I received a call from my ornery grandson, Big Abner, the other day, and I could tell right off he was up to something.
“Granny,” he said, “I just watched two movies and they really sucked!”
My mind raced, going over all the low-budget, Z-movies I could think of.
“Which ones?” I asked, taking the bait.
“Brides of Dracula and Kiss of the Vampire!” he said with a big laugh. “Get it? Do you get it?”
“Yes, Abner, I get it, you big goof. Was there anything about them you liked?”
“Yep, two things,” he responded. “Beautiful women and beautiful vampire women.”
I sighed and told him to get back to work.
After he hung up I began to think about what he said, and there was some truth to it. Hammer Films ushered in a new retelling of the old Universal classics with The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) and Horror of Dracula (1958), both color productions that featured lots of blood and graphic stake-driving scenes not pictured in the old versions. And each was complete with ghastly monsters and…beautiful women, often in bosom-baring low-cut dresses as befitted the time period in which the movie was set. They were hits and Hammer Studios began a series of movies on the Frankenstein and Dracula legends.
Brides of Dracula (1960) was the second of their vampire films, following on the success of Horror of Dracula. Peter Cushing returned as Van Helsing, this time doing battle with a Baron Meinster, one of Dracula’s victims held captive in his own ancestral home. His mother graciously supplied him with various delights to satisfy his appetites. Van Helsing was called by the village priest to investigate the death of a young village woman. On his way, he finds a beautiful teacher passed out in the woods. She was on her way to accepting a job at a girls’ school when she met the mysterious Baroness Meinster and her imprisoned son. Before escaping their castle, she helped set the son free and unleashed a terror upon the countryside, not knowing that he was a vampire. Van Helsing gets involved and proves the victor in the battle between good and evil. He destroys the vampire, even after having been bitten by him. Cauterizing the wound with a hot iron and healing it with holy water keeps him from joining the ranks of the undead.
Kiss of the Vampire (1963) was their third venture into the supernatural, this time without Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing. The movie stars Clifford Evans as the vampire hunter Professor Zimmer, and features Hammer’s first vampire movie that mixes a heavy occult theme into the story that involves a vampire cult that seduces new victims. Of course there is a head vampire leader but he isn’t Count Dracula: he’s Dr. Ravna, portrayed by Noel Willman. The climax is horrifying as hundreds of vampire bats, summoned by Evan’s ancient ritual, attack the vampires, killing them and putting an end to their evil reign. The costumes, settings and mood were all excellent.
Many more movies were to follow, and Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were to become synonymous with Hammer horror and all things vampiric and monster-making. Hammer Films also continued their trademarks of magnificent sets, blood and gore, and beautiful women, both alive and undead.
The radio spots presented here are atmospheric, and capture the thrills in store for the theatergoer. They are really something you can sink your teeth into…hee hee. (Big Abner has nothing on me!) Enjoy!
Kiss of the Vampire
Brides of Dracula
Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Granny at [email protected].