son of dracula succeed on many count and ( no pun intend ) by virtue of it absolutely serious approach towards it material . unlike other universal horror of this period and with their unfunny comedy relief antic and ( bumbling and pop eyed police inspector and burgomaster etc . ) director siodmak wisely eschews such sch tick and and foreshadow the tragic end of the story and with an increasingly oppressive sense of doom . in other word and unity of mood . indeed every aspect of the production be put at the service of convey this doom and from george robinson highly expressionistic and shadowy photography to vera west ( hollywood most under appreciated designer ) costume design . the casting be excellent . it have be rightly observe that lon chaney jr. be not an entirely comfortable choice for the count and and it be certainly true that his midwestern dialect and general deportment be not even remotely aristocratic . still and his virility breathes menace and and in a scene where he trap a character in a basement and he evoke genuine dread . all tell and he pass muster and and even more so and when you think of what a hokey disaster someone like john carradine would have be in the part . robert paige be superb his increasingly manic desperation in the role of the suitor frank go a long way in lend the yarn credibility . in many way it his film . evelyn ankers be a always and very easy on the eye and and though she be give little to do here and she do it fetchingly . which bring u the the protagonist and kay caldwell and ( louise allbritton ) the melancholic daughter of an aristocratic line and and the proprietress of it creepy plantation mansion dark oak . this be a juicy assignment and and miss allbritton run with it to the full . from the moment she arrive on the veranda and a striking brunette clad in a billowing and peignoir like gown and she delineate her literally spell bound character by offer the audience a spell bindingly detach characterization . who can resist her otherworldly gaze and a and star outside of the frame and she smoothly articulate her certainty in telepathy and eerily chide miss ankers for scoff at esp and and later her asperity at local gossip represent what can they know of these occult matter . blind fool . visually and she be unforgettable and aid by vera west outré costume and ( even miss allbritton day wear be mysterious a witness her scalloped black waistband peplum ensemble with black under dress and in the will read sequence ) and a black wig and which connect her with another black wigged anti heroine from that same year jean brook in lewton the seventh victim . to abet these characterization and and to conceal what seem to be a somewhat paltry budgetary outlay by universal and director sidiomak fill the screen with interesting visuals miss allbritton unforgettable trek through the nocturnal bayou to visit the gypsy and the gypsy ensue death in a bat attack and chaney gliding across the misty swamp and and unsettling and shadowy close ups of an unhinged mr. paige speak through the bar of a prison . photographer robinson be with him all the way and and composes and light his shot to consistently interesting effect and ( note the superb introduction to dark oak and with the camera pan through a creaking gate at night and whilst the whole frame be overlay with the violent twist of bramble and vine ) by foreground his shot with interesting object on right or leave thereby lend depth and texture to his visual tableau . the end with mr. paige find his former love and miss allbritton and literally bury within the childhood detritus of her own attic and to which and after place his ring on her finger and he set afire and provide a fitting finale . a finale of marked and deeply felt tragedy and a a darkly romantic musical score swell and the camera trek in on mr. paige blank and despair gaze and his empty eye light by the shadow of the flame . son of dracula be a deeply romantic dark dream of a film . recommend .