Ah, Turnbull... You've played right into my hands!

Of course, a list of personal favorites is - just that. A personal list. I've liked vampire (and Dracula) films for a long time. Anyway, here's a list (in no particular order) of Dracula films (and a couple of regular vampire films) I've found memorable. There will be some duplications. Some are available on YouTube or other venues.

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) Made on a shoestring budget, what was supposed to be, originally, a soft-X picture was, thankfully re-thought and turned into a "straight" horror flick. Some really scary moments (not a film to see if you're a cat lover); a sequel wasn't quite as good, though more polished.

Nosferatu (1922) Great film. Try to see it on TCM or a good DVD and not one of those public domain horrendous copies. A must-see.

The Return of Dracula (1958) Low-budget film with Francis Lederer as Dracula in modern dress. Somehow, for me, this unpretentious little film worked. It was actually the first Dracula film I ever saw when I was young, and the gruesome (for its time) ending scared the crap out of me!

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Bela Lugosi's last hurrah as the Count. (Famous blooper: as Dracula bites one victim, his reflection can be clearly seen in a large mirror behind him!) A funny and scary film, the first (and easily the best) of the "Abbott & Costello Meet..." series.

Horror of Dracula (UK: Dracula) (1958) Great film that literally pumped new blood into Dracula films, for better or worse. Christopher Lee made one helluva impression in his first film as the Count. First Dracula film in color, too, IIRC. Hammer Films ultimately bled Dracula dry with far too many sequels. By the time they made "gems" like Dracula A.D. 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula... well, frankly I didn't give a bat's ass.

Count Dracula (aka El Conde Dracula (1970) A film worth seeing for what it might have been. Not connected to the Hammer Films series, Christopher Lee filmed this one in Spain. Klaus Kinski (with no dialogue!) was Renfield. Herbert Lom was Dr. Van Helsing. Unfortunately, the international cast was directed by Jess Franco, and the miniscule budget and producer Harry Alan Towers didn't help. But the film was the first to present Dracula as an old man in the beginning, growing younger from drinking blood. This predated Bram Stoker's Dracula by a number of years. It followed the novel closer than most adaptations, though it took its own liberties. Could have been much better than it was, but still worth a look, I think.

The Night Stalker (1971) Not a Dracula film, but a great made-for-TV film with Darren McGavin making his first appearance as reporter Carl Kolchak. Great script by Richard Matheson from a (then) unpublished novel by Jeff Rice: a murderous vampire is loose in modern Las Vegas, and of course, nobody will believe such a thing could possibly exist (except Kolchak, of course).

Return of the Vampire (1943) Actually, Bela Lugosi played cinema vampires only a scant handful of times. In this World War II-set film, Lugosi basically plays Dracula (or a character very closely resembling Dracula) but for copyright reasons Columbia Pictures had to call him Armand Tesla. In this one, Lugosi even has a werewolf running around doing his bidding. I have a soft spot for this film, for some reason.

From Dusk till Dawn (1996) I didn't know what to expect from this film, and I loved it! Great cast, lots of action. I was pleasantly surprised. (And Salma Hayek... well, I need say no more.)

There are a bunch of films I'll list that aren't really great - in fact, they're absolute crap! Don't get me wrong, crap can be a lot of fun if you're in the right mood. Here are a few:

Billy the Kid vs Dracula (1965) John Carradine as the Count (with a goatee) in the Old West. (Boy! He sure got around - must be them bat wings). Swan song for director William Beaudine, who had been a respected journeyman with credits dating back to the days of silent films. Needless to say, the film doesn't really work, but it might seem better after a bottle or two of good ol' Panther Piss rotgut whiskey followed by a barroom brawl. Or, it might not, but by then you won't care anyway.

Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (aka Gallery of Horror, Return From the Past, The Blood Suckers, Alien Massacre and probably a million other titles!) (1967) Let the viewer beware! This film is one of the worst things ever committed to celluloid! A bunch of stories are introduced by John Carradine (he appears in one tale, but not the one about Dracula), who appears in this poor excuse for a film along with a pitiful Lon Chaney (nearing the end of his career) and former star Rochelle Hudson and a bunch of no-talents who couldn't act their collective ways out of the proverbial wet paper bag. In the Dracula segment ("King Vampire"), the Count is played by Mitch Evans. Yeah, that was my reaction! Who????? The segments play like cast-off stories from the old Creepy or Eerie horror magazines. And no wonder - most of them were written by Russ Jones, who had a hand in the creation of both magazines back in the mid-60's. A film for Dracula completists (and absolute masochists) only. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) Don't understand why the actors appeared in this film, except someone owed someone a really big favor. The ubiquitous John Carradine is in this one too, but not as the Count. Absolutely horrible.

Dracula's Dog (1972) Yeah, you wouldn't think that this film is not a put-on (it isn't), but it's got the great actor Jose Ferrer in it! And it is about the Count's canine! Has to be seen to be disbelieved. Is the film a dog? Woof!

And I'm sure others will come to mind when it isn't so late and I've had some fresh blood before I crawl back into my coffin. There is one last film I'll mention that doesn't really fit (IMO) into either category:

Lemora - A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (aka The Legendary Curse of Lemora and Lemora - The Lady Dracula) (1973) A really odd vampire film. Made on a nearly non-existent budget, nearly everything about it has a amateurish quality. But it's a really haunting little film that has (not surprisingly) developed something of a cult following. It starred the late, tragic Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith. You'll either hate it or (like me) find it oddly interesting with some very memorable scenes.

Dracula (both character and novel) has entered Public Domain. (Sorta like the coach ride to the castle in "Nosferatu".) That means anybody can make a film about (or with) him. In other words, heaven help us!

I'm quite interested in reading other opinions on this topic.


Signor V. (who knows the world is on fragile, nitrate stock)