Dracula's Daughter was released in 1936, five years after the original Dracula film starring Bela Legosi was released. Here is a description of the film from Google,
Although Count Dracula was destroyed by Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), who is now being tried for his murder, Dracula's daughter, the Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden), is still alive -- and her father's death has brought her no closer to eradicating her vampiric thirst for blood. When attempts to free herself of the disease fail, she turns to psychiatrist Dr. Garth (Otto Kruger) for assistance, but soon finds herself struggling with the desire to make him one of the undead as well.
I have seen this movie a few times now on Svengoolie (on MeTV). This show is a must if your a fan of old classic horror films. I have gotten to see a lot of interesting films that I had never even heard of along with the classics. This film was interesting when it came to the lead in the film. The character of Marya Zaleska is very similar to Bela Legosi's Dracula when it came to her actions, the way she spoke, and such.
Makeup
I'm going to start off with the makeup of the Dracula's lovely daughter. Since the film is in black and white, I can't be sure what exact colors are used on her face, but considering she was supposed to be a vampire I'm assuming no bright colors were being used on her in order to keep her pale and ghostly.
First of all, let's focus on her eyebrows. During the 1930s, the typical style for eyebrows was very thin and often times with a very dramatic arch. While the arch on her brows isn't quite as dramatic as some during this time period (Jean Harlow for example), her eyebrows are still dramatically rounded and pretty thin. They definitely weren't going for the natural look (after all, she is part of the supernatural).
For her eye makeup, like I said before, I can't be completely sure what colors are used on her eye makeup. But, when I found a poster for the movie online, I was able to get better look at what colors were most likely involved in her eye look. On her lid, it appears that she has a light neutral shade, just a bit lighter than her skin tone. In the crease, she has a much darker brown or possibly a gray eye shadow. This gave her eyes a much harsher look to them and made them much more vampy. She also sports some fairly thick winged liner. It looks to me that she also has some false lashes. Lastly, she has some dark red intense lips.
Hair
Her hair is almost done in a halo braid style, although instead of the wrapped around portion of the hair being braided, it is done so that it's twisted.
Fashion
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| "I'll stop wearing black when they invent a darker color." |
As you can see, the Countess is quite a fan of the color black. I put in some pictures to showcase some of the styles she wore in the film. Lots of dramatic dresses and capes!
How To Bring Countess Marya Zaleska's Style Into YOUR Un-Life!
For the first outfit, I decided to go for a very dramatic, glamorous look since I think the Countess would like it that way! I have a black off shoulder top with some ruffles. I thought the necklace was very interesting as well and worked well for such an interesting character. I added a black long skirt as well, although I must say I think a longer and more flowy skirt would work a bit better! Add black stilettos and dangly black earrings and BAM! You've got a dramatic look inspired by a very dramatic character!
I wanted to create a look that would be good for the cold weather that has been coming down on us. So, for the second outfit I included a black sweater, black high waisted jeans, black boots, and a black infinity scarf. A lot of Marya dresses had high necklines and so I thought the addition of the infinity scarf helped tie in this part of her look. I also included these black heart shaped dangly earrings that say "GO AWAY" on them simply because I felt like that was her over all attitude towards others!
For the last look, I wanted to go for a modern vampire look. Basically, if the film Dracula's Daughter were made today, what would they want this character to wear? The top is really what sold me. It had a very similar style to what Marya wears in the film. I then paired it with a black pencil skirt and black peep toe booties. The black lace tights adds to the gothic vampy vibe while the black floppy help can help keep her delicate skin out of the wicked sunlight. A black velvet choker and black sunglasses simply add to her mysterious darkness.
Are you a fan of the film Dracula's Daughter? What's your favorite classic horror film? What spooky characters would you like me to cover next October? Let me know in the comments below! Stay tuned for next week when I will go over someone who I consider to be a modern classic! Can you guess who she is? A hint: she's a bit of a cry baby...
I hope you have had a fang-tastically spooky Halloween!
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