Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

Director:

Al Adamson

Writers:

William Pugsley (writer)
Samuel M. Sherman (writer)

Release Date:

1971 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's a real monster mash when they clash!

Plot:

Dracula conspires with a mad doctor to resurrect the Frankenstein Monster.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Frankenstein's Monster | Vampire | Guillotine | Doctor Frankenstein

Cast

J. Carrol Naish	...	Dr. Frankenstein, aka Dr. Duryea
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Groton (as Lon Chaney)
Anthony Eisley	...	Mike Howard
Regina Carrol	...	Judith Fontaine
Greydon Clark	...	Strange
Zandor Vorkov	...	Count Dracula
Angelo Rossitto	...	Grazbo
Anne Morrell	...	Samantha
William Bonner	...	Biker
Russ Tamblyn	...	Rico
Jim Davis	...	Police Sgt. Martin
John Bloom	...	Frankenstein's Monster
Shelly Weiss	...	The Creature
Forrest J Ackerman	...	Dr. Beaumont (as Forest J Ackerman)
Maria Lease	...	Jodie

Also Known As:

Blood Freaks (USA) (working title)
Blood of Frankenstein
Satan's Bloody Freaks
Teenage Dracula
The Blood Seekers
The Revenge of Dracula

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:GP | West Germany:16

Company:

Independent International Pictures (I-I)

Trivia:

Final film appearances of J. Carrol Naish and Lon Chaney Jr..

Goofs:

Continuity: Naish's character at first refers to Chaney's character as "Grodin", although his name is actually "Groton". Thereafter he gets it right.

Quotes:

Dracula: I am known as the Count of Darkness, the Lord of the Manor of Corpathia.
[sic]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) (#1.4)" (1979)

Soundtrack:

I Travel Light

Low Budget Monster Mess - But Fun!

This film gets a bad rap from a lot of people. That's understandable, because it's a low budget paste-up job, combining previously shot footage from a uncompleted biker film with the monster team-up. But Dracula Vs. Frankenstein is really a lot of fun -- particularly if you first saw it on late night TV when you were 13 or 14!

Forry Ackerman has a cameo in the film as one of Dracula's victims, so the movie got promoted in Famous Monsters magazine, with "Zandor Vorkov" gracing the cover in his dime store fangs. It was (I believe) the final film appearance of J. Carroll Naish and one of Lon Chaney Jr.'s last roles. Ken Strickfadden's Frankenstein lab equipment is used, and the music is well chosen. Parts of the film are quite moody and effective, with highly competent photograghy considering the budget and haste of production.

To compare this little film with the Hammer films is a bit unfair. No, it cannot match them on any level -- nor was it intended to -- this was drive-in fodder without the budget or resources of England's Hammer and its American partners and distributors. It's too bad none of the major American studios tried to cash in on the 1960's-70's monster boom. Then there might be some truly interesting American monster films worthy of the comparison.