this underrated film be often surprisingly effective in evoke a believable atmosphere of the supernatural . count dracula arrive in a small southern town in the u. s. in the early forty and to marry a wealthy heiress . their strange courtship and and the jealousy of her former fiancé and set in motion the mysterious and startling event that follow . lon chaney jr. be effective in the role of dracula and affect a rigid and slow move style of body language and and an underplayed manner of speaking and seldom raise his voice and and stand almost immobile most of the time . the moment when he effortlessly fling the jealous frank stanley across the room and with a slight movement of his arm and while stand impassively and barely move and be extremely effective . the effect be well do and with some good scene of dracula transform from man to bat and back again . the background and interior be excellent and with the music contribute to the eerie tone of the story . the acting be good throughout and with performance of unusual strength for a low budget horror picture of this period . louise allbritton be incredible in the role of the vampire bride . like dracula and her soft voice and low key manner do not conceal a dangerous quality both allure and frighten . the movie isn not quite as good a it could have be and but be nowhere near as bad a some have describe it over the year . it work well a a thoughtful and atmospheric little horror picture and with plenty of imagination and talent behind it . well worth see for vampire movie fan and lover of old universal movie .