Dracula & Vampire Cinema of the ‘70s-Warhol and all the rest…
The decade that proves a stake “in the heart” means you can’t always count the Count -out!!!
Yeah it was hard to keep a “good” vampire down especially in this decade of platform shoes and disco clothes… just think about all those Mandarin collars tied off shirts and halter tops with the exposed neck lines. It was enough to make a vamp salivate. Dripping good times!!!
The year 1979 alone had six films all about Drac. And below as the draw bridge drops and gate goes up we can also hear the coffins open as the mist swirls around crags in the cobblestone. We are about to delve in to what was a banner for the undead and not just the celluloid kind we are between the pages of splash and panels- that’s right comic books too.
They were every where and anywhere. Comic books, monster mags, Television not to mention the local bijou(theater) & Drive-In. In fact some Counts counted. A one- a two . I love to count(Sesame Street).
We had Dir Paul Morrissey’s take in Andy Warhol’s Dracula aka Blod for Dracula* mixing gore with soft core sex… lots of color. Udo Kier as the titled vampiric Count along with Joe Dellsandro as a Renfield type servant.
Look for this in a new 4K UHD release from Severin Films-available now on Amazon and Severin’s site.
- Warhol/Morrissey’s version was very attractive Drive-In goers especially when it was aligned with Flesh for Frankenstein. Packed on the weekends thanks to those young adults with the expendable income. It was a double dose of Blood and guts/gore.
- ** Joe Dellsandro besides being a cousin of one of my good friends. He played some manic type roles in films, offering at times indie cult aura in American underground films. He spent a lot of time in Europe-everything from Euro Crime (The Climber & Safari Rally) to Horror (Black Moon) . And one of his big roles-Lucky Luciano in The Cotton Club.
TV- included stints on Miami Vice, Wise Guy(1st season), Fortune Dane and the pilot for Matlock. How’s that for a resume? He did have an easy childhood. But that may have made him the incredible actor he became. To know more about Joe check out IMDB and Wikipedia.
Dracula-1979
There was Frank Langella making the transition from Broadway to the silver screen reprising his role as Dracula in John Badham’s cinematic gem of the same name and released the same year as our main feature discussed here. This version had more dramtic chops and a plethora of thespian actors… including Sir Lord Laurance Olivier’, Donald Pleasance and boasting a score by John Williams(Star Wars)-produced by the Mirsch Brothers(Marvin and Walter). Dramatic, romantic(maybe a little too much)..gothic yes and well does love triumph over good?! See for yourself. Sets and photography top notch. Atmosphere most chilling. Moody absolutely…
Bram Stoker’s Dracula- starring Jack Palance as the infamous Count this time produced and directed by Dan Curtis(see below for more on/from Dan).
Dracula Blows His Cool- a hard R-rated vampire flick with Mr Sartana himself-Gianni Garko playing a descendent of Dracula getting caught up in snapping photos of very beautiful women. This some how has an unusual effect on him- It brings out the bite in him. loaded with nudity but also a great campy performance from Gianni(one of my favorite Euro-Western stars).
A West German/Italy Co-Production. Filmed locations were mostly Austria and minor locales in Munich/Bavaria.
Have to catch the trailer-
Taglines- A Comedy You Can Sink Your Teeth Into!
You’ll darn near die laughing! It’s love at first sight!
Dracula’s Dog
Dracula(BBC 1977) starring Louis Jordan in the title role.
How bout the funnier side of the coffin?
Love at first Bite(1979 again — a good year for Drac) with George Hamilton as the blood sucking “fiend” or friend? Arte Johnson as the manic yet faithful servant-Renfield. In a tour de force performance with his heh heh!!! quibs and when the stomach calls anything he can grab up that doesn’t scurry away as a delicacy. Rounding out the main cast fresh from her days of MacMillan and Wife TV series (71–76 with co-star Rock Hudson) as the love interest. Richard Benjamin as the vamps foyle. Directed by Stan Dragoti It was another film not afraid to take in the disco era and updating the time period of the story. Add in a first as Manhattan is about to meet the undead with Drac getting down on the dance floor.
*** Stan Dragoti was a competent Albanian director. A knack for mixing comedy with romance or action… Neccesary Roughness(Scott Bakula) and killing it with a comedic update in The Man with One Red Shoe ( Tom Hanks & Jim Belushi).
Other Vamps of the disco era…
Nocturna, Granddaughter of Dracula- You just can’t keep a Carradine down as in John. Or a Munster thanks to Yvonne De Carlo-one of my all time favorites. Again another Dracula in 1979. Making it’s way at the box-office via the Drive-In circuit(which is where I saw it).
Nai Bonet making a very stunning yet terrifying vamp. Alas she ends being seduced by the music as in Disco and who said Disco isn’t dead ala undead. She started out as a belly dancer and a quite famous one. Eventually trying to further her acting career she produced and starred in this and one other film. Unfortuantely it never went any further than this. But she did appear in some fun ’60s flicks including Boeing Boeing with Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis and an episode of Beverly Hills Hillbillies(Max Bear & Irene Ryan) in the Shiek. And a Scopitone music video(which played on Jukeboxes)back in the day and released as single- Jelly Belly.
*** Nai was of Vietnamese and French descent. Starting and appearing at 13 years old on stage as a headliner at the Flamingo Hotel in Vegas
Hammer Films-
A promised-yet not to be Vampirella from Hammer Films. If only this had materialized. But it would have to have been in the very early ’70s or late ’60s. Because if not the script and production vaules may have been there to make a decent production. But we did get Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, Vampire Circus and Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires( international Co-production between Hammer & the legendary Shaw Bros).
More Hammer-
Vampire Lovers (1970)starring Ingrid Pitt
Countess Dracula-again with Ingrid ‘71.
Twins of Evil-starring the double mint twins aka Playboy Playmates(for real)-Madeleine and Mary Collison. 1971… like I said early ’70s for hammer .. producing over 15 films.
Vamps go Black-
Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream…William Marshall as Blacula in two excellent action packed ’70s exploitation films.
More on the international scene-
It Came From Japan…
Don’t leave TV out- or Dan Curtis…
Dark Shadows — ABC daytime soap about a vampire resurrected in Collinwoods that also dealt with other supernatural elemnts including a ghost and werewolf over the course of several seasons. Off set poster created as a reminder to the cast- Don’t forget your fangs!!! ‘mid ’60s to early ‘71.
The Night Stalker- A 1972 horror film starring Darren McGavin as intrepid reporter/journalist Karl Kolchak who is confronted with the very “real” (reel) possiblitity that there is a vampire stalking the streets of Las Vegas.
Problem is no one else will either believe nor admit that he may very well be right. Like 100%!!! Made for TV movie of the week. One of the highest rated and viewed Television film ever.
Cliffhangers- featuring the serial Curse of Dracula set in modern day San Francisco. Starring Michael Nouri. One of three serials airing in 20 minute segmants within an hour format. A mid season show February thru May 1979 with ten episodes. Part of the issue was the production costs due to three units shooting at the same time and battling Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley for an audience/ratings.
Kolchak- The Night Stalker 1974 weekly TV series- one of the episodes involves one of the vampires victims that “survived” the …Vegas incident.
The entire series has recently been remastered in HD on Bluray from Kino Lorber and features audio commentary on every episode from various leading film historians and critics… astounding with an amazing welth of trivia and facts along behind the scenes this was a tremendous undertaking and I can only say that this should be in everyones collection and in every Film and TV Production education institution.
Magazines and other forms of reading (comic books)meant to be read at the Midnight hour-all kept under the bed until that proper time.
Dracula Lives! 1974–75- Marvel strikes again with MM(Magaizne Management). Mostly standalone stories seperate from Tomb of Dracula comic book. Racier and more action and horror than aloud in comics with a more adult theme and storyline. *
- Most of the horror comic mags regardless of the publisher was able to take more liberties in the adult themes since they were not sublect to the comic book code.
Vampire Tales- a Marvel Comics imprint from Curtis
a black & white horror comic magazine featuring stories of Morbious and Blade from Marvel comics and other vampire good and bad. Was a short run as a series ‘73-’75. 11 issues and one annual
Weird Vampire Tales — courtesy of Eerie- another black 7 white with some excellent if not macabre covers featuring some extremely phsychodelic art…
Vampirella- born 1969 but swooping well in to the ’70s & early ’80s with over a 200 issues plus. From Warren Publishing and now from the desk of Dynamite. Thrilling us for over 5 decades.
From the mind of Marvel(Comics)- Marvel actually produced and created a variety of horror/monster based series and charcaters in the early ’70s but the following were all vampire :
Morbius-1971 & Blade- 1973 were more in line with the anti-hero. Morbius was a more original approach. Concerning a briilaint scientist, who seeking a cure for a rare blood disease that he had used an unorthodoxed serum containing DNA from Vampire Bats and electroshock. Testing it on himself due to his condition worsening. The results were disasterous for Morbius. Cuasing him to mutate into a being with seudo vampiric abilties and leaving him with a thirst for blood.
The Tomb of Dracula-1972
Related links to comic books golden age and more curent ..
Comixology-
Fiction-Book series:
Vlad Tepes 1975- 2000 by Fred Saberhagen.
The Little Vampire-1979.- A series of books about a little boy who wished he was a vampire. Until one day he actually meets one for real…
I hope that this excursion in to the world of Dracula has provided you with enough food for thought or a real “thirst” for knowledge. And if you’re a vampire maybe it’s blood. So if you happen to venture out on a misty night make sure you’re packing a clove of garlic and some holy water. It dosen’t hurt to be prepared. That is what great vamp hunters do…
So as the moon rises and darkness sets in I bid you “goodnight”…
See ya next time at Reviews on the Edge…
Doc over and out.
Bonus & related material-
The UK release for Werewold vs The Vampire Woman-
House of Hammer mag from the early ‘70s-
