Vampire Films of the 1970s

The 1970s were turbulent times and the films made then reflected the fact. Vampire movies—always a cinema staple—were no exception. Spurred by the worldwide success of Hammer Film’s Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969), vampire movies filled theaters for the next ten years—from the truly awful to bonafide classics. Audiences took the good with the bad and came back for more. Providing a critical review of the genre’s overlooked Golden Age, this book explores a mixed bag from around the world, including The Vampire Lovers (1970), Dracula Versus Frankenstein (1971), Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973), ’Salem’s Lot (1975), Dracula Sucks (1978) and Love at First Bite (1979) and many others.

Gary A. Smith is the author of six other books dealing with various aspects of motion picture history. His subjects have ranged from epic films such as Ben-Hur to the Beach Party movies starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. A lifelong film fan, he lives in Palm Springs, California.

Gary A. Smith
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 240
Bibliographic Info: 67 photos, appendix, filmography, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9779-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2559-1
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
The Rules About Vampires 9
1. Hammer, Dracula and Christopher Lee 11
2. Hammer’s Other Vampires 20
3. Other British Vampires 29
4. American International 35
5. I Am Legend 50
6. Carmilla Karnstein 53
7. Elisabeth Bathory 63
8. Deadlier Than the Male 70
9. Asian Vampires 82
10. Santo and South of the Border Vampires 89
11. Zut Alors! The French Vampires of Jean Rollin 95
12. Vampires Italian Style 102
13. 1Viva España! 107
14. Jess Franco 124
15. The Bottom of the Barrel with Al and Andy 130
16. Vampire Comedies 139
17. Vampire Porn 151
18. Vampire Oddities 156
19. Dan Curtis: Dark Shadows and Other Vampires 177
20. More Television Vampires 184
21. Full Circle 190
Appendix: Vampires in Print 199
Filmography 203
Bibliography 225
Index 227

• “excellent research…well-written, entertaining”—Hellbound
• “an eminently readable survey of a lot of really cool films…this is a lot of fun.”—Little Shoppe of Horrors
• “Smith has obviously spent a great deal of time watching and researching each film covered. This book is a winner. 5 out of 5 stars, two thumbs up, etc.”—Killer Reviews
• “thorough and entertaining”—Plan 9 Crunch
• “worth sinking your teeth into”—Flick Attack
• “worth sinking your teeth into”—Bookgasm