Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (Spanish: Drácula contra Frankenstein, lit. 'Dracula versus Frankenstein') is a 1972 horror film directed by Jesús Franco.[2] The film stars Dennis Price as Dr. Rainer von Frankenstein who successfully captures Count Dracula portrayed by Howard Vernon. Along with the Doctor's monster (Fernando Bilbao) the doctor controls the vampire for his own evil ends. The film is a co-production between Portugal, Spain and Liechtenstein.
| Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein | |
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 Spanish poster | |
| Directed by | Jesús Franco |
| Screenplay by | Jesús Franco[1] |
| Story by | Jesús Franco[1] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | José Climent[1] |
| Music by | Bruno Nicolai |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes[1] |
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Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein premiered at the Sitges Film Festival in 1972. The film received a lukewarm review in La Vanguardia, which praised the cinematography while finding it interfered with the narrative of the film. It received more generally negative reviews from Variety, L'Écran fantastique and El Mundo Deportivo.
Cast
editCast adapated from Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco.[3][1]
- Dennis Price as Dr. Rainer von Frankenstein
- Howard Vernon as Dracula
- Paca Gabaldón as María (credited as Mary Francis)
- Alberto Dalbés as Dr. Jonathan Seward
- Britt Nichols as female vampire
- Geneviève Robert as Amira, the gypsy girl
- Josianne Piertte Belair as Estela, a cabaret singer (credited as Josyane Gilbert)
- Luis Barboo as Morpho
- Brandy as The Wolfman
- Fernando Bilbao as The Monster
- Eduarda imenta as the Married female victim
Production
edit
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein was shot in November 1971, with location shooting at the Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante and the Palácio dos Condes de Castro Guimarães in Cascais, Portugal.[1][4] The film is a production between Portugal, Spain and Liechtenstein through Interfilme Produgées Cinematograficas based in Lisbon, Cooperativa Fénix Films based in Madrid, and Prodif Ets. based in Vaduz. French prints also included Comptoir Francais du Film Production, based in Paris.[1]
The film is almost entirely devoid of dialogue. He would make films later in his career with nearly as little dialogue with El miron y la exhibicionista (1985), Vampire Blues (1998), and La cripta de las condemnadas (2007).[5]
Most of the score of the film by Bruno Nicolai is drawn from Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969) and Count Dracula (1970). While Daniel White is credited in some versions of the film, Franco biographer Stephen Thrower stated that White had "little if any involvement."[4]
Precise details of the film shoot are unclear, with a press article from December 1971 stating that shooting in Alicante had completed, while a press article about Paca Gabaldón dated January 1872 described it as her more recent film. Thrower stated that with these details, it was likely that shooting was done during the production of A Virgin Among the Living Dead and Jungfrauen-report.[6]
Concurrently with the original shoot, a version with more nudity was created and screened at the 1972 Cannes Film Market.[2]
Release
editDracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein was screened at the Sitges Film Festival on October 4, 1972. This was followed by screenings in Spain in Bilbao on November 18, 1972 and Madrid on January 3, 1973. This was followed by screenings in France in and Belgium in 1972 and 1973 respectively, and later in Turin in 1974 and Portugal on March 4, 1974.[1]
The film was released on blu-ray by Severin Films in January 2024 as Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein. The release was scanned from Spanish, French and German release prints to create the longest and most comprehensive version known.[7]
Reception
editFrom contemporary reviews in Spain, a review in La Vanguardia said the film would be entertaining to audiences, stating that the plot was confusing and "delirious" which would make audiences either react in fear or laughter.[8] El Mundo Deportivo praised the cinematography, while stating that the plot lacks originality; and that the focus on the quality photography made the plot lose its rhythm.[2] In the Canadian newspaper L'Action found the film lacked subtlety and the end result was more grotesque than horrific and that Dennis Price was unconvincing in the role of Dr. Frankenstein.[9]
Following the film’s premiere at the Sitges Film Festival, a review in Variety pronounced the film full of cliches and was bewildered by the uncertain historical setting of the film.[2] French genre film magazine L'Écran fantastique stated that Franco's reverence to the Universal horror films of the 1940s never resulted in anything more than mimicry, and that picture was "a waste of film."[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thrower 2015, p. 284.
- ^ a b c d e Thrower 2015, p. 289.
- ^ Thrower 2015, p. 281.
- ^ a b Thrower 2015, p. 286.
- ^ Cesari & Curti 2024, p. 22.
- ^ Thrower 2015, p. 285.
- ^ Squires 2024.
- ^ A.M.T. 1973, p. 44.
- ^ L'Action 1972, p. 15.
Sources
edit- "Dracula prisonnier de Frankenstein". L'Action (in French). Canada. November 4, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved September 10, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
- A.M.T. (August 21, 1973). "Musica, teatro y cinematografia" (PDF). La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Vol. 33, no. 344. Barcelona. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- Cesari, Francesco; Curti, Roberto (2024). The Films of Jesus Franco, 1953-1966. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-9431-3.
- Squires, John (January 16, 2024). "Severin's January Lineup Includes 'Burial Ground' 4K Ultra HD Debut, an Australian Slasher Gem & More!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- Thrower, Stephen (2015). Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco: Volume 1:1959-1974. Strange Attractor Press. ISBN 978-1-907222-31-3.