The Dracula Movies.

[Ralph]

...and there I was thinking it was a PS exclusive....

I loved seeing all those Laurel & Hardy shorts the BBC put on traditionally over Christmas when I were a lad I don't think L&H gets an airing at all on TV these days

[Wayne]

I've only got one, so far - The Music Box, But i'm on the lookout for other faves to fill up a dvds worth.
Trouble is, i don't know what many of them are called, i just remember certain things about them.

[MacNimon]

I'll help you out with some L&H, Wayne...I'll just add it to that package I'm working on!

[Wayne]

Cheers Mac.
There are a few particular ones i'd like to get:
'Towed in a Hole' - The one where they're trying to restore an old boat. I did manage to find this one, but it was crap quality, & colourized.
There's another one, & the only scene i can remember is Ollie being sucked inside & around a network of pipes/tubes. It may have something to do with a saw mill, but i can't remember.
The one where Stan is inside a barrel of water & drinks the whole lot, & becomes barrel shaped. (or something)
'A Chump at Oxford' (with Peter Cushing)
The one with the 'Lonesome Pine' song in it. (might be 'Way Out West'?)
There are probably loads that i'd remember as soon as i see them, but yeah basically any of the talkies. Not interested in the searlier silent ones.

[Logo Polish]

Cheers Mac.
There are a few particular ones i'd like to get:
'Towed in a Hole' - The one where they're trying to restore an old boat. I did manage to find this one, but it was crap quality, & colourized.
There's another one, & the only scene i can remember is Ollie being sucked inside & around a network of pipes/tubes. It may have something to do with a saw mill, but i can't remember.
The one where Stan is inside a barrel of water & drinks the whole lot, & becomes barrel shaped. (or something)
'A Chump at Oxford' (with Peter Cushing)
The one with the 'Lonesome Pine' song in it. (might be 'Way Out West'?)
There are probably loads that i'd remember as soon as i see them, but yeah basically any of the talkies. Not interested in the searlier silent ones.

The pipes/tubes/saw mill film is 'Busy Bodies', and yes, it is indeed 'Way Out West' that has 'Lonesome Pine'. The one with Stan in a barrel is 'Below Zero', which starts with them busking in a snowy street.

There's a fairly comprehensive guide to the films here, where you can get more information about each film by clicking on the title.

I think the 21 disc 'Laurel and Hardy - The Collection' DVD box set might still be available, at a cheaper price than originally. As far as I know, it's got all the films they made at Hal Roach studios included, meaning everything up to 'Saps at Sea' (the talkies also have colour versions, but only as extras, the original black and white ones are all there). I realise you might not necessarily be interested in that release, but thought it worth referring to.

[SiHart]

The Music Box was always my favourite. There's some truly fantastic slapstick/ visual comedy in that one. I haven't seen it for years, but I remember it very well.

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

Yes, Abbott & Costello were fun, but they're no Laurel & Hardy.

I really like Abbott & Costello but I love Laurel & Hardy!!

I must start to look out for them on DVD to replace a couple of VHS I have in the loft.

[Wayne]

Thanks for all that info Logo.

I think the 21 disc 'Laurel and Hardy - The Collection' DVD box set might still be available, at a cheaper price than originally. As far as I know, it's got all the films they made at Hal Roach studios included, meaning everything up to 'Saps at Sea' (the talkies also have colour versions, but only as extras, the original black and white ones are all there). I realise you might not necessarily be interested in that release, but thought it worth referring to.

Yes, i've been eyeing up that 21 disc set. It's only £35.00 on Play & Amazon, which is indeed a bargain. If it's still there at that price in a couple of months, i may indeed go for it. But lately things have been tight, & i'm saving my pennies for imminent releases that i'm really looking forward to, like the aforementioned 'Mystery & Imagination' box set, & 'The Deadly Assassin'.

[MacNimon]

Cheers Mac.
There are a few particular ones i'd like to get:
'Towed in a Hole' - The one where they're trying to restore an old boat. I did manage to find this one, but it was crap quality, & colourized.
There's another one, & the only scene i can remember is Ollie being sucked inside & around a network of pipes/tubes. It may have something to do with a saw mill, but i can't remember.
The one where Stan is inside a barrel of water & drinks the whole lot, & becomes barrel shaped. (or something)
'A Chump at Oxford' (with Peter Cushing)
The one with the 'Lonesome Pine' song in it. (might be 'Way Out West'?)
There are probably loads that i'd remember as soon as i see them, but yeah basically any of the talkies. Not interested in the searlier silent ones.

I don't have Chumps At Oxford or Way Out West, but Towed In The Hole & Busy Bodies will be heading your way soon, with a few others.

[Wayne]

Brilliant thanks Kenny! Much appreciated.

[Wayne]

Just to keep things on topic....

I've had this (sort of) Dracula film on my 'to watch' list for quite a long time, & tonight i finally got around to watching it.

Blood of Dracula (1957)



Well i read that this was a 'Teenage Werewolf' type film, which didn't exactly fuel a lot of anticipation of my first viewing of this film.
I found the premise a bit odd for a start. A chemistry teacher has an amulet from the Carpathians, & uses it to release dark forces from within one of her students, Nancy. Quite how this physically turns Nancy into a vampire is unclear. Unlike most vampire tales, there's no physical connection, ie: no-one bites her neck or anything, She just gets angry, & turns into a vampire instead of a female Hulk.
The film just plods along, & nothing of great import seems to happen until about 45mins in, when a fellow student is confronted by a hissing, snarling, & offscreen at this point, Nancy. A clue to the production values in this film, is the fact that offscreen attack is actually more effective than the ones that come a short time later we actually get to see Nancy as a 'vampire'.
I mentioned recently that i'm generally pretty good with suspending my disbelief, but in the face of such a frankly bizarre & comic looking version of a vampire, i found myself unable to really take to this film after being kept waiting so long, only to be confronted by something that even the production team of 60's Dr Who would've binned.
Sadly, the acting is largely ineffectual. To be fair, Louise Lewis as Miss Branding is pretty good, But the youngsters all come across rather unrealistic, even allowing for it being the 50's.
The shame for me is that the film fails to drum up much (if any) real atmosphere, & it certainly makes me look even more favourably on previous films like 'Return of the Vampire'.
The use of the name Dracula in the title is merely a con to make it sound better, but i suspect it won't be the last film to employ such means. Let's face it, even Hammer did it a couple of times.
So all in all, i have no reservations in saying that this was the worst, or the least enjoyable film on this thread so far, for me. I'll give it 2/10


The Return of Dracula (1958)



Another first viewing here for me, & certainly an improvement of the previous film. (Although it wouldn't take much!)
In this film the infamous vampire leaves his native land, killing an artist called Bellac Gordal in the process, & tips up in small town America using his victim's identity Bellac Gordal, cousin to the Mayberry family. The film has a much more familiar approach, in the way Bellac victimises the family from within, & has plenty of classic Dracula hallmarks, both in the way the story develops, & in the way that the character behaves.
Czech born actor Francis Lederer doesn't quite have the classic Dracula look, in the sense that you feel you could walk past him in the street & not notice him, but despite the 50's suit, quiff, & brillcream, Lederer puts in a pretty good turn, & his (presumably?) natural accent works for him in the same way that Lugosi's did.
The aversion to mirrors is highlighted quite early on in the film, & this is the first time we get a hint of who Bellac really is, when he flares up at Rachel when she tries to replace the mirror, before catching himself & reverting back to the smooth talking, manipulative Bellac. Shortly after, he's shown emerging from his coffin in a nearby cave, complete with dry ice & oddly slowed down film making for quite an effective scene.
That night, Bellac/Dracula makes a victim of blind friend of the family Jenny. The build up to this is nicely done. Jenny is full of a foreboding that she can't explain, & when Rachel leaves, it seems that a sixth sense is making her feel uneasy too. Then we see the familiar mist creeping through the slightly open window, & from this the Count materializes. All this is very atmospheric, & there's a further nice touch when Dracula induces the blind girl to open her eyes & actually see him, before the camera fades as he moves in to feast..... Next morning the hysterical Jenny tries in vain to warn the family of the threat, but drops dead in front of the family members & the Reverend Dr Whitfield seemingly more out of fear than anything else. It's all pretty good so far!
As the film progresses we learn that there's an official from Europe called Meiermann on the trail of the Count, who has soon enough turned his attention towards Rachel herself. But meanwhile, Meiermann has convinced the preist of Bellac's true form......
The film motors along quite nicely & i didn't experience any of the boredom i got from 'Blood of Dracula'. There are number of atmospheric little scenes sprinkled throughout the film that keep up the interest, & the pace never feels slow.
The staking of Jenny is most odd though, because suddenly in the midst of this black & white film, theres a flash of colour footage quite obviously cut in from another source entirely, as the bright red Hammer-esque looking blood spurts up from underneath the stake!! What's that all about?
Anyway, the final scene isn't bad. Rachel, with the help of her boyfriend & the aid of a cross manages to resist Dracula, & he falls into a cavern & stakes himself. Not the best finale ever, but it works ok.
All in all, i enjoyed this more than i expected. It's no classic for sure, but i found it a good effort overall. Lederer doesn't have the prescence of Lee, or even Lugosi for that matter, but it's more about the way he looks than about his performance i think. Sometimes he was a little flat, & came across more mafia than vampire, but i've seen a lot worse. Especially when you think back to John Carradine.
I feel i've perhaps bigged it up slightly too much for the score i'm going to give it, but i think some of that is through sheer relief that it didn't turn out to be another 'Blood of Dracula'. :
Comparing it to the Hammer era for instance, i think 6.5/10 is a fair score for this film.