snicewanger Very well done vampire film with a strong performance by Francis Lederer as the undead nobleman and Norma Eberhardt as the object of his carnal desire.The Count has become not just a blood thirsty monster but a political enemy of the state in his native Romania and has to flee for his...er ..ah .. "life" so to speak. He kills and assume he identity of an artist traveling to America to connect with a cousin. The Count finds the small northern California town she lives in much to his liking. The woman's daughter is both attracted and suspicious of her new"cousin". and he is very attracted to her. His usual living habits and almost hypnotic charm raise some red flags, however, particularly with the young lady's jealous boyfriend. A vampire hunter arrives in the town to investigate the strange circumstances of the artists immigration to the United States. It becomes a taunt and tense race against time. As other review's have pointed out, this basically a remake of Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" and there is nothing wrong with that. Giving the story a supernatural element gives a different slant and makes it very watchable. Lederer has said was not happy playing Dracula but he was certainly effective .His characterization is spot on. It came out about the same time as Horror of Dracula and somehow got lost in the shuffle. Perhaps because it was shot in black and white. Return of Dracula is and entertaining and effective vampire thriller.

gavin6942 After a vampire (Francis Lederer) leaves his native Balkans, he murders a Czech artist, assumes his identity, and moves in with the dead man's American cousins.What to say about this film? It has Dracula, but not the same Dracula we know and love. He hates mirrors, stakes and crosses... he dislikes daylight. But he does not look like Bela Lugosi. I guess neither does Christopher Lee, though.There is one second of the film shot in color, and a good choice of shot, too. The picture in general is pretty good, if a bit dark, and it is a shame that the Dracula story was taken by Hammer and this story was forgotten (though we cannot fault Hammer for doing a good job).

LeoB-2 This well made and nicely restored vampire film takes the basic set-up of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943)--sinister relative comes to visit wholesome family in small town, where young girl of family has an unspoken affinity with him--and reveals the vampire subtext of Hitchcock's more psychologically oriented film. Without excessive blood and gore and teeth, it manages to create an eerie atmosphere that many more expensive horror films never quite achieve. Francis Lederer, in one of his last roles before he retired from movies to live prosperously from his real estate investments, does a great job. For fans of Hollywood locations, Dracula's crypt is set in Bronson Caves, more usually a setting for low-budget westerns.

vtcavuoto "The Return of Dracula" is a good film that updates the story from the late 1890s to present day(for the release of the film)1958. Dracula poses as an artist who comes to America to be free from Communism(a real blow to freedom for Eastern Europe after WW2). He seems distant and reclusive toward his American relatives. He starts by killing a blind girl and then sets his sights on his younger cousin. She slowly falls under his influence but at the end he is destroyed by falling into a pit filled with jagged wood pieces. He has been hiding in a cave where he can be safe. The acting, music score and direction are very good for this type of low budget movie. A nice variation on the vampire films from the 1930s and 40s. If you're a fan of vampire movies, check out this little gem.