Son of Dracula (1943 film)

Son of Dracula
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Siodmak
Screenplay by	Eric Taylor[1]
Story by	Curt Siodmak[1]
Produced by	Ford Beebe[1]
Starring	Lon Chaney Jr. Louise Allbritton Robert Paige Evelyn Ankers Frank Craven
Cinematography	George Robinson[1]
Edited by	Saul A. Goodkind
Production company	Universal Pictures Company, Inc.[2]
Distributed by	Universal Pictures Company, Inc.[1][2]
Release dates	20 October 1943 (1943-10-20) (Cine Olimpia, Mexico City)
Running time	78 minutes[1]
Country	United States[2]
Language	English[2]

Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard (Chaney Jr.) has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo (J. Edward Bromberg) who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.

The film is the third in Universal's Dracula film series following Dracula's Daughter (1936). The film was made under different circumstances than the previous two entries in the series with a new Chairman of the Board working at Universal and several horror sequels being made since the success of the film Son of Frankenstein (1939). The film was initially being written by Curt Siodmak who was later replaced by Eric Taylor. Filming began on January 7, 1943, and concluded on February 2. Few documents related to the film's production survive from studio files or trade reports.

Son of Dracula was held back from release for about six months before its premiere in the United States, with the earliest known release date being on October 20, 1943, at Cine Olimpia in Mexico City. On its initial release, the trade magazine Boxoffice declared Son of Dracula as a hit in the United States where its sales were 23% above average. Initial reception to the film was described as "varied" by film historian Gary Rhodes.