The Silver Screen Oasis

TikiSoo wrote: ↑March 29th, 2023, 1:41 pm Again, another AIP this week. BLOOD OF DRACULA 1957.

Blood of Dracula is the distaff installment in the quintet of teenage monster movies produced by Herman Cohen, written by Aben Kandel, and directed by Herbert L. Strock, Gene Fowler, Jr., and Arthur Crabtree. The remaining quartet of flicks include I Was a Teenage Werewolf (directed by Fowler), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and How to Make a Monster (ruddered by Strock), and Horrors of the Black Museum (helmed by Crabtree).

Writer Kandel lazily milked the formula he concocted for Teenage Werewolf: an older, authority figure dominates a young subordinate, turning his/her submissive victim into a monster, which he/she uses for murderous purposes. Miss Branding (Louise Lewis) in Blood of Dracula is the spiritually sinister "sibling" of Dr. Brandon in Teenage Werewolf and Dr. Frankenstein in Teenage Frankenstein (Whit Bissell), Pete Dumond (Robert H. Harris) in How to Make a Monster), and Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) in Black Museum.

Takeaway Moral of the Stories: Never trust anyone over thirty twenty.

TikiSoo wrote: ↑March 29th, 2023, 1:41 pm Again, another AIP this week. BLOOD OF DRACULA 1957. It was pretty cool and atmospheric at times, petty cool crazy teeth on the school girl. It was an interesting take on teen vampires.

And as a bonus it has that awesome 'Puppy Love' song performed in it!

I made a post of it a while back in the Songs in Horror Films thread, here: (it's currently the last post in the thread)
viewtopic.php?t=7300&start=30

Definite Lesbian vibes in Blood of Dracula.

Hibi wrote: ↑March 30th, 2023, 8:49 am Definite Lesbian vibes in Blood of Dracula.

For sure. Although, somehow I have the feeling that female vampires are bisexual.

LOL.

The first lesbian possibly bi-sexual female vampire was Countess Zaleska in Dracula's Daughter (1936), the first horror movie I ever saw, on Shock Theater in the late 1950s. Still one of my favorite horror films.

She actually looks like she could be Bela's kid.

Intrepid37 wrote: ↑March 31st, 2023, 6:47 pm She actually looks like she could be Bela's kid.

The actress, Gloria Holden, gave her name to William Holden. Her ex-husband helped discover William Beadle and renamed him for his former wife.

Swithin wrote: ↑March 31st, 2023, 6:39 pm The first lesbian possibly bi-sexual female vampire was Countess Zaleska in Dracula's Daughter (1936), the first horror movie I ever saw, on Shock Theater in the late 1950s. Still one of my favorite horror films.

At first glance, I thought she was Neva Patterson.

This month on Svengoolie...

4/1: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) w/ Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Plus Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Dan Seymour and Richard Deacon. And directed by Charles Lamont.

4/8: The Old Dark House (1932) w/ Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Elspeth Dudgeon and Brember Wills. And directed by James Whale.

4/15: This Island Earth (1955) w/ Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue and Rex Reason. Plus Russell Johnson and Richard Deacon.

4/22: The Mole People (1956) w/ John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier and Nestor Paiva.

4/29: Destroy All Monsters (1969) w/ Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya. And, needless to say, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and other kaiju. And directed by Ishirō Honda.

LiamCasey wrote: ↑April 1st, 2023, 10:41 am 4/22: The Mole People (1956) w/ John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier and Nestor Paiva.

I was surprised to see a news item this week about a remake being fast-tracked at Universal:

https://deadline.com/2023/03/the-mole-p ... 235311775/

LawrenceA wrote: ↑April 1st, 2023, 1:29 pm I was surprised to see a news item this week about a remake being fast-tracked at Universal

Thanks! Yes, very surprising. Guess someone thinks cgi will be better than guys in rubber costumes.

ziggy6708a wrote: ↑April 8th, 2023, 4:08 am

This is one of the greats, based on a play by J.B. Priestley, and an excellent choice with which to introduce the horror genre to nonbelievers.

Swithin wrote: ↑April 8th, 2023, 12:42 pm This is one of the greats, based on a play by J.B. Priestley, and an excellent choice with which to introduce the horror genre to nonbelievers.

Nonbelievers in horror?

I guess The Old Dark House is considered a horror film because it was produced by Universal Pictures (which arguably created the American Horror Film genre) and because Boris Karloff is in it. His character, Morgan, is not a monster and not even monstrous looking. But he's played by "Frankenstein" and moves like Frankenstein, ergo, he's the story's "monster."


To me, The Old Dark House is more a black comedy. With one exception, the residents of The House of Femm are harmless, comparatively eccentric, and not really horrific or evil.

First-time viewers: Pay close attention to "Sir Roderick Femm" -- a case of inspired gender-bender casting!



Other Recommendations for People Who Aren't Interested In/Don't Care for Horror Films

Burn Witch, Burn (AKA NIght of the Eagle)
Carnival of Souls
The Haunting
The Innocents
The Mephisto Waltz
Rosemary's Baby