Son of Dracula (1974)

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Jennifer Jayne (writer)

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Musical

Tagline:

The First Rock-and-Roll Dracula Movie!

Plot:

Due to be crowned King of the Netherworld by his mentor Merlin the Magician at a monster's convention Count Downe...

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Vampire | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Cast

Harry Nilsson	...	Count Downe
Ringo Starr	...	Merlin, the Magician
Dennis Price	...	Van Helsing
Suzanna Leigh	...	Amber
Freddie Jones	...	Dr. Frankenstein
Peter Frampton	...	Musician
Keith Moon	...	Musician
John Bonham	...	Musician
Rosanna Lee	...	Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Bailie	...	Brian
Morris Bush	...	Monster
Shakira Caine	...	Housekeeper (as Shakira Baksh)
Ricki Farr	...	Musician
Bobby Keyes	...	Musician
Nita Lorraine	...	Gorgon Woman
Skip Martin	...	Igor
Dan Meaden	...	Count Dracula
Rachelle Miller	...	Club Hostess
Beth Morris	...	Wendy
Jim Price	...	Musician
Jenny Runacre	...	Woman in Black
Leon Russell	...	Musician
Klaus Voormann	...	Musician
Hedger Wallace	...	Vampire
Lorna Wilde	...	Countess Dracula
Derek Woodward	...	Werewolf

Also Known As:

Count Downe (UK) (alternative title)
Young Dracula

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Apple Corps

Trivia:

David Bowie was originally considered for the role of Count Downe.

Hmm...Maybe It Should Have Been Called "Song of Dracula."

I'm giving this a "six" because anybody who seeks out this movie will know, more or less, what he or she is getting into. The Nilsson songs do work with the melancholy of this plot: Dracula's son, who was conceived with a non-vampire woman, wants to cease being a vampire so he can experience love. Nilsson's performance isn't demonstrative and I found his remoteness appropriate. Ringo was a wizard in MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR and he's Merlin here. He's not emoting incredibly, but he is playing a comic role straight, and this, too, works for me. (By the way, check out THAT'LL BE THE DAY, in which Ringo plays a down-and-out Holiday Camp musician. It is truly a serious performance. Also, consider the part in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT with Ringo walking by the river, throwing sticks and kicking stones. He can act when he wants to.) The other actors deliver the archaic dialogue in almost classical style. Again, there is a melancholy to all of this. It is nowhere near as self-conscious as most deliberately extreme movies. The reason for this is that the director, Freddie Francis, born in 1917, had been directing for many years and had a lot of experience. There are some really interesting camera angles. The plot is nuts, but the filming is almost hallucinatory. At one point one of the mad doctors is in his office and the camera backs up to show a portrait in oils, in a gilded frame, of what appears to be the Frankenstein monster in a three-piece suit. There's a close-up of it a minute later and it resembles the Kaiser. I had a grainy copy of this movie and am wondering if the painting was one of these optical-illusion things people used to put on their walls (such as the one where, at first glance, you see people sitting at a table with candles and another look reveals a giant skull) or if the grainy quality of the DVD made me see it wrong. Even if I was wrong about it being the Frankenstein monster, I am amused at the fact that a picture of the Kaiser is on the scientist's wall in a movie taking place in 1974. (And Frankie DOES appear later on.) Yes, it's sub-par. But there's a certain genius in it nonetheless. And the music is sweet.