MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror #20 Blacula 1972 & Scream Blacula Scream 1973

BLACULA 1972

Directed by William Crain and released by American International Pictures (AIP) in 1972, Blacula follows the tragic tale of Mamuwalde (the towering 6’5” figure of thespian William Marshall, a stage actor with a distinguished career in theater, performing in numerous classical stage works, including several Shakespearean plays. Marshall made his Broadway debut in 1944 in Carmen Jones), an African Prince who visits Count Dracula’s ( Charles Macaulay) castle with his beautiful wife Luva (played by Vonetta McGee) to plead for an end to the slave trade in the 18th century afflicting his people, the Abani.

However, the evening’s uneasy meeting quickly turns sour as Dracula scoffs at Mamuwalde’s proposal, baring his metaphorical teeth with a disdainful and haunty attitude toward him and making lewd insinuations about Luva. This confrontation escalates into a physical clash, culminating in Dracula’s transforming Mamuwalde into a vampire and cursing him with the moniker soulfully reimagined from Dracula to Blacula and mocking the prince, christening him, and cursing him with his name.

He condemns him to an eternal existence of bloodlust. Within the framework that is part of the blaxploitation genre, Blacula, on another level, explores themes of racial oppression, identity, and the lasting impact of historical injustices. (I will be talking about this film more extensively in the future.) Dracula imprisons Mamuwalde inside a coffin and leaves Luva to die after she witnesses Dracula feeding on her beloved husband and then entombing her.

Fast forward to 1972, two hundred years later, with a deliciously campy appeal, Blacula introduces us to Bobby McCoy (Ted Harris) and Billy Schaffer (Ricky Metzler), a flamboyant duo of gay interior decorators who embark on a treasure hunt in Transylvania. Their fabulous antiquing outing? To snag the most fabulous gothic relics from the former Castle Dracula at a steal. As they swoon over the macabre decor, the estate’s salesman regales them with spine-tingling tales of the real Count Dracula, but they dismiss his warnings with a flick of their wrists. Back in L.A., amidst their haul of treasures, including Mamuwalde’s coffin, Bobby’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he decides to pry it open, unleashing the undead Blacula. He springs to life, famished for blood, and in a wickedly, kitschy, and humorous scene makes them his first victims, turning Bobby and Billy into his first modern bloodthirsty acolytes.

He becomes enamored with Tina, a woman who resembles Luva, leading to a series of murders as he attempts to reconnect with her. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala), Tina’s sister’s (Denise Nicholas) boyfriend, is a pathologist who works for the Los Angeles Police Department. Gordon investigates the strange deaths and uncovers the truth about Blacula and the vampirism spreading in the city. The film culminates in tragedy as Blacula ultimately loses Tina and chooses to end his own life, succumbing to sunlight after a series of violent confrontations with the police and his kind.

Blacula features a special guest appearance by Elisha Cook Jr. as Sam, the morgue attendant, and Ketty Lester as a very unfortunate and frightening cabbie who plays one hell of a scary member of the undead!

Picture a vampiric version of hide-and-seek gone hilariously wrong, where Ketty Lester’s Juanita jumps out like an overeager bloodsucking jack-in-the-box, turning Sam’s quiet night shift into an unexpectedly terrifying welcome he never saw coming!

SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM 1973

Directed by Bob Kelljan (who also directed Count Yorga, Vampire 1970 and the sequel Return of Count Yorga 1971), this follow-up was produced by American International Pictures (AIP) and released in 1973. Scream Blacula Scream once again features the resurrection of William Marshall as the elegant Prince of Darkness, Pam Grier as Lisa Fortier, Michael Conrad as Lieutenant Harley Dunlop, Janee Michelle as Gloria, and Barbara Rhoades as Elaine.

The sequel picks up with the death of the voodoo priestess Mama Loa, which ignites a power struggle within her cult. Her arrogant son, Willis Daniels, attempts to resurrect Blacula using voodoo to exact revenge on those who overlooked him for leadership in favor of his stepsister, Lisa Fortier. However, upon resurrecting Mamuwalde, Willis finds himself turned into a vampire and enslaved by the very creature he sought to control. As Blacula resumes his killing spree, he becomes infatuated with Lisa, believing she can help lift his curse through voodoo magic. The film escalates as Justin Carter, Lisa’s boyfriend Justin Carter, played by Don Mitchell. Justin is a former police officer and an African art collector who investigates the murders linked to Blacula while trying to save Lisa from his grasp. The climax sees Lisa attempting to exorcise Blacula using a voodoo doll, leading to an ambiguous ending filled with horror and tragedy as their fates intertwine.

#20 down, 130 to go! Your EverLovin’ Joey, formally & affectionately known as MonsterGirl!

What a Character! 11th Annual Blogathon 2023 Elisha Cook Jr. – Like it says in the newspaper I’m a bad boy

It’s the 11th Annual What a Character! Blogathon. Not only is it my favorite gathering of bloggers paying tribute to actors who deserve our recognition, but it also gives me a reason to dive in and binge their films and television appearances. Thank you, Aurora at Once Upon A Screen, Kellee at Outspoken & Freckled, and Paula at Paula’s Cinema Club Â for hosting this year’s wonderful event!

Impish pint-sized, blue-eyed, and baby-faced with aÂ raspy voice, American character actor Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. was born on December 26, either 1903 or 1906 (sources vary) in San Francisco, California.

Cook spent his childhood in Chicago, Illinois, and his first job was selling programs in the theatre lobby. He attended St. Albans College and the Chicago Academy of Dramatic Art, debuting on the stage at age 14, and was an assistant stage manager at age 17. He later traveled with a repertory company as a stage actor, appearing in vaudeville, debuting in the vaudeville act Lightnin.' He worked in stock companies where he got his first big break after Eugene O’Neill cast him in the lead role of his production of Ah, Wilderness on Broadway.

At age 23 Cook debuted on the Broadway stage in 1926 as Joe Bullitt in the musical comedy Hello, Lola. He also appeared as Dick Wilton in Henry Behave 1926, Many a Slip, Hello, Gertie 1926-27, The Kingdom of God 1928-29 – (featuring Ethel Barrymore), and Her Unborn Child 1928Â at the Empire Theatre. In 1963 he returned to the stage as “Giuseppe Givola” in “Arturo Ui” on Broadway, written by Bertolt Brecht from The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. The show featured the music of Jule Styne.

Elisha Cook Jr. then moved to Hollywood where he settled in 1936. He made his film debut revising his stage role as the romantic young lead in the film version of Her Unborn Child 1930 alongside Francis Underwood. "A vividly dramatic all-talker of the Broadway stage hit which rocked the nation with its frankness." After Hollywood spotted the young actor’s fun-sized flair, he would not return to the stage until 1963.

The diminutive actor co-starred in over 220 films and television shows from the 1930s to the 1980s. His film career, including his later television roles, lasted almost 60 years. Cook a flexible actor, played a wide range of characters. ‘Cookie’ as his friends referred to him, was cast in a wide variety of genres starting out in musical comedy, westerns, crime dramas, and most notably film noir and B horror movies.

“Few actors could claim to have played as many memorable roles in as many recognized classics or to have become the answer to so many Hollywood trivia questions,” – Robert Thomas, Jr., in a New York Times obituary.