| Dracula the Dirty Old Man (1969) 69 min |
| Dracula the Dirty Old Man is an offbeat film with so many stupid jokes (and one of the coolest titles I've ever heard!) that it works fabulously. This is one movie that is just about completely made in post production. There appears to be little or no sync sound, so everything is done in post. Looking at what was actually shot, this seems like a very standard low brow nudie monster movie. Not that any of that really changes with the addition of the sounds and voices, but the people who did them are actually quite funny. |
| There isn't much left in this story that resembles Stoker's original, but what would you really expect from a title like this? Here we have a newspaper reporter visiting a Mr. Alucard, who reminds us several times that his name is Dracula spelled backwards. Before long, Alucard hypnotizes the reporter and renames him Irving Jackalman and bestows upon him the title of novice jackalman. In order to become a second class jackalman or higher, he needs to find and bring lovely young women to the count. For one reason or another, he turns into a werewolf to do this! There also seems to be some sort of agreement between the two that Jackalman can have Dracula's throw aways. The deal works out fine for a little while, until Jackalman decides he wants first dibs at a few of the lovely ladies. Jackalman tries to obey under the threat of being demoted back down to a novice jackalman. The shit really hits the fan though, when Jackalman's old girlfriend (played by Ann Hollis, this pretty young thing is far and away the most attractive woman in the film) is brought to the attention of the count. Soon these two fight it out in a silly little battle of the monsters |
| The film's greatest strength is in the humorous dubbing. It seems like a bunch of people got together and just recorded the track to make fun of the movie. It appears that lines were never recorded twice as actors often flub lines and just keep on moving. The humor is often times self referential, but never as condescending as the style we're used to these days. Watching this movie feels like watching a good episode of Mystery Science Theater without the stupid interludes in between. Dracula speaks in an exaggerated Legosi style accent. We are often privy to his thoughts, and in the process are bombarded with so many stupid jokes that it almost hurts. They're so harmless and fun that it never bothers me though. The same can be said for Irving Jackalman, who snarls and slobbers his way through most of the film. His werewolf mask and furry hands compliment his inept and pereverted dialogue enough to make it border line genius. Okay, so I'm obviously stretching things a bit here, but it is still an absolute ton of fun to watch him. |
| This is a movie I wish I knew more about the history of. I wonder if it was always the intention to make the movie as it came out. I couldn't imagine that anyone was ever taking this movie especially seriously, but the attitudes towards the female cast make me wonder. Most of them are dubbed with shrill and irritating voices, that I couldn't imagine would have been too flattering to the young ladies. Not only that, but the male cast is constantly commenting on the poor quality of previous females when they move onto the next one. |
| Unfortunately, this appears to be the only film from director William Edwards. He did have writing credits for Oliver Drake though. One of the films, The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackal even features the same Jackalman costume as this movie! Whatever the story is with Edwards and this movie though, it remains a gem in the monster/nudie exploitation field. It reminded me a little of the humor Mark Pirro used in movies like A Polish Vampire in Burbank and Curse of the Queerwolf. It was wise to keep the run time short at a tad under 69 minutes. I could see this type of film wearing thin after a while, thankfully it's never allowed to. |
| Dracula the Dirty Old Man is another worthy film saved from potential extinction by the folks at Something Weird Video. It's included as the first part of a double feature with Guess What Happened to Count Dracula (which has a strange history in its own right). Both films show their age with some significant print damage, but if you really think about the obscurity of the movies they look amazingly good. Aside from the unavoidable print imperfections the transfer on both films is consistantly strong. Let's face it, neither of these films were shot under the best conditions. Also included are a handfull of vampire themed exploitation trailers and two oddball shorts - Dracula and the Dirty Old Witch and Sex and the Single Vampire (with John Holmes!). If you can find it in yourself to enjoy about 3 1/2 hours of harmless, if not a little dopey, oddball humor you should have a good time with this disc. |
| I give this one 4 jackalmen out of 5 |
| review by Joe Canistro 11/8/02 |
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