House of Dracula (1945)

House of Dracula is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein. The film is based around Dr. Franz Edelmann, who is visited by both Count Dracula and Larry Talbot, who are trying to cure their vampirism and lycanthropy, respectively. Meanwhile, bewitched by Dracula, Edelmann becomes obsessed with reviving a catatonic Frankenstein's monster.

The film was developed initially with the title Wolf Man vs. Dracula to be directed by Ford Beebe with Bela Lugosi reprising his role of Count Dracula. After actor Boris Karloff returned for a two-film deal with Universal and several requests from the censorship board, the film was put on hold for nearly six months. House of Dracula went into production directed by Kenton with a screenplay by Edward T. Lowe, who took elements from the Wolf Man vs. Dracula script while adding in Frankenstein's monster (from Frankenstein) to the plot. Many cast and crew members returned from House of Frankenstein, including John Carradine in the role of Count Dracula, Glenn Strange as the monster, and Lon Chaney Jr. as both the Wolf Man and Larry Talbot. The film went into production on September 17, 1945, and finished on October 24. The film uses large sections of music from previous Universal feature films and footage, sets and props from other early Universal horror films. The film was released on December 7, 1945. Historian Gregory Mank described it as "the final serious entry of Universal's Frankenstein saga". It received predominantly negative reviews in its early New York screenings, while retrospective reviews have been predominantly lukewarm.