#24 - The Return of Dracula (1958)
(dir. Paul Landres)
Dracula, on the run from vampire hunters, decides to leave Transylvania and move to the USA. On the way, he kills a fellow passenger and assumes his identity. He arrives in California and meets the deceased man's family, who fortunately had never met him and never questions his identity. From there, the story plays out much like you'd expect, with mysterious deaths in the night and crosses and mirrors and all that.
This was alright as far as campy b-movies go, although even at only 77 minutes it felt a bit long. Francis Lederer did a respectable job with what he had to work with as "Dracula", but it is a pretty lame version of the character. The director, Paul Landres, worked in television for most of his career, and it shows here - this could easily be mistaken for an extended episode of a 50's sitcom, especially because of the cheesy acting and the flat cinematography.
I definitely don't recommend seeking this one out, although if you like 50's b-movies and/or Dracula films it isn't a total waste of time. It would make a good episode of MST3K.
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