15-17. Dracula (1974), The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Zoltan (1977)
It's time to capture a few more of my Cellar Club movie tweet-alongs. Do scroll on by if it's not your bag.
15. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974), dir. Dan Curtis, broadcast 22 October
I'll give this one a brief preliminary contextual note, because it's one of the few remaining 'major' adaptations of Dracula which I still hadn't seen until Talking Pictures TV screened it, so I was particularly pleased that they'd given me the prompt. It's a made-for-TV movie created by Dan Curtis of Dark Shadows fame and with a script by Richard Matheson, author of I Am Legend, most of the scripts for Corman's Poe films and indeed a couple of Hammer adaptations. It's overall fairly faithful to the novel, though not wholly so - e.g. Quincey Morris is missing, as is so often the case. It also shows some noticeable debts to the Hammer version, such as the way Jonathan never comes home from Transylvania but remains in Dracula's castle as a vampire, or the ending in which Van Helsing pulls down the curtains and sunlight pours in. Indeed, it also uses Oakley Court as the exterior and interior for Carfax Abbey. It reflects the then popularity of Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally (1972) In Search of Dracula, in that it equates Dracula with Vlad by showing flash-backs of Dracula in what is supposed to be the fifteenth century and ending with a portrait showing a Vlad-like warrior with Jack Palance's features. It also introduces the idea, later picked up in Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) of having one of the modern women (Lucy this time) look like a reincarnation of Dracula's long-dead wife, which is unfortunate because I absolutely hate that trope, as I have noted in this journal many times before. Nevertheless, it's a visually strong film with some good Gothic atmosphere and a better performance from Palance than I expected. My live-tweeted reactions follow below. This time I had quote-tweeted HammerGothic a couple of times in the thread, and since his tweets included pictures I have screencapped them as the most efficient way to replicate the context here. I also included one picture of my own, which I've likewise replicated below the relevant tweet.
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Ahhhh... *settles down comfortably* After three weeks in a row where I've been out and / or away on Friday nights, finally I get to tune in to the #CellarClub once again. This week, the 1974 Dracula with Jack Palance: one of only a few major versions I haven't seen. #thefilmcrowd
That's a nice Gothic atmosphere to start us off - misty lake, wolves howling, castle on a promontory. Good creepy music too. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ah, so this shot is almost the first we see of Dracula! That definitely strengthens my earlier theory that it's a deliberate reply to / inversion of our first view of Christopher Lee in the Hammer version. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, and indeed there's Black Park, just as HammerGothic said! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Love the very spiky portcullis Jonathan came in through - surely some foreshadowing of Dracula's teeth? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I wasn't sure I'd like Palance as Dracula. He's never looked that great in stills. But his slightly pained and palpably hungry performance so far is working well for me. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
So far it's like a mash-up of the 1958 Hammer version and the original novel, drawing dialogue from both. "Your fiance is lovely. You are a fortunate man." is more Hammer than Stoker, but Dracula's welcome and reminiscences the opposite. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Love the dust from that tapestry and the cobweb on the suit of armour. This captures fairly well the state of Dracula's castle in the novel - once rich, but long neglected. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Hmmm... Less than convinced by those brides (they looked like cheap am-dram I'm afraid), or by Dracula's reaction to finding them with Jonathan. Hardly Christopher Lee's animalistic ferocity. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Things are moving quite fast! As I guess they must in a 1.5-hour version. Jonathan has found his way to the crypt already. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
It's unusual to get the spade-striking scene in versions of Dracula! It is in the Turkish version, strangely (Drakula İstanbul'da), but I'm struggling to think of another which includes it. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
And OK, bam! We are in Whitby and the Demeter has already run aground! The dead captain's staring face was excellent. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Another lovely carriage. They've got to be Mossman's. Anyone know where that big house is? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, hello! Carfax is very definitely Oakley Court. Definitely the exteriors, possibly even the interiors as well? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, now we've seen another angle on it I think the Holmwood house is Down Place? HammerGothic, I'm counting on you to know this! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
[He did know as well, bless him:]
There's a feel of the 1931 Universal Dracula at this point - they way they all seem to live in Whitby, Dracula lurking in the garden beneath a tree. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Hmm. I see that this passionate snogging on a bench is a logical extension of the way Christopher Lee hovered erotically over his victims before biting them, but I'm afraid it destroys Dracula's supernatural mystique for me. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
THAT SAID I did like Lucy's red-eyed hundred-yard stare the morning after. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
"Here is more than enough stimulant to stay awake" Wait, what? Van Helsing is handing out amphetamines??? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh! I don't think I've ever seen another version which included Dracula's little visit to the zoo (however briefly). Though maybe it's not wise to pack _all_ these scenes in, as it's the root cause of the rushed, blink-and-you'll-miss-it feel. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ooh, that close-up on Lucy's dead face also very good, building nicely on both the dead sea-captain and her earlier staring face. And she gets a funeral! A very good Gothic one too. She had one in the Hammer shooting script too, but it was cut. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Sorry, just catching on - Mrs Westenra has survived Lucy's death? Surprising and puzzling. I presume she'll have some further plot relevance to fulfil somehow? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I am very much in favour of Mina a) insisting she be told what's going on and b) making the link with the boxes of earth on the Demeter, though. That's my girl! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Things I like a lot less: reincarnated lover stories. They rob the love-object of agency, since it becomes their 'destiny' to reciprocate the love of their suitor, and it's almost always a female character that this happens to. Ick. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh wow, this visit to the shipping office is HIGHLY visually reminiscent of the customs office in Hammer's Dracula. Same high clerk's desk and rows of books, same characters doing the visit. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Right, that buggy with the black leather canopy-type cover is _definitely_ from the Mossman collection. I believe it's the one Peter Cushing drives around the place in Brides of Dracula. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ah, this is Mrs Westenra's plot relevance, then? So Mina can cower in bed with her as Dracula approaches? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I feel like Holmwood and Van Helsing should do a bit more than stand by impassively while Dracula is making Mina drink from his (very hairy!) chest? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I mean, at least look a bit shocked and horrified? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
OK, I like these panting sounds Palance is making now. He's letting out his inner beast at last. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
With Jonathan apparently left in Transylvania and Dr Seward and Quincey lost in transit somewhere, Van Helsing and Holmwood are able to operate as a classic master-apprentice or hero-sidekick duo, à la Holmes and Watson. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ooh, lots of lovely blood there as Van Helsing staked the first bride! And at Jonathan's very AD 1972 pit-of-spikes death. I think things are pointing towards the gorier of these two endings. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
They very definitely nicked that curtain-ripping scene off Hammer! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Splutch! And yes, it's the gorier version of Dracula's death scene. No Hammer or indeed Stoker-like disintegration, though. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
OK, yes, I get it, he died transfixed with a spear as in Battles of Old. However, neither that painting nor the music are remotely like anything from the 15th century, which kills the effect a bit. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Overall verdict: Palance pretty good, though he could have been more animalistic earlier. Almost everyone else hopelessly passive and wooden. Visuals excellent. Use of the novel good in terms of inclusion, but made it feel rather rushed. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
It's nice to see all the nods to Hammer in plot motifs, locations, set designs etc. But, at the end of the day, you're better off just watching a Hammer film. Still, I'm glad I have finally seen it! Many thanks, TalkingPicsTV #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
16. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), dir. Val Guest, broadcast 29 October
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Ey up, Twitter! Looks like it's #CellarClub time again. Tonight featuring a pivotal moment in Hammer's film history: their first X-certificate film, The Quatermass Xperiment. #thefilmcrowd
I learnt today via a bit of pre-film reading that this was also the first film James Bernard scored for Hammer. There he is, setting an unnerving mood perfectly in the opening titles, followed immediately by a shift of mood to a lovers' pastoral idyll. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Interesting that we've already had a radio announcer telling the public not to panic. I haven't seen the original TV serial (does it even survive?), but that scene tells me it was probably as self-reflectively interested in the mechanics of radio / TV... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
... as the original TV serial of Quatermass and the Pit, which I have seen, and focuses quite heavily on the BBC's coverage of the excavation. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
This is really good night-time footage. I've noticed before that b/w films of this era seemed to be able to handle it convincingly better than colour films. Presumably something to do with the technical qualities of both which I don't fully understand. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
David King-Wood as Dr Gordon Briscoe seems to be channelling Peter Cushing in accent, cheekbones and manner, before Cushing himself had even become a Hammer star. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Ooh, this little repeating two-note violin sting is absolutely classic James Bernard. Highly recognisable from the technicolour Gothics which were to follow. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Although this differs from War of the Worlds in not featuring a direct alien invasion as such, it's clearly closely related. It isn't quite a reverse colonisation story, but you might dub it 'consequences of colonisation' instead. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
That is, it deals with the fear that the process of colonisation (here = going out into space) would somehow infect the colonisers, whether literally or metaphorically. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Wordsworth's combination of agony, menace and pathos in this role is really compelling. A fine template for many a Hammer villain to come. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
"It looks as though the life was drawn right out of him." Earlier on we heard that Victor had cold skin and had been given blood infusions, while the rocket camera couldn't capture the alien invader on film. I'm calling it: this is a Space Vampires film. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
I don't think I would have known this little girl was Jane Asher if Wikipedia hadn't told me. I guess we can't see her distinctive ginger hair in b/w. The whole scene is rather reminiscent of the creature and girl by the lake in Universal's Frankenstein. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Really great building of atmosphere from small cues here. Unsettled animals, rustling leaves, shadows, clothes dragging on the ground... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Ah, and there's Thora Hird. Just checked, and she was actually only 44 when this was released. That is in fact younger than me... 😱 #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Oh dear, bunsen flame left burning unattended... shocking. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
And we're back to a self-referential interest in the business of broadcasting again... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Assuming all this was in the original serial it's absolutely beautiful and precious. The BBC in its hey-day imagining itself as crucial witnesses to and participants in its own stories. Amazing.
...and in fact the Beeb are now jointly responsible for defeating the creature. Perhaps with a little divine help, given that it all climaxes in Westminster Abbey? Certainly, that seems to be the implication of the inspector's line about praying. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
[A key observation from ladylugosi here:]
By contrast, Quatermass' statement that he's going to start again, immediately followed by another rocket firing, seems distinctly irresponsible after everything that's happened. #TheFilmCrowd #CellarClub
Coupled with Judith's earlier accusation that he had destroyed Victor, it makes it all look rather like he is the Frankenstein of this film, and Victor (despite having the creator's name) is his creation / victim. #TheFilmCrowd #CellarClub
17. Zoltan: Hound of Dracula (1977), dir. Albert Band, broadcast 19 November
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Well, here we are once again at the #CellarClub with #TheFilmCrowd, ready to watch Zoltan Hound of Dracula. I probably won't be tweeting much during this one, as I haven't seen it before and want to pay attention. But believe me I have been waiting to see this one for years!
[Oh, my sweet summer child... I soon found that it was not in fact really worth a great investment of attention! But never mind. I had fun, as we shall see.]
Well, the dog is very well trained, isn't he? It also seems that vampire dogs and servants of vampires are immune to sunlight in this film. It remains to be seen whether that will be true for full human vampires. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
I am loving the seventies fashions in this! The flares, the collars, the maxi dresses, the appliqué! The plot is a bit dull, and this probably isn't the ideal film for someone who dislikes dogs, but the period details are making it worthwhile. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Are we going to see this puppy rising from the grave later on? Ooh, no, wait - it's happening even as I tweet! #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
I wonder how Does The Dog Die handles this film? #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Amazing polyester nightie! #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Well, this film may not be much cop by any conventional standard, but the #TheFilmCrowd commentary is really making me laugh. 🧛🏻♂️🐶👍 #CellarClub
I don't think they're going to get their deposit back on that cabin. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Haha, brilliant ending! Hope they made a sequel called Puppula. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
15. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1974), dir. Dan Curtis, broadcast 22 October
I'll give this one a brief preliminary contextual note, because it's one of the few remaining 'major' adaptations of Dracula which I still hadn't seen until Talking Pictures TV screened it, so I was particularly pleased that they'd given me the prompt. It's a made-for-TV movie created by Dan Curtis of Dark Shadows fame and with a script by Richard Matheson, author of I Am Legend, most of the scripts for Corman's Poe films and indeed a couple of Hammer adaptations. It's overall fairly faithful to the novel, though not wholly so - e.g. Quincey Morris is missing, as is so often the case. It also shows some noticeable debts to the Hammer version, such as the way Jonathan never comes home from Transylvania but remains in Dracula's castle as a vampire, or the ending in which Van Helsing pulls down the curtains and sunlight pours in. Indeed, it also uses Oakley Court as the exterior and interior for Carfax Abbey. It reflects the then popularity of Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally (1972) In Search of Dracula, in that it equates Dracula with Vlad by showing flash-backs of Dracula in what is supposed to be the fifteenth century and ending with a portrait showing a Vlad-like warrior with Jack Palance's features. It also introduces the idea, later picked up in Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) of having one of the modern women (Lucy this time) look like a reincarnation of Dracula's long-dead wife, which is unfortunate because I absolutely hate that trope, as I have noted in this journal many times before. Nevertheless, it's a visually strong film with some good Gothic atmosphere and a better performance from Palance than I expected. My live-tweeted reactions follow below. This time I had quote-tweeted HammerGothic a couple of times in the thread, and since his tweets included pictures I have screencapped them as the most efficient way to replicate the context here. I also included one picture of my own, which I've likewise replicated below the relevant tweet.
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Ahhhh... *settles down comfortably* After three weeks in a row where I've been out and / or away on Friday nights, finally I get to tune in to the #CellarClub once again. This week, the 1974 Dracula with Jack Palance: one of only a few major versions I haven't seen. #thefilmcrowd
That's a nice Gothic atmosphere to start us off - misty lake, wolves howling, castle on a promontory. Good creepy music too. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ah, so this shot is almost the first we see of Dracula! That definitely strengthens my earlier theory that it's a deliberate reply to / inversion of our first view of Christopher Lee in the Hammer version. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, and indeed there's Black Park, just as HammerGothic said! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Love the very spiky portcullis Jonathan came in through - surely some foreshadowing of Dracula's teeth? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I wasn't sure I'd like Palance as Dracula. He's never looked that great in stills. But his slightly pained and palpably hungry performance so far is working well for me. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
So far it's like a mash-up of the 1958 Hammer version and the original novel, drawing dialogue from both. "Your fiance is lovely. You are a fortunate man." is more Hammer than Stoker, but Dracula's welcome and reminiscences the opposite. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Love the dust from that tapestry and the cobweb on the suit of armour. This captures fairly well the state of Dracula's castle in the novel - once rich, but long neglected. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Hmmm... Less than convinced by those brides (they looked like cheap am-dram I'm afraid), or by Dracula's reaction to finding them with Jonathan. Hardly Christopher Lee's animalistic ferocity. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Things are moving quite fast! As I guess they must in a 1.5-hour version. Jonathan has found his way to the crypt already. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
It's unusual to get the spade-striking scene in versions of Dracula! It is in the Turkish version, strangely (Drakula İstanbul'da), but I'm struggling to think of another which includes it. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
And OK, bam! We are in Whitby and the Demeter has already run aground! The dead captain's staring face was excellent. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Another lovely carriage. They've got to be Mossman's. Anyone know where that big house is? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, hello! Carfax is very definitely Oakley Court. Definitely the exteriors, possibly even the interiors as well? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh, now we've seen another angle on it I think the Holmwood house is Down Place? HammerGothic, I'm counting on you to know this! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
[He did know as well, bless him:]
There's a feel of the 1931 Universal Dracula at this point - they way they all seem to live in Whitby, Dracula lurking in the garden beneath a tree. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Hmm. I see that this passionate snogging on a bench is a logical extension of the way Christopher Lee hovered erotically over his victims before biting them, but I'm afraid it destroys Dracula's supernatural mystique for me. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
THAT SAID I did like Lucy's red-eyed hundred-yard stare the morning after. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
"Here is more than enough stimulant to stay awake" Wait, what? Van Helsing is handing out amphetamines??? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh! I don't think I've ever seen another version which included Dracula's little visit to the zoo (however briefly). Though maybe it's not wise to pack _all_ these scenes in, as it's the root cause of the rushed, blink-and-you'll-miss-it feel. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ooh, that close-up on Lucy's dead face also very good, building nicely on both the dead sea-captain and her earlier staring face. And she gets a funeral! A very good Gothic one too. She had one in the Hammer shooting script too, but it was cut. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Sorry, just catching on - Mrs Westenra has survived Lucy's death? Surprising and puzzling. I presume she'll have some further plot relevance to fulfil somehow? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I am very much in favour of Mina a) insisting she be told what's going on and b) making the link with the boxes of earth on the Demeter, though. That's my girl! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Things I like a lot less: reincarnated lover stories. They rob the love-object of agency, since it becomes their 'destiny' to reciprocate the love of their suitor, and it's almost always a female character that this happens to. Ick. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Oh wow, this visit to the shipping office is HIGHLY visually reminiscent of the customs office in Hammer's Dracula. Same high clerk's desk and rows of books, same characters doing the visit. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Right, that buggy with the black leather canopy-type cover is _definitely_ from the Mossman collection. I believe it's the one Peter Cushing drives around the place in Brides of Dracula. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ah, this is Mrs Westenra's plot relevance, then? So Mina can cower in bed with her as Dracula approaches? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I feel like Holmwood and Van Helsing should do a bit more than stand by impassively while Dracula is making Mina drink from his (very hairy!) chest? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
I mean, at least look a bit shocked and horrified? #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
OK, I like these panting sounds Palance is making now. He's letting out his inner beast at last. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
With Jonathan apparently left in Transylvania and Dr Seward and Quincey lost in transit somewhere, Van Helsing and Holmwood are able to operate as a classic master-apprentice or hero-sidekick duo, à la Holmes and Watson. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Ooh, lots of lovely blood there as Van Helsing staked the first bride! And at Jonathan's very AD 1972 pit-of-spikes death. I think things are pointing towards the gorier of these two endings. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
They very definitely nicked that curtain-ripping scene off Hammer! #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Splutch! And yes, it's the gorier version of Dracula's death scene. No Hammer or indeed Stoker-like disintegration, though. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
OK, yes, I get it, he died transfixed with a spear as in Battles of Old. However, neither that painting nor the music are remotely like anything from the 15th century, which kills the effect a bit. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
Overall verdict: Palance pretty good, though he could have been more animalistic earlier. Almost everyone else hopelessly passive and wooden. Visuals excellent. Use of the novel good in terms of inclusion, but made it feel rather rushed. #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
It's nice to see all the nods to Hammer in plot motifs, locations, set designs etc. But, at the end of the day, you're better off just watching a Hammer film. Still, I'm glad I have finally seen it! Many thanks, TalkingPicsTV #CellarClub #Dracula #thefilmcrowd
16. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), dir. Val Guest, broadcast 29 October
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Ey up, Twitter! Looks like it's #CellarClub time again. Tonight featuring a pivotal moment in Hammer's film history: their first X-certificate film, The Quatermass Xperiment. #thefilmcrowd
I learnt today via a bit of pre-film reading that this was also the first film James Bernard scored for Hammer. There he is, setting an unnerving mood perfectly in the opening titles, followed immediately by a shift of mood to a lovers' pastoral idyll. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Interesting that we've already had a radio announcer telling the public not to panic. I haven't seen the original TV serial (does it even survive?), but that scene tells me it was probably as self-reflectively interested in the mechanics of radio / TV... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
... as the original TV serial of Quatermass and the Pit, which I have seen, and focuses quite heavily on the BBC's coverage of the excavation. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
This is really good night-time footage. I've noticed before that b/w films of this era seemed to be able to handle it convincingly better than colour films. Presumably something to do with the technical qualities of both which I don't fully understand. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
David King-Wood as Dr Gordon Briscoe seems to be channelling Peter Cushing in accent, cheekbones and manner, before Cushing himself had even become a Hammer star. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Ooh, this little repeating two-note violin sting is absolutely classic James Bernard. Highly recognisable from the technicolour Gothics which were to follow. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Although this differs from War of the Worlds in not featuring a direct alien invasion as such, it's clearly closely related. It isn't quite a reverse colonisation story, but you might dub it 'consequences of colonisation' instead. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
That is, it deals with the fear that the process of colonisation (here = going out into space) would somehow infect the colonisers, whether literally or metaphorically. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Wordsworth's combination of agony, menace and pathos in this role is really compelling. A fine template for many a Hammer villain to come. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
"It looks as though the life was drawn right out of him." Earlier on we heard that Victor had cold skin and had been given blood infusions, while the rocket camera couldn't capture the alien invader on film. I'm calling it: this is a Space Vampires film. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
I don't think I would have known this little girl was Jane Asher if Wikipedia hadn't told me. I guess we can't see her distinctive ginger hair in b/w. The whole scene is rather reminiscent of the creature and girl by the lake in Universal's Frankenstein. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Really great building of atmosphere from small cues here. Unsettled animals, rustling leaves, shadows, clothes dragging on the ground... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Ah, and there's Thora Hird. Just checked, and she was actually only 44 when this was released. That is in fact younger than me... 😱 #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Oh dear, bunsen flame left burning unattended... shocking. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
And we're back to a self-referential interest in the business of broadcasting again... #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
Assuming all this was in the original serial it's absolutely beautiful and precious. The BBC in its hey-day imagining itself as crucial witnesses to and participants in its own stories. Amazing.
...and in fact the Beeb are now jointly responsible for defeating the creature. Perhaps with a little divine help, given that it all climaxes in Westminster Abbey? Certainly, that seems to be the implication of the inspector's line about praying. #thefilmcrowd #CellarClub
[A key observation from ladylugosi here:]
By contrast, Quatermass' statement that he's going to start again, immediately followed by another rocket firing, seems distinctly irresponsible after everything that's happened. #TheFilmCrowd #CellarClub
Coupled with Judith's earlier accusation that he had destroyed Victor, it makes it all look rather like he is the Frankenstein of this film, and Victor (despite having the creator's name) is his creation / victim. #TheFilmCrowd #CellarClub
17. Zoltan: Hound of Dracula (1977), dir. Albert Band, broadcast 19 November
Original tweet-along thread
Individual tweets:
Well, here we are once again at the #CellarClub with #TheFilmCrowd, ready to watch Zoltan Hound of Dracula. I probably won't be tweeting much during this one, as I haven't seen it before and want to pay attention. But believe me I have been waiting to see this one for years!
[Oh, my sweet summer child... I soon found that it was not in fact really worth a great investment of attention! But never mind. I had fun, as we shall see.]
Well, the dog is very well trained, isn't he? It also seems that vampire dogs and servants of vampires are immune to sunlight in this film. It remains to be seen whether that will be true for full human vampires. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
I am loving the seventies fashions in this! The flares, the collars, the maxi dresses, the appliqué! The plot is a bit dull, and this probably isn't the ideal film for someone who dislikes dogs, but the period details are making it worthwhile. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Are we going to see this puppy rising from the grave later on? Ooh, no, wait - it's happening even as I tweet! #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
I wonder how Does The Dog Die handles this film? #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Amazing polyester nightie! #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Well, this film may not be much cop by any conventional standard, but the #TheFilmCrowd commentary is really making me laugh. 🧛🏻♂️🐶👍 #CellarClub
I don't think they're going to get their deposit back on that cabin. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd
Haha, brilliant ending! Hope they made a sequel called Puppula. #CellarClub #TheFilmCrowd