''Blood for Dracula'' is a 1974 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey and starring

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, Kier has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He h ...

Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. Having also crossed over into mainstream roles such as mobster Lucky Luciano in the film '' The Cotton Club'', Dallesandro was a sex symbol of g ...

, Maxime McKendry, Stefania Casini, Arno Juerging, and

Vittorio de Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

. Upon its initial 1974 release in West Germany and the United States, ''Blood for Dracula'' was released as ''Andy Warhol's Dracula''. The film involves

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

arriving in Italy to feast upon the blood of virgins, only to find difficulty with this due to the lack of virgins present in Italy. Filming began shortly after the completion of ''

Flesh for Frankenstein ''Flesh for Frankenstein'' is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It stars Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at Cinecittà in Rome by a crew of Italian filmmakers. In ...

''. Italian director

Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in th ...

is credited in Italian prints of the film despite not directing it. This misattribution led both producer

Carlo Ponti Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr. (11 December 1912 – 9 January 2007) was an Italian film producer with more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cinema ...

and Margheriti to be put on trial for "continued and aggravated fraud against the state" by attempting to gain benefits by law for Italian films. According to the American Film Institute, the film opened to mixed reviews.

Plot

In the early 1920s, a sickly and dying

, who must drink virgin blood to survive, travels from

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

to pre- Fascist Italy, following his servant Anton's plan and thinking he will be more likely to find a virgin in a Catholic country. At the same time, all of Dracula's family has vanished because of two reasons: the lack of virgins in their hometown and how the family's reputation prevents any normal family from choosing to bring women to Dracula's castle. Shortly after arriving in Italy, Dracula befriends Il Marchese di Fiore (de Sica), an impecunious Italian landowner who, with a lavish estate falling into decline, is willing to marry off one of his four daughters to the wealthy aristocrat. Of di Fiore's four daughters, Saphiria and Rubinia regularly enjoy the sexual services of Mario, the estate's handyman, a proud peasant and staunch Marxist who believes that the

socialist revolution Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...

will happen soon in his country. Esmeralda and Perla (eldest and youngest, respectively) are virgins; Esmeralda thought too plain and past her prime for marriage and Perla only 14 years old (portrayed by 23-year-old Dionisio). Dracula obtains assurances that all the daughters are virgins and drinks the blood of the two who are considered marriageable. However, their "tainted" blood reveals to him the truth and makes him even weaker. Nevertheless, he is able to turn the two girls into his telepathic slaves. Soon after the Marchese di Fiore travels out of Italy to pay his great debts, Mario discovers that Dracula is a vampire and what he has done to the di Fiore sisters. When he realizes the danger Dracula poses to Perla, the youngest, he uses the excuse of protecting her to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

her. Mario then warns di Fiore's wife, La Marchesa di Fiore, about Dracula's plan. Meanwhile, Dracula has drunk the blood of Esmeralda, turning her into a vampire and regaining strength. La Marchesa confronts, and is stabbed by, Anton, whom she shoots and kills before dying. Mario dismembers Dracula with an axe, killing him and Esmeralda with a stake, and becomes the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

master and manager of the estate.

Cast

as Mario Balato, the worker * Arno Juerging as Anton, Dracula's manservant *

as Il Marchese di Fiore * Maxime McKendry as La Marchesa di Fiore * Milena Vukotic as Esmeralda * Dominique Darel as Saphiria * Stefania Casini as Rubinia * Silvia Dionisio as Perla * Roman Polański (uncredited) as man in tavern

Production

Stefania Casini and Joe Dallesandro (1974)

In 1973, Paul Morrissey and

came to Italy to shoot a film for producers Andrew Braunsberg and

. The original idea came from director

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

who had met Morrissey when promoting his film '' What?'' with Morrissey stating that Polanski felt he would be "a natural person to make a 3-D film about Frankenstein. I thought it was the most absurd option I could imagine." Morrissey convinced Ponti to not just make one film during this period, but two which led to the production of both ''

'' and ''Blood for Dracula''. One day after the principal shooting for ''

'' was completed, Morrissey had

, Dallesandro and Arno Juerging to get shorter hair cuts, as filming for ''Blood for Dracula'' began immediately. The film featured other directors in the cast, including

Vittorio De Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

, who wrote his own lines on the set.

also made a cameo in a tavern scene. Despite other sources' claims, Polanski was not shooting '' What?'' at the time in Italy, as that film had already been released in Italy by the time the film ''Blood for Dracula'' went into production. On its release, the film was promoted with

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

's name. When asked about how he contributed to the film, Warhol responded that "I go to the parties," following up that "All of us at

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...

contribute ideas." Italian credits of the film give different credits, including stating

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors in the world. Life and work Guerra was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. Acco ...

wrote the screenplay and story, and Franca Silvi edited the film as opposed to Jed Johnson.

is credited as the director in the Italian prints, which he later claimed was not true, but that he did direct scenes with Silvia Dionisio and

. Udo Kier has stated that other cast members and himself only received direction from Morrissey and that he never saw Margheriti on the set. Margheriti credit was due to

having an Italian credited in order to obtain benefits by law for Italian films. Ponti and Margheriti were both put on trial later "continued and aggravated fraud against the state".

Release

''Blood for Dracula'' was first released as ''Andy Warhol's Dracula'' in both West Germany on 1 March 1974 and the United States on 6 November 1974. A 98-minute version was released theatrically by Euro International Films in Italy on 14 August 1975 as ''Dracula cerca sangue di vergine e...morì di sete!!!'' (). In Italy, the film grossed a total of 345,023,314

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

. In the United Kingdom, the film passed with cuts to 103 minutes, avoiding being labeled as a

video nasty Video nasty is a colloquial term popularised by the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA) in the United Kingdom to refer to a number of films, typically low-budget horror or exploitation films, distributed on video cassette that ...

(However, the film was included on a tertiary list of titles that could potentially be subject to seizure by police in England. It was therefore not submitted for video certification by the BBFC until 1995, which was granted, with approx. 4 minutes of cuts. An uncut version was not released in the UK until 2006). Louis Periano, who distributed the film in the United States, later tried to cash in the success of

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

' film ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor ...

'' and re-released the film as a 94-minute R-rated ''Young Dracula'' in 1976 (as opposed to the original X-rated version).

Reception

According to the American Film Institute, the film opened to mixed reviews. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' lauded the production design by Enrico Job and Luigi Kuveiller's photography. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' review described the film as "aesthetically pleasing" and "pretty funny up until that Grand Guignol finale" but felt that Morrissey had too much talent for "such sickening junk."

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * *
''Blood for Dracula''
an essay by Maurice Yacowar at the Criterion Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood For Dracula Dracula films 1974 films 1974 horror films Italian horror films Italian LGBT-related films Italian vampire films French horror films French LGBT-related films French vampire films English-language French films English-language Italian films Films directed by Paul Morrissey Films set in Italy Films set in Rome Films set in the 1920s Films shot in Serbia Incest in film Italian independent films LGBT-related horror films French independent films Films set in Serbia 1974 LGBT-related films Censored films Films set in castles 1970s English-language films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films