Blood of Dracula (1957)

Director:

Herbert L. Strock

Writer:

Aben Kandel (writer)

Release Date:

November 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

She Will GIVE YOU Nightmares...FOR EVER!

Plot:

Under hypnosis, a young woman turns into a vampire.

Plot Keywords:

Hypnosis | Vampire | School | Murder | Carpathian Mountains

Cast

Sandra Harrison	...	Nancy Perkins
Louise Lewis	...	Miss Branding
Gail Ganley	...	Myra
Jerry Blaine	...	Tab
Heather Ames	...	Nola
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Lt. Dunlap
Mary Adams	...	Mrs. Thornedyke
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Mr. Paul Perkins (as Thomas B. Henry)
Don Devlin	...	Eddie
Jean Dean	...	Mrs. Doris Perkins (as Jeanne Dean)
Richard Devon	...	Det. Sgt. Stewart
Paul Maxwell	...	Mike, the young doctor
Shirley Delancey	...	Terry (as Shirley De Lancey)
Michael Hall	...	Glenn
Craig Duncan

Also Known As:

Blood Is My Heritage (UK)
Blood of the Demon (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | USA:TV-G | USA:Approved (Certificate #18770) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated (video)

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

First cinema feature of Paul Maxwell.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Soundtrack:

Puppy Love

Not as much fun as other A.I.P. quickies, but still fairly enjoyable.

Nancy Perkins (Sandra Harrison), a fiery teenager, is dispatched by her dad and stepmom (she's angry with the old man for re-marrying six weeks after the death of her mom) to a girls' school. While there, she is considered a prime candidate for an experiment by science teacher, Miss Branding (Louise Lewis). Then things go seriously askew as an unknown killer begins murdering the students.

We do get some pretty standard commentary for the times, about things man is not meant to meddle with, the price people pay in their pursuit of power, knowledge, or what have you, as well as a statement I didn't expect regarding the motivations parents might have for sending their kids to schools far away.

It's standard stuff for the era, complete with a dopey musical interlude featuring the little ditty "Puppy Love". It's over in record time, with a rather perfunctory resolution, although it has some engaging performances (supporting players Malcolm Atterbury, Mary Adams and Thomas B. Henry are quite good) and good moments (such as the double murder in the cemetery).

The relationships between the teacher and her guinea pig, as well as between the teacher and her prize student, do give it a little bit of unsettling resonance.

Overall, I don't like it as much as some of the other A.I.P. output from the period, but it works as an offbeat and twisted little girls' school story.

6/10