3/10/2007

Tonight, it’s more Peter Cushing in another Hammer horror film- one that people asked me to show for years, often without even knowing the title! When we ran an anthology film about Universal monsters- “Anthony Perkins Presents: the Horror Show”- there was a quick clip of a blond male vampire Attacking a victim, along with shots of some young women sporting fangs.We got a lot of questions from viewers who wanted to know what the film was- or whom had seen it years ago, and didn’t remember the name- but they all wanted to see it! Now, several years later, thanks to our Universal deal, we have “Brides of Dracula!” This 1960 film was a follow-up to Hammer’s “Horror of Dracula”- starring Christopher Lee- that was released two years earlier. It was pretty much the original Dracula tale, with Lee as the Count. In our film- not only is there no Christopher Lee, but- there actually isn’t any Dracula! (The reason being- Hammer would have had to pay Christopher Lee some additional money to appear in this film…guess they got over that, when they made several more Dracula sequels with Lee.) However, don’t let the non-appearance of the actual Count put you off this flick- David Peel provides an excellent bloody baron vampire! You get a beautiful French girl, heading to a girls’ school to teach- who ends up spending the night in the fearful castle of a dreaded aging baroness, who keeps her only son locked up in the castle. When he is helped to escape- suddenly the countryside is over-run with the deaths of young women- and an increase in the vampire population! The arrival of the famed vampire hunter, Van Helsing (played by Cushing) to investigate one of the deaths leads to the discovery of this new blood-sucking menace. It’s the usual high-quality Hammer- the high production values, brilliant color, and creepy atmosphere. The “Brides of Dracula” refers to the newly-minted female vampires that abound in this flick- although it could also refer to another character- which you can figure out when you watch. Don’t expect an actual vampire wedding (judging from the title, it’d have to be in Utah, where they allow some people more than one wife.) I’ll have a lot of background info on the movie- and, the usual Sven-tertainment. And- just in case you don’t get your fill of vampires with this movie- just be patient- in a couple of months, we’re going to have some of the all-time classics of that particular bloodline. You know what I’m talking about…don’t you? Meanwhile- tune in tonight! Wear that garlic necklace if you want- as long as it doesn’t clash with your outfit. Feel free to let me know how you liked the show- svengoolie@wciu.com Oh, and if you’re a friend of the groom, please sit on the left side of the sofa…