Blood of Dracula's Castle

Blood of Dracula's Castle
Directed by Al Adamson
Jean Hewitt
Produced by Martin B. Cohen
Samuel M. Sherman
Rex Carlton
Al Adamson
Paragon Pictures[1]
Written by Rex Carlton
Starring John Carradine
Alexander D'Arcy
Paula Raymond
Robert Dix
Vicki Volante
John Cardos
Cinematography László Kovács
Edited by Peter Perry Jr.
Distributed by Crown International Pictures (theatrical, USA)
Release date
  • 1967 (1967)
[2][3][4]
Running time
 84 min
Country United States
Language English

Blood of Dracula's Castle is a 1967[5][6][7][8] horror cult B-movie directed by Al Adamson, featuring John Carradine, and released by exploitation film specialists Crown International Pictures. Although his name was played up in the lurid ad campaign, John Carradine only played George the butler in this film, and not Count Dracula.

Plot

Count Dracula (Alexander D'Arcy) and his vampire wife (Paula Raymond) are occupying Falcon Rock Castle in modern day Arizona, hiding behind the identities of the Count and Countess Townsend. When the castle's owner dies, the property passes on to a photographer named Glen Cannon, and Glen has decided to live there himself with his fiancee Liz. He drives out to the castle to inform the Townsends that they will have to move out. But his car breaks down when he gets there, and he and Liz are forced to spend the night with the Townsends.

The Townsends are actually vampires who sleep in coffins and lure pretty young girls to the castle to be drained of blood by their butler George (John Carradine), who then mixes real Bloody Marys for the couple which they drink from martini glasses. George and Mango the hunchback keep mini-skirted women chained up in the basement, occasionally sacrificing one of them to "the Great God Luna", burning them at the stake. Then there's a guy named Johnny, who becomes a serial killer when the moonlight strikes him, (or a werewolf, depending on whether you watch the theatrical version or the late-night-TV version which added a few quick cheesy werewolf shots).

Glen and Liz accidentally witness one of the women being sacrificed in the cellar. Dracula and the Countess try to force Glen to sell the castle to them. In the final confrontation, George the butler is killed, the remaining women prisoners are freed, Mango the hunchback gets shot, hit with an axe and set afire before dying, and the vampires wind up exposed to sunlight and dissolve away into dust. Glen and Liz decide not to live in the castle after all, and drive off together. However, two bats emerge unseen from the ashes and fly away. The End?

Production

Ostensibly located in Arizona, the film was actually shot at Shea's Castle, near Lancaster, California. Other portions of the film were shot in the Coachella Valley, California.[9]

Jayne Mansfield was originally set to star in the film as Countess Townsend, but she died in a car accident before shooting began. A proposed sequel, to be titled Dracula's Coffin, was announced but never made.[10]

Cast

See also

References

  1. ↑ Weldon, Michael (1996). "The Psychotronic Video Guide". St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-13149-6. Page 72
  2. ↑ Weldon, Michael (1983). "The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film". Ballantine Books. ISBN 345-34345-5. Page 72
  3. ↑ O'Neill, James (1994). "Terror on Tape". Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7612-1. Page 39
  4. ↑ McCarty, John (1995). The Sleaze Merchants. St. Martin's Griffin Press. ISBN 0-312-11893-7. Page 103
  5. ↑ Weldon, Michael (1983). "The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film". Ballantine Books. ISBN 345-34345-5. Page 72
  6. ↑ O'Neill, James (1994). "Terror on Tape". Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7612-1. Page 39
  7. ↑ McCarty, John (1995). The Sleaze Merchants. St. Martin's Griffin Press. ISBN 0-312-11893-7. Page 103
  8. ↑ https://www.allmovie.com/movie/blood-of-draculas-castle-v85458
  9. ↑ Palm Springs Visitors Center. "Coachella Valley Feature Film Production 1920–2011". Filming in Palm Springs. Palm Springs, CA. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012. ♦ Download (Downloadable PDF file)
  10. ↑ Stephen Jones. The Essiental Monster Movie Guide. Billboard Books. 2000. pg.56


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