Trash & Treasure Vol 1

BLOOD FROM DRACULA'S CASTLE was one of the dozens of low budget exploitation films produced by Al Adamson. Others include BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR, I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE and DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN so you have a feel for who he was as an artist. Iconic horror star John Carradine took top billing as George the butler to supporting players Robert Dix (Johnny the Werewolf) & Ray Young (Mango the Hunchback) all of whom serve The Count and Countess Townsend. Serve them what?; you ask...Serve them martinis made with the blood of the women chained up in the cellar! The Townsends are actually Mr and Mrs Dracula who are terribly upset that the lease is up on their castle and that the new owners (whom they intend to kill) have served them with an eviction. There's just enough bad movie mojo happening here to warrant the minor cult status this outrageous little drive-in shocker enjoys today. Jayne Mansfield was initially cast but died in a car accident before filming began.

Peter Carpenter is probably best known for two things; this occasionally lurid supernatural mystery and the curious circumstance surrounding his death ie; nobody seems to know with a certainty when or how he died! He was a good looking young man back in the days of cheesy 70s porn and I had a bit of a crush on him when I saw BLOOD MANIA on late night tv. There's a whiff in the air of Sal Mineo or The Black Dahlia when I watch this film or the last one he did in 1971; POINT OF TERROR. Peter's not of their magnitude, I know but still I wonder. BLOOD MANIA (in case you were wondering) is about horny swindlers willing to screw or murder just about anyone to get their hands on a family fortune. Oh, and at least one of them is certifiably insane.

THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS is essential viewing for cinematic masochists who routinely subject themselves to the worst movies ever made. This 1963 drive-in cheapie's about a plot to resurrect the Third Reich using the preserved noggin of Der Feuer which is awaiting re-animation while suspended in a pickle jar. In 1968, this Crown International cult classic was sold to syndicated television with additional, mis-matched sequences shot by film students inserted in to pad the running time. But the biggest change was to the title itself, becoming one every film buff should know; THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN! Filmed in B&W.

I didn't see THE VAN at the drive-in. Later, when it was released on VHS I saw it on a video store shelf with other popular comedies like MEATBALLS, CADDYSHACK & PORKY'S. It stood out because TAXI star Danny DeVito was so prominently featured on the box; so much so I assumed he was the owner of THE VAN. Sadly, I was horribly misled. DeVito appears in the film briefly but his highly promoted appearance gave this film an additional 15 minutes of fame it doesn't deserve. Stuart Goetz (who has enjoyed a long and successful career behind the stage) starred in this insipid teen comedy about a high school grad who decides to take a year off cruising around in his tricked out, drag racing make out van. To my eye THE VAN doesn't even cut it as an entertaining time capsule although I've heard Quentin Tarentino has singled it out as an influence from that era. THE VAN was followed up by MALIBU BEACH.

HUNK was a vanilla flavored teen comedy about a geek who signs a deal with the Devil in order to become the 'hunk' he always dreamed of being. It's cute, in a retro kind of way. Mostly it's know for having starred John Allen Nelson; a wildly 'in demand' character actor whose body of work includes DEATHSTALKERS AND THE WARRIORS FROM HELL, KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE and FEAST III: THE HAPPY FINISH. Another popular character actor who starred in HUNK was James Coco who was nominated for an Oscar in ONLY WHEN I LAUGH. He died the very week this film hit drive-ins.

MALIBU BEACH was a spin off of Crown International's THE VAN and was directed by Robert Rosenthal who may be best known for his cultish comedies ZAPPED! & ZAPPED AGAIN!. The story finds a handful of kids enjoying summer by hanging out at the beach, hooking up and street racing. It's feather light entertainment which is a noticeable improvement over THE VAN which dragged. I gave it an extra star for getting half the cast stripped down to speedos and bikinis before opening credits rolled.