LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Oct. Sig. Entertainment Memorabilia #648  / 

21307

Vintage Unused "Dracula" Sequel Story Synopsis

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:160.00 USD Estimated At:640.00 - 960.00 USD
Vintage Unused Dracula Sequel Story Synopsis
<B>Vintage Unused "Dracula" Sequel Story Synopsis.</B></I> A major Classic Horror Discovery! This is the long-lost proposed sequel to Universal's classic <I>Dracula</B></I> (1931), prepared for Bela Lugosi by his friend Dr. Manly P. Hall and - alas - never produced. The back story: In the late 1930s, Hollywood temporarily ceased producing horror films, and Bela Lugosi - jobless - soon lost his house. Universal's <I>Son of Frankenstein</B></I> (1939), with Karloff's Frankenstein Monster and Lugosi's Ygor, proved a smash hit, and Bela, enjoying a comeback, vowed never to be out of work again. He engaged his friend Dr. Manly P. Hall, a famed scholar of the occult, to prepare horror and fantasy scripts that Bela could market to the studios as star vehicles for himself, and one was this <I>Dracua</B></I> sequel. Hall ignored Universal's sequel <I>Dracula's Daughter</B></I> (1936), that hadn't included Lugosi or Dracula, and prepared a nine-page synopsis, setting the King of the Vampires loose in...Argentina! Why Professor Van Helsing hadn't really killed Dracula, and what <I>Dracula</B></I> heroine Mina is doing in South America, are mysteries left to the reader. The approximate date of the writing of this synopsis can be traced to the July 12, 1939 <I>Los Angeles Times,</B></I> where columnist Edwin Schallert mentioned Lugosi, Hall and the treatment. Curious connections: Manly Hall later "hypnotized" Lugosi (or so it appeared) for his death scene in Universal's <I>Black Friday</B></I> (1940), officiated at Bela's final marriage in 1955 and was present at his funeral in 1956. It's a pity that no film ever emerged from this collaboration of these two loyal friends, but a blessing that the synopsis has escaped its own "tomb," ready to strike again. The discoverer of this artifact is Gary Don Rhodes, the leading Lugosi scholar and author of the new book <I>Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares .</B></I> The synopsis is In Fine to Very Fine condition with moderate overall toning and a back cover that has separated from the staples. A wonderful Vintage Horror rarity, certain to enchant all "children of the night."<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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