Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

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

Director:

Al Adamson

Writers:

William Pugsley (story), Samuel M. Sherman (story)

Stars:

J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney Jr., Zandor Vorkov

Cast

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

Storyline

Judith Fontaine (Regina Carrol) is looking for her sister Joanie, who has disappeared into the hippie community of Venice, California. It turns out Joanie has become the victim of Groton (Lon Chaney Jr.), an axe-wielding homicidal maniac working for Dr. Durray (J. Carrol Naish), who is really the last of the Frankensteins and is now running a house of horrors by the beach and is performing experiments on Gorton's victims. One night Count Dracula (Zandor Vorkov) visits the doctor, showing him the original Frankenstein creation that was buried in a nearby graveyard. The doctor revives it and uses it to take revenge on his professional rivals.

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Plot Keywords:

dracula | frankenstein's monster | monster | bound | trash | 

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Taglines:

Yesterday they were cold and dead. Today they're hot and bothered!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Freaks

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent International Pictures (I-I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lon Chaney Jr. appears in this film which features both Dracula and The Frankenstein Monster. Chaney Jr. played both roles in Son of Dracula and The Ghost of Frankenstein respectively.

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Goofs

When Judith is tied to a railing, the ropes are so loose that she could've easily escaped.

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Quotes

Dracula: No, him! Him! Him! No! Him! Him!

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Connections

References Of Mice and Men (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Here and Now"
Words and Music by J.D. Lobue

User Reviews

Only the most dedicated horror fans need apply. Others beware!

BLOOD SEEKERS was Adamson's unfinished gore epic that was filmed in the late 60s. He decided to shoot framing scenes adding the whole Dracula-Frankenstein angle later on, and the whole package goes as follows...

Mad Dr. Frankenstein (J. Carroll Naish) is busy at work reconstructing dead bodies while retarded manservant Groton (Lon Chaney, Jr.) spends most of the time whimpering and petting a puppy. When the doctor injects Groton with a special serum it transforms him into a lurking, laughing, sweating, beach-bunny-decapitating, axe murderer. The cops are already after them, but even more troubles arise when the echo-voiced Count Dracula (Zandor Vorkov) arrives and blackmails the mad doc into resurrecting the Frankenstein monster and giving him the blood of his victims!

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a lounge singer (Regina Carroll) performs a lounge act called "She Travels Light." They try to make it look like it's a big production number by filming it in a large auditorium, but we only see an audience of about four people. Miss Carrol gets news of her sister's disappearance and heads off to Venice Beach looking for answers. She goes to a club, is slipped LSD in her coffee, has a substandard 70s trip out scene, then teams up with three hippies (led by Anthony Eisley) to find out what's going on.

Possibly Adamson's most famous film, and even though it's cheap, silly, trashy and completely nonsensical, there's enough going on here (and an interesting enough cast) to qualify it as a must see to die-hard horror fans. The cast is just overloaded with familiar faces! Aside from those already mentioned, Russ Tamblyn, Jim Davis, Forry Ackerman, Angelo Rossitto, Gary Kent and other swell folks appear and future director Greydon Clark (of SATAN'S CHERRLEADERS fame) also has a small role. If none of those names are ringing a bell, then you may not be as amused by what you see here.

Side note--Some nudity and violence seem to have been removed so it could pass with a PG rating.