Scars of Dracula (1970)

Dracula (Christopher Lee) is alive again thanks to a drooling bat, and living in a castle that the villagers unwisely tried to burn down. This apparently scars him emotionally. A traveler passes by in need of shelter. It doesn’t end well for him. His brother and lady-friend investigate to find out what happened.

Hammer followed the old rule that the monster must die in the end, but that sentiment is sabotaged by how trivial it is for Dracula to return. Literally, a drooling bat. While Taste The Blood was set in Victorian London, Scars has a much more rural and medieval setting. They just wanted to make another, disconnected Dracula film but were obliged to make it a sequel.

Recall from the last review how Lee didn’t want to continue reprising his Dracula character. Well, plus one this time. He outright hated this film. And because the Hammer horrors were less and less successful in America, Hollywood studios didn’t invest. This was his third Hammer Dracula film released in 1970. He would do two more.

I prefer the setting of Scars of Dracula, but I also prefer horror films to be at least a little bit spooky. It's not a bad film, but it's just another uninspired rehash of the same material. Hammer was in serious decline at this point and the end would come quick. AMRU 3.

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Three rich men do charitable work once a week, by which I mean they go hoaring. When they realize that their transgressions no longer tips their triggers, they enlist the help of a ne’er-do-well, who has just the thing. What if we were to summon the devil? And by the Devil we mean Dracula. Things don’t go as planned and now Dracula wants to kill the three men.

At this point in his career Christopher Lee was increasingly reluctant to reprise his Dracula character. The filmmakers initially intended to make a Dracula film without Dracula, but the producers wouldn’t back it without Lee, so they found a number that Lee was agreeable to.

When the film isn’t following the three leches, it focuses on their collective pure of heart children. It becomes a little difficult to remember who are sibling or courting, and which lecher is their father, but the effort isn’t necessary. Nor does the film deserve that level of attention. Pretty Alice Hargood and good Paul Paxton are the only important ones.

Hammer horrors from this time period tend to blend into each other. Vaguely interesting, vaguely scary. The bad guys are bad enough where Drac almost becomes the hero. Almost. Surprisingly someone does literally taste the blood of Dracula. So, there’s that. AMRU 3.

Targets (1968)

Feeling like a relic in modern Hollywood, horror legend Byron Orlok (horror legend Boris Karloff) decides to retire. Industry sycophants urge him to reconsider. In a parallel story, gun enthusiast Bobby (Tim O’Kelly) starts having intrusive thoughts.

Producer Roger Corman gave young Peter Bogdanovich the chance to direct his first feature. He got the use of Karloff for two days, who was paid by the day, and scenes from The Terror (1963). Brash young director Bogdanovich cast himself as the brash young director.

Karloff would pass less than six months after the film’s premiere (just over a year from when shooting wrapped), but would somehow manage to appear in five more films and make two television appearances. Only The Crimson Cult would prove memorable.

Firearm aficionado O’Kelly would appear in fairly little before retiring at 29. He was the original Danno on Hawaii Five-O before being replaced. Director Sammy’s would-be love interest Nancy Hsueh would have a similarly abbreviated career, doing a little TV and one more film before retiring.

Targets is not a very complex story, but it is a very effective thriller. The events feel real and Bogdanovich was expert at putting thoughts into the viewer’s head. Intrusive thoughts, one might say. A decent film, but an excellent first film. AMRU 3.5.

What Else I Watched, 2026Q3

What's up, Doc? (1972)
I first saw this back in 2020 and I liked it. Didn’t love it, but it had some good stuff in there. Felt mostly the same this time around. Barbra was very charming.

His Girl Friday (1940)
It gets better every time I watch it. The original play was adapted again by Billy Wilder in 1974, with Lemmon and Matthau. I may see that version soon.

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)
After watching the cringy live action version, it was nice to see an Avatar that felt like the Avatar. It’s interesting that they chose not to use the original voice actors. It’s pretty forgettable, though. I feel it fading from my memory as I type …

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
It has been about ten and a half years since I watched this film, and it holds up to a second viewing. Still just as tense.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Two years after I watched it last, I still find the comedy mean spirited. But what I noticed this time is that it’s a better than fair heist film.

Clue (1985)
This was my send-off for Tim Curry, and I watched it with a group from my back yard. While it may not be the best 80’s comedy, and some of the humor does not age well, it was a pleasure to watch. Tim was a unique talent. Nobody could replace him.

My Cousin Vinny (1988)
This might have been the first time I watched it all the way through. Excellent courtroom drama and an excellent comedy. Marisa Tomei was not expected to win Best Supporting Actress which gave rise to silly conspiracy theories. Get a grip. She gave a charming performance.

Midnight in the War Room (2026)
Still listed as in post-production, this documentary premiered in August at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. The cybersecurity company that produced the film held a screening in Boston, and I got a ticket. The message of the doc is that we are in a full-blown cyber war, and it is escalating. Being in the biz, that wasn't news to me. Still, it was an interesting watch.

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Pretty Nell (Marilyn Monroe) is hired to watch a young girl while her parents attend a banquet at a fancy New York hotel. She catches the eye of recently dumped pilot Jed (Richard Widmark), but he soon discovers she is a few crackers short of a full sleeve.

Monroe was finally offered the chance for a starring role and showed surprising depth, although contemporary reviews didn’t acknowledge it. Co-star Widmark was already an established leading man and had a long career, frequently playing military leaders.

Old friend Eliza Cook Jr. plays Monroe’s uncle and Millionaire Jim Backus is the little girl’s father. Anne Bancroft is the pilot’s heart-breaker in her first feature role.

While not a truly remarkable film, Don’t Bother to Knock covers some fairly serious subject matter, and a little more maturely than I would have expected. But it is Jed who experiences the character arc, learning to care about other people. This felt a little unearned, but it may have been part of the source material. AMRU 3.5.

Jamaica Inn (1939)

After her mother dies, young Mary (Maureen O’Hara) travels to the notorious Jamaica Inn to live with her aunt (Marie Ney). She discovers that something sinister goes on there and confides in her new friend, aristocrat Sir Humphrey (Charles Laughton).

Jamaica Inn was based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, who also penned Rebecca and The Birds. Perhaps because it's a period piece, it didn't feel much like a Hitchcock film. Because the notoriously difficult Laughton was a co-producer, Hitch said he didn't so much direct it as referee it.

This was the first major role for 18 year old O’Hara, and the first after dropping her real last name, FitzSimons. Her cruel uncle Joss was played by Leslie Banks. Scaring from World War I facilitated his casting in villainous roles. I have yet to notice it. Laughton was excellent in the Charles Laughton role.

Jamaica Inn, after you acclimate to the expressive acting, is a better than fair watch. Perhaps not well remembered today, it still entertains. AMRU 3.5.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

A kerfuffle-prone artist Dick (Cary Grant) catches the affection of highschooler Susan (Shirley Temple), who happens to be the younger sister of the judge (Myrna Loy) he was brought in front of. The court decides to drop all charges, and in exchange Dick will date Susan until her infatuation subsides. What could possibly go wrong?

Forty two year old Grant was twenty four years older than his co-star, but Susan’s math revealed that his character was thirty five. Band leader Rudy Vallee plays another annoying antagonist. He’s a man who knew a thing or two about dating teenagers. His third wife was nineteen when they married. He was forty two. Marital bliss lasted less than eight months.

This film is yet another example of classic Hollywood’s infatuation with underage girls. But to the film’s credit Grant’s Dick, that is to say, his character, doesn’t for a moment imply any attraction to Susan. And Temple’s performance is fairly innocent. It’s all played off as an awkward situation.

Temple is actually pretty good. She never made it as an adult actress and I believed there were reasons for this. Her singer/dancer/actress skills were cute when she was ten but now she was going up against the likes of Deborah Kerr, Vera-Ellen, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse. She simply wasn’t in that class. Fort Apache may be in my future.

Grant is always interesting to watch but he doesn’t give off painter artist vibes. Perhaps a writer would have been more fitting. Age appropriate Myrna Loy is also great. The court-ordered courting of a minor makes The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer a fairly screwy screwball comedy, but it's not among the funniest. It has some good moments, but also some extended unfunny bits. AMRU 3. I will end with a real-life Rudy Vallee quote:

“People called me the guy with the cock in his voice. Maybe that's why in 84 years of life I've been with over 145 women and girls.”