization is spot on. It came out about the same time as Horror of Dracula and somehow got lost in the shuffle. Perhaps because it was shot in black and white. Return of Dracula is and entertaining and effective vampire thriller.

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.

I liked it! This film is a late 1950s take on the Dracula tale, involving teenagers, a local parish house and its denizen, including the reverend in charge. Dracula, as portrayed by Francis Lederer, is handsome and menacing. The story moves along quickly and kept me interested throughout. The finale is a horror story classic.

This is a real gem of a vampire movie - an intense, tight, brilliant, and satisfying movie set 1950s small town America. As other reviewers have noted, the story is essentially identical to Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, but with the added twist of vampirism.The Gothic angle is absent, which might turn off some traditionalists. In its place is a setting featuring two cultural icons of late 1950s movies - idyllic small town/suburbia threatened by outside forces; and teenagers taking control in times of crisis and mastering challenges. (It is fun to see the youth movement and rebellion of the 1960s foreshadowed in the late 1950s).The vampire, played expertly by Frances Lederer, is charming and sophisticated, but in each sentence he utters, there are suspicious undertones. There is a creepy feeling every moment this guy is on the screen. Lederer gives a brilliant vampire performance, one might even argue he is one of the best vampires ever. The young woman threatened by this vampire also gives an excellent performance. Her character has to move from schoolgirlish, to suspicious and finally to terror. She is quite convincing. The other actors do a fine job in support.The movie is well filmed, and there are several fun little moments of surprise and terror. The dialog is good, and there are some fun bits of vampire cosmology tossed in here and there, with lines like, "If my behavior seems different, perhaps it is because it serves a higher purpose than to find acceptance in this dull and useless world." For some reason, crosses are extremely important and powerful in this movie. A cross is an instant vampire-stopper. In contrast, a vampire's most powerful weapon in this movie is his hypnotic power. Therefore, a constant battle of hypnotism verses cross is present from start to finish, with the climactic confrontation scene featuring a final duel.This ending scene was a bit unsatisfying to me, it must be a tough one to film - how do you capture hypnotism verses willpower and make it visually dramatic? However, in spite of a slightly weak ending, this is a heck of a vampire movie. If you like vampires, this movie belongs in your collection.