...from Universal Pictures and director Lambert Hillyer. Picking up almost immediately after the ending of the prior film, vampire hunter Professor Von (sic) Helsing is arrested by police after being found standing over the staked corpse of Count Dracula. Scotland Yard enlists noted psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Garth (Otto Kruger) to ascertain whether Von helsing is crazy, since he keeps talking about the undead. Meanwhile, the mysterious Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden) arrives in London and, with the assistance of her valet Sandor (Irving Pichel), makes off with Dracula's body. It seems she's the old count's "daughter", and as such is also a vampire, and she soon becomes convinced that Dr. Garth's psychological techniques may be able to cure her of her unholy desires. Also featuring Marguerite Churchill, Gilbert Emery, Halliwell Hobbes, E. E. Clive, Nan Grey, Claud Allister, and Hedda Hopper.
This expensive (for Universal) production was fraught with problems. James Whale was initially contracted to write and direct, but his script proved too "outrageous", so his script was rewritten (although shades of his sensibility still pop up here and there) and he was replaced by A. Edward Sutherland. When pre-production dragged on, Sutherland also left, and Hillyer was made director shortly before filming began. Lugosi was originally set to return, with a substantial role, but he asked for too much money and the story was rewritten to remove his character. I'm not sure why the Professor character's name was changed from "Van" Helsing (which is Dutch, and fits with the Stoker character) to the more German "Von" Helsing for this sequel.
There's a lot I like in this movie, despite its inconsistent tone and pacing. I like Holden as the tormented Zaleska, which is one of the earliest depictions of vampirism as a romantic curse rather than a monstrous evil devoid of conscience. I also like character actor and sometime director Irving Pichel as the odd manservant Sandor, who seems more interesting than most horror character sidekicks. This movie proved to be the last Laemmle family horror production, as they were forced out of the company shortly after production concluded.
