Billy the Kid Versus Dracula

I actually stayed up late to watch this one night. How could I resist a title like "Billy The Kid Versus Dracula."

Not only was it incredibly historically accurate, but Dracula was very well played by John Carradine. I was thankful that it was shortly followed by another treat with "Jesse James meets Frankensteins Daughter."

The fact that someone actually green lighted this movie is the most horrifying thing around.

I will say, it is worth the watch just for the final showdown between Billy and Dracula. After firing about six shots into Dracula, Carradine stands with the most sinister of stares only to be belted squarely across the nose with a gun that Billy throws across the room. The quickness and "Doh!" factor almost makes me think John Carradine wasn't acting. It is a little too realistic (something not characteristic of John Carradine's acting). I was laughing myself to tears when I saw that.

If you want a good laugh, stick around to the end.

This is one of my favourite bad movies. Rubber bats, Western backdrops, and John Carradine as Dracula. Someone shines a red light on Carradine's mugging face during the scary scenes. It's hypnotically awful, but I'd only recommend it to those with a love for real trash. It seems to be pretty unique, but I haven't seen the companion piece, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.

MORD39 RATING: ** out of ****

Okay, we know that this is a silly premise with an elderly John Carradine in the Count Dracula role, but as far as "bad" movies go, it's definitely much more fun than most other trash. At the very least, it's miles and miles better than its totally boring companion piece, JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.

Carradine is deliciously sinister as Dracula, and the story does flow nicely. No awards given here, just a fun afternoon matinee item that is FAR from Carradine's "worst" film. The actor himself often referred to this movie as the lowest of his career, but this was probably because the outlandish title stuck in his mind.

If you want to see truly UNWATCHABLE John Carradine garbage, there are literally DOZENS worse...ASTRO ZOMBIES and GALLERY OF HORROR to name but two.

This film has a lot to offer for those of us who love bad movies. The rubber battery-operated bat, the horrible dialogue and irritating characters (especially the German/Austrian immigrant lady), and especially the obscure placement in time of the film: the 1800s town set; Billy's 70s style ranch house--complete with bead curtain!; even the hallway above the early 1900s saloon which I think was a hallway at the movie studio. John Carradine, following his scripted eye cues very closely ("open eyes real wide"), gives hickeys and utilizes his amazing ability to stop the film and move off-camera. Chuck Courtney wears the same shirt throughout the entire film (costume budget woes, I imagine) and manages to knock out Dracula by tossing his gun at him! Oh yeah, and Carradine's red-faced "I'm horny!" look is priceless, even without the red flashlight. A true gem.

Yeah, it's nutty, with an accentless Dracula popping up in the old west like the ultimate dirty old man, leering at and biting the neck of just about every nubile young woman who wanders by. Somehow, Drac ends up at the very ranch where Billy the Kid has gotten a job in an attempt to hang up his bad guy ways. Whew. Still in all, you get a lot of the always wonderful John Carradine, playing Dracula yet again, and even better, his main nemesis isn't actually Billy the Kid, but instead Mrs. Olsen from the long ago Folger's coffee commercials!!! She is an immigrant Swedish/German woman who knows Dracula's real agenda, and is much more of a thorn in his side than the mostly ineffectual cowboy hero. So there you go--you old monster movie buffs should definitely check this one out!