In order to revive his long hibernating bride, Vampira, Count Dracula takes blood samples from several beautiful models, but during the transfusion, Vampira's race turns from white to black.
David Niven Teresa Graves Peter Bayliss Jennie Linden Nicky Henson Linda Hayden Bernard Bresslaw Cathie Shirriff Andrea Allan Veronica Carlson Freddie Jones Aimi MacDonald Patrick Newell Kenneth Cranham Carol Cleveland Luan Peters Marcia Fox Ben Aris Penny Irving Minah Bird Christopher Sandford David Rowlands Nadim Sawalha
Old Dracula, Vampira - en tjej på bettet, Les temps sont durs pour Dracula, Старый кровосос, Πάρτι βρυκολάκων, 暮年德古拉
UK
Italy
USAPG
Italy
UK
USA
Set in the groovy 70s, Dracula has turned his castle into a tourist attraction as a front for collecting blood samples, in order to revive his bride, Vampira. However, a slight mixup with the samples results in Vampira becoming a black woman, played by Teresa Graves. Wait, what?!
I didn't go into this with very high expectations. In fact, I was expecting this one to be a slog to get through. It wasn't, really. It was one of those movies where you'd probably rather watch something else but can actually be fun if you let it. It's a comedy, but it's that subtle kind of British humor that doesn't really click with people who are used to something more overt,…
Perfect programming for post-midnight, bong-fueled viewers looking for an undemanding nether hour distraction.
That's not saying this admittedly anemic and silly British horror comedy doesn't have its flaws, because it does...most damaging is the fact that there's too few laughs to be had. Still, it's an endearing time killer just the same. You can largely thank the two leads for that. The great David Niven, seemingly having a good time of it, lifts the entire production with his innate charm. The ridiculously beautiful Teresa Graves ("Get Christie Love!") is genuinely engaging as Countess Vampira. She's clearly giving it her all, and I found her completely alluring and delightful.
Plotwise, the aging Count is relegated to hosting tours of his castle…
teresa graves is the most beautiful vibrant lady vampire ive ever seen
100 Days Of Halloween
Enjoyed this one MUCH more than expected. Niven is a TERRIFIC Dracula. His banter with Peter Bayliss (his servant) is hilarious. It reminded me of What We Do In The Shadows. The Dracula's ball at the end, is one of the best "costume parties" in cinema history! The fashions and music are wonderful. Now the ending, is EXTREMELY problematic. It was definitely a different world in the early 70's.
Here's the VERY entertaining trailer.
youtu.be/TPwu5MulLk8?si=jxVDAcR5wD2y0tEU
"Do you remember the Big Apple?"
"I'll never forget your Big Apple"
I wanna make a new late night cable TV segment kind of like Movies For Guys Who Like Movies or USA Up All Night, but it's called PG Movies for Men.
You ever watch and review something you already watched and reviewed? Although it seemed vaguely familiar, it didn't dawn on me until I checked Letterboxd that I've already seen this.
It's nice to see Hammer alums like Veronica Carlson and Linda Hayden, but this never gets as funny or as gothic as you want. If they wanted to make this R rated instead of PG (PG apparently means only two boobs can be shown), they could have…
That was sooo much fun. One of the most enjoyable horror spoofs. Nice cameos and a great cast in general especially Teresa Graves as Vampira. She was a hoot! I wanna be transported back to that 70s Halloween party that Dracula himself bombs. I just wanna live in the film in general, gorge! Good times!
-Darling, let's go out! It's such a long time since you took me dancing. Do you remember the Big Apple?
-I'll never forget your Big Apple!
- … And my Black Bottom?
-We will NOT be going out!
Yeah, you can't really debate that there's a premise here that's preposterous at best. Vampira, or "Old Dracula" as my DVD-case reads is notable in three ways - It has to be the whitest blacksploitation movie ever made, it features probably the grooviest party-sequence since Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and finally, Teresa Graves has never been hotter. A total product of its era. Both trashy and fun.
A mostly classy British horror comedy that mixes a modern day Dracula story with a little blaxploitation element. David Niven is his usual very charming self as Count Dracula and Teresa Graves adds a lot as his wife Vampira (who wakes up black because of a mistake in the blood transfusion - probably the one joke that didn't age quite so good, but it's never offensive either). This actually works pretty well as a more comedic counterpart to 'Blacula' thematically.
My only complaint is that I was looking forward to Linda Hayden in this and ended up little disappointed by her small part in which she mostly does a terrible attempt at a German accent.
| In Short: Aside from a few laughs, Vampira is mostly the cinematic equivalent of smelling burnt (found-out-after-the-fact non-microwaveable) cheeseballs.
The color deepens!
| In Less Short: Even if the premise is a bit iffy, a horror icon inspired blaxploitation spoof sounded like it had a lot of potential. Vampira is barely in her own movie, which was also released as the more accurately titled yet much less sexy sounding; Od Dracula.
Premature Verdict: Dude, Racism was solved in 1974 and no one remembers!
*10 seconds later*
Oh never mind, two white old men are yelling about blood purity and whitewashing.
If this is progress, I don't like it!
Whichever title it bears, the movie is definitely problematic. Especially because…
Times are tough for the aged Count Dracula, played by David Niven (The Guns of Navarone). In order to lure new victims, he and his assistant, played by Peter Bayliss (The Avengers), invite tourists to his castle for kitschy dinner parties. When a group of Playboy Playmates arrives at his home, he senses an opportunity to use their blood to revive his long-lost wife, Vampira, who has been asleep in a dormant state for decades. Much to Dracula's surprise, a side effect of the blood transfusion that revives his wife is that it turns her into a black woman. The revived Countess Vampira, played by Teresa Graves (Get Christie Love!), is delighted with her radiant new look, but Dracula, while…
There is very little worth recommending in this horror comedy bore. It’s not funny, not sleazy enough, not scary enough, David Niven is so laid back he’s almost horizontal and there’s some uncomfortable blackface at the climax. The soundtrack slaps though.
