Quick trivia question: What B-movie veteran of Republic Pictures westerns subsequently appeared in Z-grade horror films directed by the likes of William "One-Shot" Beaudine and Al Adamson? Answer: Jim Davis, soon to reemerge in quality features helmed by Robert Benton and Alan J. Pakula before reaching his peak of fame as patriarch Jock Ewing in the original "Dallas". I had previously reviewed him in Beaudine's Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter and now I'm doing the same for him in Adamson's Dracula vs. Frankenstein. He manages to keep his dignity intact with authority as the police sergeant responding to a woman named Judith (Regina Carrol, Adamson's wife) who's looking for her missing sister. Oh, and horror veterans Lon Chaney, Jr. and J. Carrol Naish make their last appearances in this film with Chaney looking quite pathetic while Naish still has a way with words even after knowing about his reading cue cards here. And dig all the late '60s/early '70s vibe involving music and fashions mixed in with the '40s/'50s stock film scores of previous classic movies like Creature from the Black Lagoon. Such a mish-mash of the unintentional hilarity in all those uneven tone changes that got me looking with bemusement in just the way things were edited together got me mostly almost laughing much of the time. Oh, and what heaving bosoms courtesy of Ms. Carrol and other women in tow! And let's not forget those motorcycle gangs attempting to rape one of them getting their just desserts! And how about that midget...uh, little person also getting it? Okay, I think I've said enough so on that note, Dracula vs. Frankenstein is worth a look if you're curious enough. P.S. The person who uploaded this on YouTube also provided an alternate ending that I thought was a little better though no less cheesy.
Review of Dracula vs. Frankenstein
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
(1971)
Dracula vs. Frankenstein is the ultimate in early '70s horror cheese!
11 September 2012
Warning: Spoilers