Fun Universal Monsters

johnnybear

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
They look similar to a set of bubble gum cards that I used to collect as a kid back in the seventies! Universal black and white photos from the 1931-45 films plus a few 50s and even Curse of The Werewolf but strangely enough not Brides of Dracula!
JB
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
johnnybear said:
They look similar to a set of bubble gum cards that I used to collect as a kid back in the seventies! Universal black and white photos from the 1931-45 films plus a few 50s and even Curse of The Werewolf but strangely enough not Brides of Dracula!
JB
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I had a few random ones too such as CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF....

It was this photo used....

6b1881e6286ee7d6f9330576165e8321--oliver-reed-the-werewolf.jpg

But am not sure if they are the same card range exactly though. Maybe we had a UK reprint looking slightly different or something. Am really not sure.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Al Adamson
Produced by Al Adamson
Mardi Rustam
Mohammed Rustam
Samuel M. Sherman
John Van Horne
Written by William Pugsley
Samuel M. Sherman
Starring J. Carrol Naish
Lon Chaney Jr.
Anthony Eisley
Regina Carrol
Greydon Clark
Music by William Lava
Cinematography Paul Glickman
Gary Graver
Edited by Irwin Cadden
Distributed by Independent-International Pictures
Release date
  • December 1971
Running time
90 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Dracula vs. Frankenstein is a 1971 American horror film directed by Al Adamson. It was released as Blood of Frankenstein in the UK and was retitled The Revenge of Dracula on early VHS releases in the US. Other US re-release titles are Teenage Dracula and They're Coming to Get You.


Plot

Wheelchair-bound mad scientist Dr. Durea (J. Carrol Naish), the last descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein, takes to murdering young girls for experimentation in hopes of perfecting a serum of his own creation with help from his mute assistant Groton (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Count Dracula (played by Roger Engel under the pseudonym "Zandor Vorkov") comes to the scientist, promising to help him revive Frankenstein's monster (which he has exhumed from its secret grave in Oakmoor Cemetery) in return for Durea's serum which he hopes will grant him immunity to sunlight.

As a cover, the duo work out of the Creature Emporium, a throwback to the old side show days located on the boardwalk amusement park in Venice, California. They bring the Monster (John Bloom) back to life and send him out to exact revenge on the man who discredited and crippled Durea, Dr. Beaumont (Forrest J. Ackerman). Las Vegas showgirl Judith Fontaine has also arrived, looking for her missing sister Joanie who was last seen hanging out with a group of hippies led by Strange (Greydon Clark). Judith has gotten no satisfaction from Sgt. Martin (Jim Davis). She says she is going to investigate on her own and does so, attracting the attention of biker Rico (Russ Tamblyn) and his gang. Rico slips her some LSD at a dive bar and Judith, while on a trip, is taken by Strange and his girlfriend Samantha (Anne Morrell) to the home of aging hippie Mike Howard (Anthony Eisley) who agrees to help her find Joanie. Judith, Mike, Samantha and Strange go to the Creature Emporium and show Durea a picture of Joanie, but he says he has never seen her.

More girls turn up missing, the Monster kills a couple of police officers and Groton takes to the beach with an ax and kills Rico and his gang who were attacking Samantha, then Groton takes her inside the Creature Emporium. Judith and Mike go to the Emporium and confront Durea who explains that the girls (including Joanie) were frightened before their deaths and this created an enzyme in their blood which is the main ingredient for his serum. He also tells Judith that, after he has Mike (with whom she has fallen in love and he with her) killed, her fear will help him complete the serum at last. Durea sends Groton and the dwarf Grazbo (Angelo Rossitto), the ticket taker at the Creature Emporium, after them (Durea's original reason for creating the serum in the first place was to heal his damaged legs and to make Groton and Grazbo into normal people). Grazbo falls through a trap door in the laboratory which leads to the beach below the Emporium and onto an ax he had dropped, which kills him, and Groton goes after Judith. Sgt. Martin and Strange arrive with the police and Martin shoots Groton from the rooftop of the building from which he falls to his death, while Durea falls from his wheelchair into a guillotine in the Emporium while attempting to escape and is beheaded in it.

Dracula confronts Mike, who sticks a lit car flare in the Monster's face, forcing him to briefly turn on Dracula in his pain. As Mike is running away with Judith, Dracula blasts him with fire shot from his demon-headed ring, burning him to ashes.

Judith faints and awakens to find herself tied up in an abandoned church outside of Venice where Dracula's coffin is located. Dracula is about to make her his vampire bride, but the Monster (who has fallen for her beauty) wants none of it and forces Dracula out of the church and into the woods (but not before removing Dracula's ring from his finger), where a fierce battle ensues between the two monsters. Dracula literally rips off the Monster's arms and head, but gets caught in the rays of the sun before he can make it back to his coffin and crumbles to dust. Judith manages to free herself and picks up Dracula's ring, but drops it and leaves in fear.

Cast


Lon Chaney, Jr. as Groton
Production

This was Lon Chaney, Jr.'s final horror film role and J. Carrol Naish's last film. Chaney filmed his part in mid-1969 when the film was titled The Blood Seekers. Naish filmed additional footage in 1970 when Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster were added to the story (in his confrontation scene with Dracula, he appears noticeably older).[1] Director Adamson's wife, Regina Carrol, appears in the film as Judith Fontaine, one of the people who discover the two title monsters. The film was released on DVD by Troma Entertainment[2] and later by Media Blasters under its Shriek Show imprint in widescreen and HD for the first time. Cheezy Flicks also released it on DVD as well.

Two other films titled Dracula vs. Frankenstein were made around the same time as Adamson's film. In 1969, Spanish horror film icon Paul Naschy starred in Los Monstruos del Terror which was later released on VHS as Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Meanwhile, in 1972, famed Spanish schlock film director Jesus Franco turned out his Dracula vs. Frankenstein(also released as Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein), apparently unaware that Al Adamson was already using that title.

Reception

The film was met with negative reception from critics, with the most prominent critique being the overwhelming amount of darkness in the movie, making it hard to see the action.



 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
So sad to see Daniel the hunchback from HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and Lon forced to star in this film that is trading off their past glories, as it attempts to pass itself off as a legitimate entry in the Universal Monster saga.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
The next rumor du jour in the past 24 hours or so is that Universal’s seemingly collapsed Dark Universe initiative – a linked monster movie cinematic universe – may still have some life left in it. Artist Robert Vargas posted on his Instagram account that he had a meeting with some of the folks at Universal who are in charge of what’s left of the Dark Universe. They reportedly want Vargas to do some artwork for them related to ‘monster things’.

Screenwriter Ed Solomon previously said the studio was reconfiguring their plans for the franchise moving forward.
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Gavin

Gavin

Member: Rank 6
VIP
It's very frustrating. I know cinematic universes are in overkill mode at the moment but if there's one franchise that should lend itself to this sort of thing, surely it's this? How they managed to stuff this up is beyond me.
 
Doctor Omega

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
I could go back and watch HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN or FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN etc. any time and love each film every time.

I have yet to see the new version of THE MUMMY.

Not putting it off, but not one of the clips I have seen seems to have a trace of what the Universal Monster Universe should be about i.m.o. and making it and marketing it as to what seemed like a Tom Cruise action vehicle simply compounded the error.

The makers of the film just didn't seem to "get" it.

And I am not sure that they ever will, unless they hire a creative fan with a vision, to oversee this "Dark Universe", who can blatantly see where they are going wrong. :emoji_disappointed:
 
chainsaw_metal1

chainsaw_metal1

Member: Rank 8
Doctor Omega said:
The makers of the film just didn't seem to "get" it.

And I am not sure that they ever will, unless they hire a creative fan with a vision, to oversee this "Dark Universe", who can blatantly see where they are going wrong. :emoji_disappointed:
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Much the same as hiring someone like Zack Snyder to direct a movie about one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, someone who should be a beacon of hope and inspiration, and turns it into a washed out toned disaster piece, because his "vision" shouldn't have to actually follow the source material or live up to fans' expectations.

I like the idea of the Dark Universe, but for starters, the original Universal horror movies didn't start out that way. This all just happened organically, with all of them separate movies, and then eventually tied together in an effort to get kids in the theatre seats. And we were lucky enough to end up with some very memorable movies and acting legends to make our days a little less dour.

And Marvel have been bastards, making a successful franchise connected movie universe, by slowly building upon several strong character-driven films that were good, and tying them all together with a brilliant team film in The Avengers, and then building upon that. Don't they see what they have done? They went and forced other studios to try and copy their success without actually putting in the work to make their franchises good. What were they thinking?
 
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