Le Vampire du Dr. Dracula

When I was in high school (the late 1970s) a local TV station showed this on Saturday afternoons constantly with "Dracula vs. Frankenstein". As a teenager I LOVED this! My memories on the plot are kind of vague, but it went something like this: A man is cursed with becoming a werewolf. He has already killed a few people. He hears of a count who can (perhaps) cure him. The count and his wife come--but they're both VAMPIRES!!!

BTW--Frankenstein has nothing to do with this movie. The American distributor had promised theatre owners a film with the names "Frankenstein" and "Terror" in the title. Then they got this werewolf-vampire one. So the American version has a silly prologue linking the Frankenstein family to the werewolf!!!

Sounds ridiculous but it's played so serious it actually is a lot of fun to watch. The effects (for the 1970s) were good and, surprisingly, this got a PG rating despite some pretty gory parts. Also this played uncut on TV. The acting was actually pretty good and I distinctly remember being terrified by the vampires.

I heard the original Spanish one runs 10 minutes longer and was in 3-D and stereo sound! We'll never see that here probably and this version seems to have disappeared completely. Too bad. It was a fun, silly horror film. I give it an 8. Maybe Anchor Bay will find a version of this to release soon.

The last time I encountered Paul Naschy was in the video nasty The Werewolf and the Yeti. This is the film that started his career as Count Waldemar Daninsky. If you like good old campy horror with busty gypsies and vampires showing maximum cleavage, then this will fit the bill. Besides, wolf-man transformations are always fun to watch.

Of course, the horror is accompanied by a juicy love triangle as Count Waldemar Daninsky seems to have stolen Countess Janice von Aarenberg (Dyanik Zurakowska) from her young beau Rudolph (Manuel Manzaneque).

Count Daninsky joins a group of villagers after "wolves" when the gypsies mistakenly removed the silver cross from the wolf-man while robbing graves. He saves Rudolph's life, but is bitten in the process, thus starting the series of films where Nachy is a wolf-man.

Seeking help, they come into contact with vampires. No, there is no Frankenstein; that was added for American markets.

First time in which Waldemar stricken by ancient curse that turn into Werewolf at the full moon . Paul Naschy is turned into a werewolf when an annoyed Wolfman attacks and bite him . Daninsky looks desperately for a cure . He along with his lover (Dianik Zurakowska)) and a young man (Manzaneque) seek help for a doctor . Meanwhile Waldemar goes on a murderous rampage every time the moon is full. They contact a strange couple (Julian Ugarte, Aurora De Alba)who tries to cure his Lycanthropy with incantation but they result to be vampires. First entry about Werewolf with the unforgettable Waldemar Daninsky-Jacinto Molina ,under pseudonym Paul Naschy. Continental Europe's biggest horror star again with his classic character and horrifying to viewer. Jacinto Molina Aka Paul Naschy ,who recently passed away, was actor,screenwriter and director of various film about the personage based on fictitious character, the Polish count Waldemar Daninsky. The first entry about Waldemar was ¨The mark of the Wolfman (1967)¨ by Enrique Eguiluz , it was such a box office hit that Jacinto went on filming successive outings as ¨Night of Walpurgis¨, ¨Fury of the Wolfman¨ , ¨Doctor Jekill and the Wolfman¨ , and once again¨The return of the Walpurgis¨, ¨Howl of the devil¨, ¨The beast and the magic sword(1982)¨ that is filmed in Japan and for the umpteenth time ¨Licantropo(1998) and finally even directed by Fred Olen Ray in ¨Tomb of the Werewolf(2004) with Michelle Bauer.

It's a B series entertainment with abundant sensationalistic scenes and a Naif style.The movie has a bit of ridiculous gore with loads of blood similar to tomato and is occasionally an engaging horror movie full of fights, curses, and several other things. This time Paul Nashy/Jacinto Molina exhibits little breast but he was a weightlifting champion. Here Waldemar takes on vampires and werewolf in some moving fighting scenes. Pretty slow going, but hang in there for the Werewolf versus vampires. Regular cinematography in 3D and big screen ,70 mm, by Emilio Foriscot is accompanied by a lousy remastering. Filmed in Manzanares and Navacerrada, Madrid and Talamanca De Jarama, location in which were shot most part these horror movies. Eerie and atmospheric musical score by Angel Arteaga, saga's usual .The motion picture written by Naschy is middling directed by Enrique Eguiluz and regularly played by Jacinto Molina , a slick craftsman and mediocre actor.The flick will appeal to Paul Naschy fans and terror genre enthusiastic. Rating : 4,5 .

The Mark of the Wolfman (1968)

** (out of 4)

Bland but important Spanish horror film is the first to feature Paul Naschy in the Waldemar Daninsky role. In the film, Daninsky (Naschy) is bitten by a werewolf and soon finds himself turning into the creature. With the help of his best friend and girlfriend he's able to locate a German doctor who might be able to help him but Daninsky doesn't realize that the doctor is actually a vampire. THE MARK OF THE WOLFMAN really isn't a very good moment but there's no question that it's an important one considering it started Naschy career as well as kick-started the Spanish horror genre. That alone makes the film worth viewing and there's no question that there are a few memorable moments scattered throughout the picture. The most effective sequence deals with a couple gypsies unlocking a tomb and pulling a stake from a man's heart, which has him come back as a werewolf. This attack sequence is actually quite effective and shot very nicely. There's also some very good atmosphere running throughout the film as it's clear that the low-budget at least allowed for a very good fog machine. Another plus is that the werewolf make-up looks pretty good for the most part, although there's no question that the actual transformation scenes are somewhat laughable. Naschy doesn't give the best performance of his career but I think he's good enough in the role and at least makes you feel sorry for his character. The supporting players are decent at best. There are some major problems with the picture that keeps it from being better. For starters, the pacing is pretty bad throughout the picture. Another issue is that the screenplay pretty much just throws everything into the mix and not all of it sticks. When released in America as FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR the film had an added on sequence trying to attach the events to the Frankenstein legacy but this here was pretty stupid so the Spanish version is the way to go.

This film is absolutely NEVER aired on TV anymore and is nearly impossible to find on video. I remember seeing it several times as a staple on one of the numerous horror movie shows that used to air in NYC years ago (Creature Features, Thriller Theater, etc.) I would love to revisit it.

As a cheapo horror movie buff (and veteran of the "old" Times Square horror/kung fu/blacksploitation double-feature movie houses), I've since learned that like many other European horror movies of the era, the version seen here in America (Frankenstein's Bloody Terror) is a truncated version of the original Spanish print. Stripped down from 93 minutes to just 78 minutes only added confusion to plot points that were vague or contrived to begin with. I'm keen on seeing the original version, but I'm sure the shorter randomly edited version is probably a lot more fun (as is often the case -- see The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula for another example).

The only Naschy werewolf film that I've seen in video release is Fury of the Wolfman, which doesn't hold a candle to this movie in terms of pure kitschy so-bad-it's-good delight.