A Quick Look: DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN (1971 - color)

   Al Adamson's DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN was from Independent International, a company specializing in turning nearly unwatchable dreck into drive-in standards. In a very muddled plot, mad scientist Frankenstein, in between his blood experiments, is trying to revive the family monster when Dracula joins forces with him to entrap Regina Carroll. Eventually, Dracula takes command of the monster until things turn sour and the two creatures duke it out. Mess that it is, I actually found it fairly enjoyable B movie shenanigans, though it suffers from the studio's method of production. It began life as a mad scientist picture, in which Regina Carroll was nearly victim of some bizarre blood experiments being conducted underneath a pier carnival. Then Dracula and the monster were added, and the generic mad scientist became another Frankenstein. This version had a more satisfactory ending than the one eventually used, but audiences demanded to see the monsters fight as the title implied (this the audience complained about, not the numerous technical faults). A new ending was cobbled together in which the vampire and the monster go at it. Regina Carroll was the only non-monster cast member who was still available for the reshoot, so her romantic interest had to be vaporized by Dracula! Whatever it's faults, which are plenty, the film boasts a truly amazing cast. Anthony Eisley is the lead, joined by such familiar faces as Russ Tamblyn, Jim Davis, Angelo Rossitto, Lon Chaney (in his final film), and J. Carrol Naish as the latest Frankenstein. Oh, and Forry Ackerman has one of his showier bit parts, which was described in full detail in his Famous Monsters magazine! Goofy, threadbare drive-in schlock became a huge hit, proving Adamson and his partner Sam Sherman really knew what they were doing (even if there's no screen evidence of that). Confusing things a bit, the same title was used for two other films released around the same time, in one case, as the TV title for ASSIGNMENT: TERROR. DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN was released on double bill with HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, a movie that's such a mess as to make our current subject look like a masterpiece!