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A Movie A Day: COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970) Ridiculous, right? The age of atomic weapons and we have to use sticks!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the newest October special horror run of A Movie A Day!
[For the entirety of October I will be showcasing one horror film each day. Every film is pulled from my DVD shelf, recorded on the home DVR or streamed via Instant Netflix and will be one I haven’t seen. Unlike my usual A Movie A Day or A Movie A Week columns there won’t necessarily be connectors between each film, but you’ll more than likely see patterns emerge day to day. At the end of each standard AMAD I’m going to include a recommendation of a genre film that is either one of my personal favorites or too good of a double feature with the AMAD title to pass up a mention.]
I went into this movie knowing of the rabid fanbase it has developed over the last four decades. It’s not a large fanbase, but a very loving fanbase. And I can see why. Had I seen this movie at the age of 10 or younger it would have scared the shit out of me.
There are lines crossed in this movie that you don’t expect. I think it was about the time one of Yorga’s brides was found ripping the back out of a kitten and eating it like a feral animal that I really started getting behind this movie.
Sure, it’s cheap, sure there are some iffy filmmaking choices (there’s a scene in a van that takes place at night and is lit about 4 different ways over the course of maybe 5 minutes… from moody nighttime (which it’s supposed to be) to bright, afternoon California sunshine and back again. There’s some horrendous “must have been sleeping with the producer” acting, yeah. That’s all true, but what really makes the movie work is Robert Quarry as the titular Count Yorga.
The setting is Los Angeles during that brief overlap between the ‘60s and the ‘70s where you can see a bit of each decade represented, so it could have come off as ridiculous if not for Quarry. I mean, the movie as a whole does come off a bit silly, but Quarry is always in it to win it.
His Count persona is what you’d expect… dryly charismatic, but it’s what he’s like when he drops that distinguished face and shows the monster he is that really makes this movie work. He’s a mean, taunting dickhead of a vampire and I loved seeing Quarry relish playing that.
It also helps that they give him a Van Helsing (in the form Roger Perry as Dr. Hayes) that cuts through all the bullshit. There’s no reel of the disbelieving doctor slowing the story down. From the moment Dr. Hayes sees the marks on the neck of a Judy Lang, brought in for loss of blood, he pretty much flat out says, “Yep. Vampire.”
No pussyfooting around for Dr. Hayes. And he’s not a thick-necked hero either, but Perry is someone you could actually buy as a doctor. It helps that he’s kinda making it all up as he goes along and scared to death. He’s also a smart guy and tries to match wits with Quarry as he probes to test his theory in keeping the good English-accented Bavarian Count up with conversation until sunrise.
In the finale, a rescue/assassination attempt, the gloves come off and Quarry gets to play the part for all it is worth.
Also, this movie will be like travelogue porn for people living in and in love with the city of Los Angeles. There’s a scene that is just a conversation between two characters as they walk around random parts of 1969/1970 LA that I’m sure puts a smile on the faces of Angelinos.
Did I love, love, love the movie? I wouldn’t say that, but I definitely enjoyed, enjoyed, enjoyed the hell out of it. I might have seen it a bit late in life to become one of the foaming-at-the-mouth converted for it, but even saying that the cynical asshole in me could still look past the obvious flaws of the low budget and limited resources and see the goodness underneath.
Final Thoughts: Quarry, Perry and great character actor Michael Murphy (The Mayor in Batman Returns, a detective in the great underrated Robert Altman gem BREWSTER MCCLOUD, etc) all elevate what could have been a forgettable vampire in the modern age laugh-fest and make it into something that is cheesy, but can still get under your skin.
I’m gonna cheat a little bit here since the perfect double-bill for Count Yorga, Vampire is either it’s sequel (The Return of Count Yorga) which I haven’t seen and can’t comment on or a Hammer film with a similar “Vampire in Modern Times” plot which I covered in my original AMAD run.
So, below you’re going to see a repaste of my review of Christopher Lee in Dracula AD 1972.
Today we have DRACULA A.D. 1972, an attempt by Hammer to move the Count to a modern setting. Of course modern now meaning early ‘70s London, which is just as foreign to me as a viewer as 1800s Romania.
I think that’s why the movie worked so well for me, actually. Sure, it’s cheesy. The dying hippie age is presented full force with an opening party sequence with folk rock band Stoneground, giant afros and massive joints.
But it’s not played for laughs. If someone remade this movie today, it’d be a horror comedy set in the cah-ray-zee ‘70s, tongue-in-cheek like DICK or AUSTIN POWERS. But you really can tell that the filmmakers were just capturing that particular time and place when updating the tale, so it’s easier to jump into the story.
Of course all that is helped by wonderfully note-perfect performances from Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing’s grandson who has kept up his family’s research into the occult.
Cushing isn’t showy, which is why I think he’s criminally overlooked as an actor. There’s a scene in this film which isn’t really a blip on the radar, but is a perfect example of how great Cushing is.
Van Helsing is speaking with an open-minded Scotland Yard detective investigating the bodies that pop up after Dracula is resurrected. He’s convinced this detective that it is the work of vampirism, not a cult murder “like in America,” but obviously this guy can’t really take that story to his bosses, so they’re at an impasse.
We get the typical “I hope you’re wrong,” scene and Cushing’s dialogue is the cliché “I wish I was, inspector. I wish to God I was.” A thousand different actors could read that line and come up as cliché as the writing, but not Cushing.
When he delivers this line he sells it. Part of it is his inflection, a subtle pause. When he says it he’s nakedly sincere. Part of it is his body language, the look in his eyes. He looks tired. It’s mini-masterpiece of a performance, but in a small scene in a Hammer exploitation picture.
The point is that Hammer represented a certain level of quality. No matter how outrageous or low budget the picture, their regulars were real actors who always treated their work with the utmost professionalism, not treating it as a “horror picture.” We don’t have that today. People in exploitation know they’re in an exploitation picture and act accordingly, which almost keeps the audience at arm’s length.
I think that’s why I liked DEATH PROOF over PLANET TERROR. Both were good fun, but Kurt Russell didn’t know he was in an exploitation film and the entire cast of Planet Terror definitely did, know what I mean?
Anyway, there’s no escaping a certain kitsch factor, but the way it’s presented allowed me to buy into the world and very much enjoy the movie as a movie, not as a joke.
Outside of the two lead performances, director Alan Gibson cast some really interesting people. The two stand-outs are Christopher Neame as Dracula disciple Johnny Alucard and the screen-meltingly hot Caroline Munro. You’ll probably remember Neame from LICENSE TO KILL or as the Commander from SUBURBAN COMMANDO (video game nerds might remember him from the cutscenes of JEDI KNIGHT – DARK FORCES II) and Munro from MANIAC, STARCRASH, DR. PHIBES or THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD.
Munro is just a goddess and has a relatively small part in the film, but smokes up the screen every second she’s on. Neame is a larger role, taking the Dracula apprentice role that would become a staple in ‘80s films like FRIGHT NIGHT. He’s so desperate for the power… no longer can henchmen be silent simple-minded hulks, but charming and/or insane power-hungry men.
Neame plays the role with that charm and inanity combination and really is freaky. He leads a Black Mass that resurrects the Count and it is very effective. It really is a creepy scene thanks largely to Neame’s barely checked lunacy.
The finale is also a great one. Christopher Lee attacks in all his red-eyed wonder while Peter Cushing does his best. Remember this isn’t the Van Helsing we know, but his grandson who has never seen evil firsthand. It’s an interesting dynamic and it makes for a thrilling and intense final fight.
Final Thoughts: I was really drawn into this movie. The direction is alive, but not showy. The camera moves constantly, so it’s not a stagey picture. Combine that with great performances again by Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, smoking hot leading ladies Munro and Stephanie Beacham and genuine suspense and you have a movie that should have been a joke, but is actually a very successful attempt to shake up the genre.
Here are the final run of Halloween AMAD titles:
Tuesday, October 27th: THE SADIST (1963)
Wednesday, October 28th: CHRISTMAS EVIL (1980)
Thursday, October 29th: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? (1969)
Friday, October 30th: WHO SAW HER DIE? (1972)
Saturday, October 31st: CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962)
I’m about to throw on The Sadist and will have that review out to you shortly! See you then!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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AMAD Halloween Spectacular 2009:
October 1st: Nothing But The Night (& The Wicker Man)
October 2nd: Beware! Children At Play (& The Devil Times Five)
October 3rd: Cameron’s Closet (& Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood)
October 4th: Afraid of the Dark (& The Lady In White)
October 5th: The Pit (& The Gate)
October 6th: Brain Damage (& Basket Case)
October 7th: Brain Dead (& Braindead, aka Dead Alive)
October 8th: Visiting Hours (& Dressed To Kill)
October 9th: Macabre (& The Beyond)
October 10th: Private Parts (& Eating Raoul)
October 11th: Road Games (& Duel)
October 12th: Dead End Drive-In (& Repo Man)
October 13th: Psychic Killer (& Alone In The Dark)
October 14th: The Body Snatcher (& Son of Frankenstein)
October 15th: The Leopard Man (& The Ghost and The Darkness)
October 16th: Wolfen (& Cujo)
October 17th: Madhouse (& Happy Birthday To Me)
October 18th: The House With The Laughing Windows (& Deep Red)
October 19th: The Spiral Staircase (& Eyes of a Stranger)
October 20th: Demon Seed (& Inside)
October 21st: Stagefright (& Phantom of the Paradise)
October 22nd: Dead of Night (’77) (& Twilight Zone: The Movie)
October 23rd: The Serpent’s Egg (& Don’t Look Now)
October 24th: The Swarm (& The Birds)
October 25th: The Flesh and the Fiends (& Prince of Darkness)
Click here for the full 215 movie run of A Movie A Day!
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Oct 28, 2009 12:22:21 AM CDT
I had to take my Dracula 73 into the shop the other day...
by the_crimson_king
fucking thing is also a blood guzzler!
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Christmas Evil sounds promising... lol
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One of my favorite Holmes in Hound of the Baskervilles. "That there is more evil around us here than I have ever encountered before." Holmes fans should really check it out for the way it changes and actually streamlines the story while at the same time ads its own odd touches. Some of his best performances come in the Frankenstein movies - mainly Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein. I also love him in Brides of Dracula and some of the others. As noted earlier - he's great in The Flesh and the Fiends as well.
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Count Yorga, Count Dracula, Count Orlock, Count Regula, Count Blackula, Count Brogia, Count Borgia, Count Karstein, Count uh.. Chocula
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Repeated word with typo, that or the count who's related to EVERYONE.
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Are you not gonna review that Quint? That sucks it was a pretty interesting entry in the killer doll genre.
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One...one Count.Two...two Counts. Ah ha ha ha ha.Three...(etc)
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As a huge fan of the Hammer Dracula flicks, that one was just a bad idea IMO. Movie it to the 70s just smelled of desperation and of cheapness (lot easier to shoot in present locals than trying to make everything Victorian Europe). And it led to that horrible "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" where Drac is basically Howard Hughes/Blofeld.
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Sure sign that it is time to hit the sack and sleep off this beer.
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Excellent, i would not have known that if i did not own the Nintendo game for it.
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Munro really only plays a photograph in Phibes. Captain Kronos and The Spy Who Loved Me are much more higher-profile movies... and Kronos would have made a good double-bill here as well.
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Iorga/Yorga was intended as a soft core porn/horror flick. That's why some female supporting players weren't chosen for their acting skills.
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Though Roger Perry reminded me of Prime minister Stephen Harper (I think it was the hair).
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Oct 28, 2009 6:20:54 AM CDT
Caroline Munro is the hottest woman Britain has ever produced.
by mr nicholas
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I still remember that scene with the lady eating the cat. Scared the absolute crap out of me. Led to my lifelong avoidance of slasher movies.
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You fell line hook and sinker to the Jar Jar Abrams's Skank trek bullshit and bought it wholesome. Only a naive person would. You are still pretty naive person, my friend. Don't think yourself as a cynic, you are not there yet, and there's still a lot of mileage for you to get there.
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whips most other including tarantino carpenter and especially the twilight dope who looks like he is a pants shitter big time. most pics of him look like he is unloading when it was snapped.
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...saw it at the drive-in myself way way back, as a rather tiny tot. And yeah, the scene with the cat was terrifying. But worst for me (at eight) was the end. The most hackneyed trick in the horror film arsenal, but it was the first time through for me. Count Yorga will always have a special place, in my heart and on my DVD shelf.
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...and it did scare me. The sequel's pretty good too, though kind of played for laughs. I loved vampire flicks of this type, the aformentioned, Blacula, Salem's lot, Fright Night. I loved the Hammer early Dracula flicks, but get a kick out of the vampire in the modern world. I even like the detectives trying to make sense out of the unreal. And I like it when they take it seriously, not make a joke out of if. And you don't need a lot of special effects, just some fangs and a lote of blood. I hate those ridiculous looking mutant vam[ires like From Dusk til Dawn. Oh, and another good one from this era, The Night Stalker, of course!
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was the follow up to Dracula 73
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Gawd that thing is a hoot and sooooo entertaining. Not exactly Hammer at its best but its a lot of fun - partly for the '70s kitsch and partly for the great duo of Lee and Cushing. Lee is such a presence, even when his Dracula isn't particularly well-written (as it frequently wasn't in the Hammer catalogue), but Cushing ... wow! Always intense, always believable even in the most unbelievable situations, and astonishingly spry for a man who gives the appearance of fragility. Like Gleason, Cushing was always unexpectedly physical, light on his feet, graceful, and athletic. I wish those guys could have made movies together forever.
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Good lord that movie scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. You forgot to mention when Yorga's sidekick 'Bruno' snaps that guys back...the couple in the stationwagon making out, when they roll back their homemade blinds to see Yorga looking back at them. COUNT YORGA RETURNS is great as well, maybeye even better, buts its been a decade or two since I've seen it. See em if ya get a chance.
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is on this cable channel tonight.
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but I always call Count Yorga Count Yogurt, always.
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Stars David Niven as Drac. Has a great opening sequence with a crossbow. It goes for the laughs and is super-campy.-----later----m
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My big sister snuck me into a drive-in that was showing this movie. I was like 6 years old. Even then I knew crap when I saw it. (spoiler) The good guy was a poor schmuck who got killed by the girl he went through hell to save, because - dun dun DUN!!!! - she'd become a vampire, unbeknownst to him. I hated that, and I hate Yorga, and the only good vampire is Dracula as played by Bela Legosi. He is the Darth Vader of vampires. Nobody else comes close. Screw "Twilight" and its sparkly pretty boys. Bela kicked butt. Blah blah!!!!
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The '72 Kolchak Night Stalker movie would have also made a good double with Yorga. It really hits the "what if a vampire were alive today" aspect that Dracula '72 was aiming for. In fact, Quarry was supposedly approached to play the vampire in Night Stalker (so sayeth IMDB, at any rate).
Cushing is often an underrated "physical" Van Helsing. Watch him in Brides of Dracula where he's in full-fledged action hero mode. He almost manages to hold his own with the blonde Dracula clone in that one, and realistically portrays someone applying a hot brand to his own neck. He makes Hugh Jackman look like a wuss. -
twilight vamp pooping pants retard look must be the new thing in an attempt to turn on pooping retard youngsters. cant wait for more of these types of films.
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... asshole?
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