Tonight on MeTV- before we celebrate Father’s Day, we take a moment to acknowledge a son- who doesn’t go OUT in the sun! He does, however, go America’s bayou country, where his plan is to inflict the curse of the undead first upon a member of an unsuspecting family- and then the nation! A young woman with a fascination for the dark side falls under his hypnotic spell, as Lon Chaney Jr. takes on the role of yet another famous horror name-as the “Son of Dracula”!

This was actually the third film in the Universal Dracula series which followed "Dracula's Daughter". While her story began overseas, this 1943 tale begins in our own country. On a plantation down south, a gala affair is being held, ostensibly to welcome an aristocratic count met overseas by one of the wealthy plantation owner’s daughters- young Catherine, who has what her sister Claire and boyfriend Frank feel is a “rather morbid interest” in the occult!

However, the train the Count is scheduled to arrive on pulls into the station-but, surprisingly, he is not on board! However, the train’s freight does include some heavy boxes with his family crest – as well as his family name- “Alucard”. (Hmm - run that one by us again, backwards, maybe?) Despite his absence, the big party goes on at the plantation- only for the celebration to end abruptly when tragedy strikes! The wealthy father of the girls suddenly inexplicably passes away-after which comes the very late-night arrival of Count Alucard, who has finally made his way to the plantation.

The time comes for the father's will to be read- but, out of nowhere, Catherine suddenly produces an different updated version of the will that provides for everything, including all the money going to Claire, with the exception of the “Dark Oaks” mansion and its surrounding grounds going to Catherine. Things get more bizarre when Catherine announces that she and the Count are now a couple, shocking her supposed fiancé, Frank!

Before long, Frank has a confrontation with the caped newcomer- and tragedy strikes again! The situation becomes more baffling, as an expert in certain matters is called in- and the Count's true identity is revealed. His plans: to keep his new bride totally in his power-eliminate any of her remaining family and friends who stand in his way- and then, take control of the new country in which he has taken residence!

Lon Jr's being cast as the Count (and- though he's called the son- some theorize that he is actually the original Count- even though his body was incinerated in the previous “Dracula’s Daughter” movie) might seem slightly out of character for Mr. Chaney- but you have to agree- this character definitely is different from his role as the tortured Wolf Man Larry Talbot- with him taking on more of an air of aristocracy and a more suave -sometimes even sedate- manner. Our cast also includes Evelyn Ankers, who's been a Chaney co-star several times (and often wasn't treated very well by him!)- and the lovely Louise Allbritton as the sister with dark desires. We’ll present some info about the cast, and a little background material about the film- including an error that most people who have learned their vampire lore from these movies will easily spot! Plus- we’ll introduce you to some of the artists who have contributed to our Svengoolie comics- recruit some other, lesser-known offspring of famous monsters- present a device to help keep your home safe-bring you an encore of a bit honoring TV’s longest-running game show- and more!

“Son of Dracula” arrives tonight- not via a train, like the Count was supposed to, but by Me-TV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 pm central. If you are unsure of what channel or time you can see us where you are, just check the local listings in your area or at www.metv.com. We invite you to join our many viewers who are either live–Tweeting during the show on Twitter-or posting live on Bluesky! Make sure you add the hashtag #svengoolie onto your posts on either. In the Chicago area this morning, viewers get a second look at Joan Crawford decked out in her “Strait Jacket" on our main local channel WCIU-the U- at 11 am!

The anniversary date of me first hitting the TV airwaves as “Son of Svengoolie” arrives next week, bringing a close to our big 45th anniversary year- but still a reason to celebrate my survival in the broadcasting battleground- thanks to all of you loyal viewers!

Take a look at the first of this year’s Artist Series t-shirts that has just become available in our store- with more to come. Also coming up in the next couple of months- a really big appearance at a notable venue, as well as the annual stint at the Flashback Weekend horror convention- which will include me doing a “talk show” and a celebrity photo op with Robert Englund- the man who made Freddy Krueger a shocking reality! Check out the website at flashbackweekend.com More details on this- and maybe more- will be available shortly under the “appearances” tab here on our website.

Tonight, though, we provide pre-Father’s Day fear with Lon Jr’s epic one-time appearance as a member of the Dracula family-continuing the family BLOOD-line!