Blacula (1972)

An ancient African prince, turned into a vampire by Dracula himself, finds himself in modern Los Angeles.

Director:

William Crain

Writers:

Joan Torres (screenplay), Raymond Koenig (screenplay)

Stars:

William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Marshall	...	Blacula / Mamuwalde
Vonetta McGee	...	Tina / Luva
Denise Nicholas	...	Michelle
Thalmus Rasulala	...	Dr. Gordon Thomas
Gordon Pinsent	...	Lt. Jack Peters
Charles Macaulay	...	Dracula
Emily Yancy	...	Nancy
Lance Taylor Sr.	...	Swenson
Ted Harris	...	Bobby McCoy
Rick Metzler	...	Billy Schaffer
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Skillet (as Jitu Cumbuka)
Logan Field	...	Sgt. Barnes
Ketty Lester	...	Juanita Jones
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Sam (as Elisha Cook)
Eric Brotherson	...	Real Estate Agent

Storyline

An 18th century African statesman is transformed into a vampire, cursed with the name Blacula, and entombed in Dracula's Castle after he fails to convince the Count to support him in his cause to end the slave trade. Two hundred years later, a pair of interior decorators transport his coffin to L.A. where he awakes with an unquenchable thirst for human blood. As Blacula pursues a woman who resembles his long dead wife, her brother-in-law, a pathologist, investigates the string of carnage that follows in the vampire's wake.

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Plot Keywords:

trailer narrated by adolph caesar | first part | electronic music score | 18th century | 1780s | 

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Taglines:

He"s black! he's beautiful! he's Blacula!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The group performing in the club is The Hues Corporation, best known for their 1974 hit song "Rock the Boat."

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Goofs

Blacula has only just been released from a 200-year-long imprisonment yet when Nancy takes his picture at the club, he knows what a camera is.

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Quotes

Waitress: [to Mamuwalde] Hi! What'll you have?
Mamuwalde: Make it a Bloody Mary.

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure an 'X' rating. All cuts were waived in 1998 when the film was granted an '15' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star (2005)

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Soundtracks

I'm Gonna Get You
Performed by The Hues Corporation
Written by Wally Holmes
Produced by Wally Holmes and Norman Ratner

User Reviews

Not as scary as I remembered

I saw Blacula in the theatre when I was 5 or 6 years old. It scared the bejeesus out of me!!! I had nightmares for weeks, and my mother was very angry at my cousins for taking me to see it. I wasn't allowed to watch a horror flick again until I was old enough to go on my own and buy my own ticket (and even then I stayed away for a while. . . the next one I saw was Nightmare on Elm Street when I was in highschool!!!).

Anyway, I saw the movie for the second time two nights ago, 29 years later.. . and it was not as scary as I remembered. However, I can see how my young mind was terrified at the time. AND, I can see how my teenaged cousins loved it so much. In 1972, this movie was at the early end of the blaxploitation era, and besides the fact that the main character was a bloodsucker, the characters were generally positive (i.e. no pimpin' drug-dealin' gangstas) You'll be hard pressed to find another early seventies black movie that can say that!

I think, for the time, it was a pretty good low budget horror movie. They deserve their own category, you know.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blacula

Filming Locations:

6501 Yucca St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Power Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1