Dracula contre Frankenstein

Retitled in America, this horrible sci-fi/horror film features the last performance of aging star Michael Rennie(DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL). I didn't understand if he was supposed to be an alien, or a regular old evil doctor, but he raises several monsters to attack earthlings. One is a wolfman (Spanish horror star Paul Naschy),another is a mummy, and another is the Frankenstein creation. I don't remember Dracula even being in this movie.

Rennie looks embarrassed, and sickly. The music and dubbing are horrendous for this American cut of the film. The most memorable part is the set design and the pastel-colored tints that are used throughout. It is a cheap, but effective, mood enhancer.

The rest of the proceedings are a waste time, though. The make-ups for the creatures are fairly laughable, and the plot is non-exsistent. It's as if the directors involved went to the editing room, and just threw film pieces in the air to see where they might land.

The American video release seems to be aimed at youngsters. This film is mostly violence-free, true, but it doesn't mean that any child should be subjected to this colorful tedium. This is strictly for the initiated into "so-bad-its-good" cinema.

Known by various names such as "The Monsters Of Terror", "Assignment Terror" and "Dracula Jagt Frankenstein", this is a Spanish-German-Italian monster concoction featuring American actor Michael Rennie in his last desperate movie role. Rennie plays the leader of a group of aliens from a planet called Ummo who target Earth as the perfect place to re-populate their dying world. Along with his female assistant (Karin Dor, who starred in Hitchcock's TOPAZ!) he sets out to destroy man by reviving all of the Earth's historic monsters: Waldemar Daninsky, the Werewolf (Paul Naschy), a male vampire, a mummy, and a Frankenstein-like creature (all of whom look ridiculous except for the werewolf). Naschy also scripted this bizarre hodgepodge, influenced by the old Universal monster classics (and, presumably, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in particular). The highlight is when Naschy's heroic wolfman battles other monsters. If you're a fan of those old films it's worth watching just for the nostalgia, but be forewarned it's a messy ride and will vary depending on what copy of the movie you happen to watch. This review is from a German-dubbed widescreen DVD called "Dracula Jagt Frankenstein" with English subtitles, but there are edited variations under different names (among them: the inferior English "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" copy, which utilizes Michael Rennie's own voice but is missing footage, and is not to be confused by the 1971 Al Adamson movie of the same name). As of this writing there is no acceptable English-dubbed version. Still some offbeat fun for monster lovers, but you have to wonder what Michael (THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL) Rennie was thinking while he had to act in this. *1/2 out of ****

The US print of "Dracula vs Frankenstein" begins by introducing us to an alien species who intend to invade and dominate the human race. At a travelling circus, they encounter the real-life skeleton of a vampire count. Apparently all you need to do to revive this vampire is to remove a flimsy wooden stake from it's heart (I'm surprised it hadn't just fallen out already). The police detective quickly clocks on to what the aliens are trying to do, and launches an investigation. The aliens manage to resurrect Daninsky the werewolf, the mummy Tao-Tet and the monster created by Farank ... Frankstele ... oh, let's just call him Frankenstein. Anyway, the aliens begin to succumb to human emotions and Daninsky turns against them, and thankfully the monsters all turn out to be complete wusses and are easily defeated. Yay! And, of course, it's all rounded off with a nice moral to the story (that doesn't actually make a whole lot of sense in context), and a suitably apocalyptic ending.

Mini-skirts, dancing, cheesy music, flashing lights ... yes, this movie is a product of the swinging sixties alright. Although it was titled "Dracula vs Frankenstein" in the US, the vampire isn't Dracula and there's no sign of Victor Frankenstein -- and at no point do the two of them fight against each other. "The Werewolf vs the Mummy" might have been worked, but I would have gone with something like "The Werewolf vs the Monsters of Terror". Heh. Frankenstein's monster and Waldemar Daninsky are both played by Jacinto Molina, which is impressive but not as much as his multiple roles in the later movie "Howl of the Devil". The lead actor is the brilliant Michael Rennie who famously played Klaatu in "The Day the Earth Stood Still", although here looks like he's at death's door (and unfortunately, he was).

In the innocent, charming style of filmmakers such as Ed Wood, the plot here mixes horror and science fiction elements together in a way that makes absolutely no sense. The aliens are wonderfully B-movieish, with all the obligatory coloured lights and disembodied robotic voices present. In a way it's more conventional than most of the Daninsky movies, adhering to as many B-movie stereotypes as is humanly possible to cram into one film. In a sense, it's the ULTIMATE B-movie, so it should be very popular among that crowd -- it has everything they could ask for. The acting is pretty much what you'd expect and the dubbing is particularly good comparatively. The makeup for the four monsters isn't great, but certainly not the worst I've seen. The mummy inparticular has a great death scene ...

It's a very, very silly movie, but if you're a fan of bad B-movies, look no further. Aliens, vampires, zombies, werewolves ... how could they go wrong?

Enjoyably stupid. Aliens take control of several dead human bodies, and then go about reanimating several monsters using Dr. Farancksollen's Anthology of Monsters. The idea is evidently to study the monsters, create more, then use them to destroy all humans. The monsters have no hearts (the aliens think) and can be controlled, unlike humans. Plan 9 from Outer Space has a similar plot, I think?

They find and reanimate a vampire, a mummy, Farancksollen's monster, and the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky. The book mentions the Golem, but they don't mention him again as with Renaldo Renaldini in Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (1924); maybe like that film they ran out of money to add him.

The head alien tortures some of the women aliens with sound and lights to punish them for starting to develop human tendencies. He also uses the monsters on his own people for the same reason. The police investigate.

The Gemstone Entertainment DVD titled Dracula vs. Frankenstein is poor. It runs only 77 minutes full-frame. Particularly in the opening scene, there are some jump cuts and words and phrases drop out.

Start with aliens coming to Earth to find the Earth's monsters and use them against humankind. These aliens are nothing more than humans "acting" like they are aliens and looking just like anyone else. Total special effects cost: $0.00 Add a Dracula - found at a carnival no less - just waiting to be brought back to life. He has a cape and fangs but no acting talent. Total special effects cost: $50.00(maybe) Put in a wolf-man - not just any wolf-man but Waldemar Danisky no less - he too just waiting around for someone to find a way to bring him back to life while he reposes in a church. This monster comes off the best because Paul Naschy plays him once again and the hairy makeup is pretty decent overall. Total special effect cost: $500(not counting Naschy's salary of course). Next, stir in the cheesiest Frankenstein's Monster out there - who looks like a hefty Ricardo Montalban in makeup. He has a square box head and looks decidedly unconvincing lumbering around. Total special effects cost: $100 Just for added flavor, put in an anorexic, slower-than-slow mummy. The mummy does a lot of eye rolling though. Total cost for bandages: $10. Having aliens, a vampire, a lycanthrope, a mummified monster, and a powerful creature made from the dead all in one film - NOT PRICELESS! This film is bad but enjoyable none the less for it is entertaining to see and hear the ineptitude that abounds. The film is based in a house rented by "aliens" who are gathering all the monsters and prodding them until they can discover the secrets within them and unleash these secrets on mankind so they can take over the planet. Where have I heard something along these lines before? Oh, that's right in dozens of movies predating this one. The film is a Spanish production and part of Paul Naschy's Waldemar Danisky cycle. Naschy is competent and one of the better parts of the film, but the other monsters look so ludicrous and are used so laboriously that none come off as really anything more than poor foreign knockoffs(which of course they are). Veteran British actor Michael Rennie, in his last "major" film before succumbing to emphysema, is unquestionably the best thing in this whole mess. While giving the film some class, Rennie sounds just too absurd with the witless dialog he has to utter. Helping him along are the beautiful Karin Dor, Helga Geissler, and Patty Sheperd - all looking quite appealing but lacking any real talent. Special effects are atrocious and the ending has to be seen to be believed. My favorite scene in the whole film is the one in the crypts of the house/laboratory where Danisky fight off the monsters one by one. He battling the mummy is a real hoot! The set designs; however, are fairly authentic, and the film would have been so much better with a more cohesive plot and some more realistic monsters. The film is fun though and should provide many unintentional laughs.