Monster of the Day #1167

I think I’ve made it pretty obvious that I thought John Carradine was a nearly perfect actor to play Dracula. No, he never would have been as sheerly iconic as Messrs. Lugosi and Lee. Still, it’s hard to think of another role that Mr. Carradine was better suited for.

The genuine shame for me is that he never really got a great whack at the part.  He played it twice for Universal in his prime, but his Dracula was a side story in both films.Even so, it’s an interesting interpretation. His Count is a being longing to escape his awful fate, but whose nature precludes him from doing so even when victory was nearly in his grasp.  Bela’s Dracula has his brief fantasy about being really dead. Carradine’s Dracula, however, is probably the most explicitly tragic until Jack Palance’s.

He was also, I think, the first Dracula to be seen changing into a bat, via animation. The effect is far better known from Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, a rather more beloved film than the two ‘House’ films.

  • Flangepart

    “I’m sorry, sir. The national Health Service has strict rules about Desanguination. You have to pass a Ministry Skill Confirmation test first.”

    “Damm bureaucrats! They’re every where!”

  • bgbear_rnh

    Can vampires see themselves in a mirror? It just that they are always so well dressed and groomed. Maybe that is what Dracula really needs Renfield for.

  • Gamera977

    Does seem like it would be hard to brush your fangs without a mirror…

  • Gamera977

    Things I learned from this movie: Even hunchbacks can be cute.

  • bgbear_rnh

    I always thought that her quick death was not milk for enough pathos. Such a sympathetic character deserved a little mourning.

  • bgbear_rnh

    Really sad little vampires probably draw faces on their mirrors. :(

  • Eric Hinkle

    I just think it’s a shame that she gets described as a monster in the ads for the film. Though at the same time it’s worthwhile to notice how, even in their second-rate horror films like ‘House of Dracula’, Universal had some originality in making the hunchback a pretty and sweet nurse.

  • Rock Baker

    I don’t know, it’s hard not to love the House movies on some level. This one was always my favorite, featuring as it does a happy ending for Mr. Talbott.

  • Darkward

    With the release of “Jurassic World,” I wanted to go back and re-read your classic post on “Ten Things I Hated About ‘The Lost World.’ ” However, when I try the link, I get redirected to Datais, a domain-name-for-sale site. Is there something you can do to correct this, so folks can enjoy your trenchant observations again? Maybe repost the whole article?

    And I can’t wait to hear your comments on the new movie!

  • Flangepart

    YES! I showed that to some folks in my writers group. You have more people that agree with your views ken, then are dreampt of in you philosophys.

  • Ken_Begg

    Yes, the indexing system here is pretty poor, I fear. However, if you Bing or Google “jabootu.net lost world jurassic park” you should get a link to the repost here.

  • bgbear_rnh

    That is freaking annoying. If you turn off Java script temporarily, when you go to the site the re-direct will be disabled. You’ll want to remember to turn Java script back on.

  • bgbear_rnh

    it is an ad that is redirecting the page. See above for work around.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Hm, I went to jabootu dot com, then went to mini-reviews, clicked on the “Ten Things” link and it came right up. Did something get fixed?

  • bgbear_rnh

    It still re-directs on me for Firefox and Explorer on a PC. Maybe you have a good pop up/ spam blocker or have Java shut off.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I’m using Firefox on Windows 7 64-bit…I do have AdBlock Plus installed, maybe that’s the difference. I don’t seem to have Java installed at all, according to Control Panel.

  • bgbear_rnh

    Without Java script many sites would be unusable, like facebook, which may be a good thing ;-)

  • Gamera977

    Using Pale Moon with Win7 64bit on my PC and Pale Moon again on an Android tablet here- some of the reviews come up normally and some I get instantly hijacked to the Datais site. Thanks for the tips guys.

  • zombiewhacker

    Is there a wayback archive page?

  • Ken_Begg

    The problem isn’t Spielberg’s politics, it’s that his politics caused him to make a really, really stupid movie.

  • zombiewhacker

    Go to http(colon back slash back slash)web(dot)archive(dot)org and type in the jabootu nugget url. The most recently archived link has the same problems that the current link does, but if you go back to 2006 like I did, you shouldn’t have problems reading Ken’s original nugget review.