An 18th-century African prince (William Marshall) is transmogrified into
a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises
from his coffin to wreak havoc in the Watts district of Los Angeles.
Blacula's particular target is Vonette McGee, whom he thinks is the
reincarnation of his long-ago lady love.
Blacula is a 1972 American blaxploitation horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role.
Blacula is the story of Manuwalde, an African Prince. This movie
presents a modern version of the classic Dracula story in a very
chilling and inventive way. In 1780, after visiting Count Dracula,
Manuwalde is turned into a vampire and locked in a coffin.. The scene
shifts to 1972, when two antique collectors transport the coffin to Los
Angeles. The two men open the coffin and unleash Blacula on the city of
Los Angeles. Blacula soon finds Tina, who is his wife, Luva,
reincarnated, and gains her love. Tina's friend, Dr. Gordon, discovers
Blacula is a vampire and hunts him down.
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| Blacula! - Dracula's Soul Brother! |
At the time of Blacula's release, studios such as American International and Hammer were pumping out cheap horror flicks. At the same time, blaxploitation films were also making big bank . . .
so why not combine the two genres? It was pure marketing genius, backed
by some of the biggest box office of 1972.
Given the cheesy title, any viewer would go into "Blacula" expecting a
laughable blaxploitation flick. But in fact "Blacula"
well-made. "Blacula" certainly doesn't age very well; the music, clothes, and Afros
alone drive a stake into the movie's hip status! William Marshall is a great vampire, with a suave deep voice
and quite a brooding presence on screen. Vonetta McGee and Denise
Nicholas provide screams and a love interest and both became very popular in
the blaxploitation film industry.
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| You shall pay, black prince. I shall place a curse of suffering on you that will doom you to a living hell. I curse you with my name. You shall be... Blacula! |
Again, Marshall's strong presence as an actor saves the more overtly
silly aspects of the movie from getting out of hand. Indeed, he is the
most interesting and magnetic presence in the film despite being, in
essence, the killer. This presents an unusual dilemma to the audience:
should we root for the killer or the less compelling types who want him
dead?
With more sex and violence, this could have been a great
blaxploitation flick, but it is sadly too mild for my tastes. It is
still a classic, however, and the funky soundtrack and super-cool 70s
style make it even more enjoyable. Highly recommended to all the fans
of blaxploitation and cult-cinema out there!
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| He"s black! he's beautiful! he's Blacula! |
Trivia:
While the film was in its production stages, William Marshall
worked with the producers to make sure his character had some dignity.
His character's name was changed from Andrew Brown to Mamuwalde and
received a background story about his being an African prince who had
been turned into a vampire.
The group performing in the club is The Hues Corporation
Film debut of Denise Nicholas'.
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| His bite was outta sight! |
