Dracula vs. Frankenstein is a 1971 American science fiction horror film directed by Al Adamson (Nurse Sherri).
This was Lon Chaney Jr.’s final horror film role and J. Carroll Naish’s last film. Chaney filmed his part in mid-1969 when the film was titled Blood Seekers; Naish filmed additional footage in 1970 when Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster were added to the story (and in his confrontation scene with Dracula, he appears noticeably older). Regina Carrol appears in the film as one of the people who discover the two title monsters; in reality, she was married to director Adamson.
The film has also been released as Blood of Frankenstein; The Revenge of Dracula; Teenage Dracula and Love Tramps.
Plot:
A mad scientist (Naish) descended from the original Doctor Frankenstein takes to murdering young women for experimentation in hopes of reviving his ancestor’s creation, with help from his mute assistant (played by Lon Chaney Jr.).
Things start to heat up when Dracula (played by Zandor Vorkov) arrives and promises to revive Frankenstein’s monster in return for a serum that will grant him immortality…
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The special edition Blu-ray includes an audio commentary by writer/producer Sam Sherman, a documentary on Independent International Pictures, a rare alternate ending, deleted scenes, a deleted scene with Famous Monsters editor Forrest J Ackerman and Dracula, rare 8mm movie location footage, the original theatrical trailer, TV Spot and an extensive photo gallery.
Reviews:
“Vorkoff’s Dracula literally sucks, with his mod ’70s afro and sideburns, dubbed echo-chamber voice and K-mart Halloween costume. The head of the Frankenstein Monster looks like a rotten potato smeared with dried oatmeal. Seeing Lon Chaney in such a state of decline would normally invoke sympathy if it weren’t for his giddily goofy performance … After a while, this all gets to be pretty funny somehow — a sort of cumulative reaction effect to a constant bombardment of schlock.” Eccentric Cinema
“With a retro feel that would shame Paul Naschy, all bubbling test-tubes and screaming girls, this is fun nonsense for a very precise demographic of horror fandom (you know who you are…), but tedious gubbins for everyone else.” Stephen Thrower, Nightmare USA
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“There’s no middle ground with this one–you either love it or hate it. It’s likely the late directors most “revered” motion picture and if anything can be said of it, there’s a great deal of fun to be had here in the right frame of mind. Your enjoyment can be gauged on your tolerance for sincerely awful movies.” Cool @ss Cinema
“This is one of those rare films which deserves its classic reputation. If Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster can be called “un-dead” — existing in a state between life and death, never truly belonging to either state — then this movie should be called “un-good”. It’s not that it’s simply bad (actually, it’s epically bad), nor that it’s so-bad-it’s-good (because few, if any, bad films have managed to be so gloriously endearing) — it’s in a category all by itself.” Braineater
Offline reading:
Schlock-O-Rama: The Films of Al Adamson by David Konow, Lone Eagle Publishing, USA, 1998
Cast and characters:
J. Carrol Naish … Dr Durea alias Dr Frankenstein
Lon Chaney Jr. … Groton (as Lon Chaney)
Zandor Vorkov … Count Dracula
Anthony Eisley … Mike
Regina Carrol … Judith Fontaine
Russ Tamblyn … Rico
Jim Davis … Sgt. Martin
Angelo Rossitto … Grazbo
Greydon Clark … Strange
Ann Morell … Samantha (as Anne Morrell)
William Bonner … Biker
Forrest J. Ackerman Forrest J. Ackerman … Dr Beaumont (as Forest J Ackerman)
Maria Lease … Joan
John Bloom … The Monster
Shelly Weiss … The Creature
Bruce Kimball … Ed the Biker
Albert Cole … Cop Driving Car at Beach
Gary Kent … Bob
Connie Nelson … Laura / Vampire Woman
Irv Saunders … Policeman
Lu Dorn … Make Out Girl in Car
Sean Graver … Dead Boy in the Arms of the Vampire Woman
Barney Gelfan … Cemetery Guard
Filming locations:
Las Vegas, Nevada
Hollywood Stages, 6650 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, California
Santa Monica, California
Somers, New York (old church)
Technical details:
91 minutes
Audio: Mono
Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1
Trailer:
TV spot:
Suggested double-bill:
‘Horror beyond belief… lies waiting for all who dare enter the vampire’s dungeon!’
Blood of Dracula’s Castle is a 1969 American horror film co-produced and directed by Al Adamson (Nurse Sherri; Brain of Blood; Dracula vs. Frankenstein) from a screenplay by co-producer Rex Carlton (Nightmare in Wax; Unearthly Stranger).
The Paragon International Picture stars John Carradine, Paula Raymond, Alex D’Arcy and Robert Dix.
Cinematographer László Kovács later worked on many mainstream big-budget movies including genre-related entries Ghostbusters (1984) and Copycat (1995).
Production manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos went on to direct Mutant; The Day Time Ended; The Dark and Kingdom of the Spiders.
Plot:
Count Dracula (Alexander D’Arcy) and his vampire wife (Paula Raymond), hiding behind the pseudonyms of Count and Countess Townsend, lure girls to Falcon Rock Castle in the Mojave desert to be drained of blood by their butler George (John Carradine), who then mixes real Bloody Mary cocktails for the couple.
Then the real owners of the castle show up, along with escaped convict Johnny. Dracula wants to force the young couple to sell…
Reviews:
“As an attempt to update the Dracula myth to present-day America, Blood of Dracula’s Castle is simply too forced and badly done to be successful, though is fairly gruesome for its time.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“Unforgivably cheap, dreadfully produced vampire flop which tries to drain a few laughs from the vampire formula but the results are anaemic.” John Stanley, Creature Features
“The scenes with the Townsends and George the butler are more entertaining yet very statically shot, but the dungeon scenes are at least more visually interesting although not particularly exploitative enough […] The sacrifice to Luna sequence is a nice bit of action that opens up the setting a bit more, but the finale is ridiculously slapdash.” DVD Drive-In
“Goofy even by the ridiculous standards of Adamson’s filmography, this is a fun time-waster of a film. You can’t take any of it too seriously as the entire cast overacts from start to finish and the dime store effects are about as convincing as your next-door neighbor’s Halloween decorations, but the picture moves at a good pace and features some pretty neat horror clichés in action.” DVD Talk
“This is a rather strange entry in the Al Adamson oeuvre. Though it shares a certain similarity to Dracula vs. Frankenstein in that it gives us a wide array of monsters/villains (two vampires, a homicidal maniac who may be a werewolf, a moon-worshipping butler, and a big hulking deformed man), it doesn’t really use them in the same way.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
” …the thing I dug about the movie was that it was just so loose with both the Dracula mythology and its own over-stuffed storyline. Johnny has no concern about the fact that his friends are vampires, and there’s a wonderfully nonchalant conversation about how they hated having to bite into necks and that the new way is so much better.” Horror Movie a Day
“If you’ve seen any Al Adamson films, you already know that this one isn’t “good” in anything resembling the traditional sense of the word. Al can’t seem to pace a story to save his life, so he resorts to padding. Lots and lots and lots and lots of padding.” Mondo Digital
“The acting makes the film feel more like a community theater project, which of course only enhances the total cheese that this is. So awful, it’s awesome is the category this belongs to. It gets slow at times, as bad movies tend to, but there are so many great moments it’s worth sitting through.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
Cast and characters:
John Carradine … George – the Butler
Paula Raymond … Countess Townsend – Hand of Death; Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Alexander D’Arcy … Count Dracula – alias Count Charles Townsend (as Alex D’Arcy) – Horrors of Spider Island
Robert Dix … Johnny – Forbidden Planet
Gene Otis Shane … Glen Cannon (as Gene O’Shane)
Jennifer Bishop … Liz Arden (as Barbara Bishop)
Vicki Volante … Ann – Motorist Victim – Brain of Blood; Horror of the Blood Monsters
Ray Young … Mango
John ‘Bud’ Cardos … Prison Guard (as John Cardos)
Ken Osborne … Telegram Delivery Man
Ewing Miles Brown … Man (uncredited)
Joyce King … Body in Water (uncredited)
Filming locations:
- Castle Ranch (aka Shea Castle and Sky Castle) – 44901 Fairmont Road, Lancaster, California – also location for Machete Joe; Sutures; Dracula Sucks
- Hollywood Stage – 2815 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (interiors)
- Marineland of the Pacific, 6610 Palos Verdes Drive South, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
- Palos Verdes Peninsula, California (opening sequence)
Release:
Premiered in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 14, 1969. It was released by exploitation film specialists Crown International Pictures.
Film Facts:
For TV, one version of the film was retitled Dracula’s Castle, and extra footage of an actor in a werewolf mask killing a prison guard and chasing a woman through the woods was inserted.
Trailer:
Full film free to watch online:
