Blood for Dracula (1974)

An ailing vampire count travels to Italy with his servant to find a bride.

Director:

Paul Morrissey

Writer:

Paul Morrissey

Stars:

Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, Vittorio De Sica

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joe Dallesandro	...	Mario Balato - the Servant
Udo Kier	...	Count Dracula
Vittorio De Sica	...	Il Marchese Di Fiore
Maxime McKendry	...	La Marchesa Di Fiore
Arno Jürging	...	Anton - the Count's Servant
Milena Vukotic	...	Esmeralda
Dominique Darel	...	Saphiria
Stefania Casini	...	Rubinia
Silvia Dionisio	...	Perla
Inna Alexeievna	...	Old Woman in Tavern
Gil Cagne	...	Townsman (as Gil Cagnie)
Emi Califri
Eleonora Zani

Storyline

Udo Kier is without a doubt the sickliest of vampires in any director's interpretation of the Bram Stoker tale. Count Dracula knows that if he fails to drink a required amount of pure virgin's [pronounced "wirgin's"] blood, it's time to move into a permanent coffin. His assistant (Renfield?) suggests that the Count and he pick up his coffin and take a road trip to Italy, where families are known to be particularly religious, and therefore should be an excellent place to search for a virgin bride. They do, only to encounter a family with not one, but FOUR virgins, ready for marriage. The Count discovers one-by-one that the girls are not as pure as they say they are, meanwhile a handsome servant/Communist begins to observe strange behaviour from the girls who do spend the night with the Count. It's a race for Dracula to discover who's the real virgin, before he either dies from malnourishment or from the wooden stake of the Communist!

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Plot Keywords:

virgin | dracula | servant | italy | vampire | 

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Taglines:

He couldn't live without a virgin's blood..... ...So a virgin had to die! [UK]

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

Italy France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Andy Warhol's Dracula

Filming Locations:

Villa Parisi, Frascati, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Yanne et Rassam, Andy Warhol Presentation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #28.

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Quotes

Rubinia: Well, if you must know, this man is obsessed with marrying a virgin.
Mario Balato, the Servant: O well, you didn't tell me this. So what's he doin' with you two whores?

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Alternate Versions

Although the UK cinema version didn't suffer as many cuts as Flesh for Frankenstein it was edited by around 4 minutes by the BBFC with extensive cuts to the sex scenes and edits to shots of the Count drinking and then vomiting up blood. The 1995 First Independent video version and all subsequent UK releases were fully uncut.

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Connections

Version of Vampyre (2015)

User Reviews

Another must see Morrissey trash classic!

While I rate Paul Morrissey's 'Flesh For Frankenstein' just a little higher than this one, it is without a doubt a vampire trash classic, and highly recommended viewing. Morrissey once again teams the legendary Udo Kier ('The Story Of O', 'Suspiria') with Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro, and the creepy Arno Juerging (Otto from '...Frankenstein'), and adds to the strong supporting cast Italian veteran Vittorio De Sica, and even a cameo from director Roman Polanski. '..Dracula' features a similar mixture of horror and camp to the earlier movie, but this time the emphasis is more on sex and decadence than gore and humour. Dallesandro's performance is below par as a Communist servant, but Kier once again excels in the title role, creating some genuine sympathy as the sickly, desperate Count who can't get enough "wer-gins" blood to sustain himself. 'Blood For Dracula' is essential viewing for all 1970s cult movie buffs.