Hammer Dracula Radio Spots

Welcome, all lovers of the movies that drain you! Welcome to my Radio Spot Reliquary.

Many thanks go out to my friend, the ever-vivacious Granny Creech, for filling in for me and doing the spots for Dracula Has Risen From the Grave. I was busy elsewhere and just couldn’t fit it in to meet Ol’ Zombos’ schedule. He’s a real stickler about things like that, and I knew I’d be in big trouble with the old guy if I were late, so Granny saved my skin, what little there is left of it.

Anyway, in keeping with my original plan, here are spots for two more Hammer vampire treasures, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Dracula A.D. 1972.

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) was the third entry into Hammer’s Dracula saga, and once again starred Christopher Lee as the count. Peter Cushing was just featured in a flashback prelude. Dracula A.D. 1972 was quite a departure from the Gothic setting of most of Hammer’s vampire movies, instead moving the action to 1972 in an attempt to appeal to “modern” audiences. The setting, music and fashion of the day clashed with the sensibilities of fans of the series as so much of the tradition was gone, except for the presence of Christopher Lee as the count and Peter Cushing, this time playing Van Helsing’s grandson, Lorrimer. The trappings were the same but they just seemed a little out of place.

Surprisingly, these features were both part of double feature presentations, and the spots reflect that. Dracula: Prince of Darkness was featured with a movie called The Plague of the Zombies, and Dracula A.D. 1972 was paired with Crescendo. Each set of spots is unique…the first highlights the film giveaways over movie substance (Dracula plastic fangs and zombie cardboard eyeglasses), and the second set of spots plays up the occult side and the 70s vibe. Also featured with the second set are two spots alerting the audience that they will be inducted into the Count Dracula Society and given a membership card upon entering the theater. Indeed, a special filmed prelude to the movie, featuring Barry Atwater as vampire Janos Skorzeny from The Night Stalker movie, swears in the audience into the society. Interesting.