ISBN 9781629334318
Gary D. Rhodes guides a ghostly ship through the bayous and backwaters of Louisiana, casting his lantern’s light on the vampires of Universal’s 1943 classic Son of Dracula. Also illuminated are the film’s production history and its original script. Unmoored from the errors of the past, Rhodes, Tom Weaver, Robert Guffey and Robert J. Kiss do that research voodoo that they do so well.
“An engaging, thoroughly researched and accessible book that will appeal to film researchers and fans alike. Son of Dracula is finally receiving the attention it deserves.”
- Dr. Alison Peirse, After Dracula: The 1930s Horror Film
“This is the ultimate tribute to Son of Dracula, an underrated jewel in Universal’s 1940s horror pantheon: a reproduction of director Robert Siodmak’s annotated script, plus some superb bonuses. Sink y9our fangs into it now!”
- Steve Kronenberg, Universal Terrors 1951 - 1955
Contains the script, production history, fun facts, the pressbook, and essays by Robet Siodmak and Curt Siodmak.
“The Scripts from the Crypt crew strikes again with another exemplary entry in their ongoing series, this time shining a klieg light on Universal's 1943 scare sequel Son of Dracula, wherein Lon Chaney inherited Bela Lugosi's Dracula cape. Author and Universal expert Gary Don Rhodes handles the typically twisty production history of the only film that saw the famously fractious Siodmak brothers share credits--Robert as director, Curt as writer (though only assigned original story credit, he also delivered the first screenplay draft.) Prolific genre chronicler Tom Weaver contributes an eclectic Fun Facts section, while noted scare-screen scholars Robert Guffey, Rich Scrivani, and Gregory Mank likewise pen chapters. In our fave segment, indefatigable theatrical exhibition archivist Dr. Robert J. Kiss furnishes a fascinating account of Son's many and varied bijou bookings, along with sneak previews and promotional stunts (including a solo show presented for a contest-winning woman brave enough to watch the film in an otherwise empty theater [![). We learn that Son of Dracula shared bills not only with Universal's eerie George Zucco romp The Mad Ghoul (its most frequent companion) but light-hearted musicals and weepy dramas as well. From its cinematic scholarship to its impressive array of often rare visuals, Son of Dracula arrives as a must-collect volume for genre fans. Up next in the series: the infamous Rondo Hatton horror The Brute Man.”
-- Shock Cinema