Hollywood Studios Year-by-Year – Universal – 1943: THE STRANGE DEATH OF ADOLPH HITLER & SON OF DRACULA

Universal 1943 is a strange one, starting with The Strange Death of Adolph Hitler, starring Ludwig Donath as a reluctant Nazi collaborator who's forced to impersonate Hitler, and continuing with Robert Siodmak's Son of Dracula, with Lon Chaney Jr. as a hapless Dracula who falls victim to femme fatale Louise Allbritton. We discuss WWII AU scenarios, the Twilight Zone scenario of being a soul trapped in Hitler's body, and the comedy team of Frank Craven and J. Edward Bromberg as a down-to-earth doctor and sub-Van Helsing forced to confront supernatural shenanigans and, worse, a wayward woman with a plan. 

Time Codes:

0h 00m 45s:      THE STRANGE DEATH OF ADOLPH HITLER [dir. James P. Hogan]

0h 29m 59s:      SON OF DRACULA [dir. Robert Siodmak]

Studio Film Capsules provided by The Universal Story by Clive Hirschhorn

Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler

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* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s

* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)

* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.

* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project! 

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