Blacula

Plot synopsis:
In 1780, Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall), the ruler of the Abani African nation, seeks the help of Count Dracula (Charles Macaulay) in suppressing the slave trade. Dracula refuses to help, and transforms Mamuwalde into a vampire, whom he names Blacula and imprisons in a sealed coffin. Mamuwalde's wife, Luva (Vonetta McGee), is also imprisoned and dies in captivity. In 1972, the coffin has been purchased as part of an estate by two interior decorators, Bobby McCoy (Ted Harris) and Billy Schaffer (Rick Metzler) and shipped to Los Angeles. Bobby and Billy open the coffin and become Prince Mamuwalde's first victims
At the funeral home where Bobby McCoy's body is laid, Mamuwalde spies on mourning friends Tina Williams (Vonetta McGee), her sister Michelle (Denise Nicholas), and Michelle's boyfriend, Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala), a pathologist for the Los Angeles Police Department. Mamuwalde believes Tina is the reincarnation of his deceased wife, Luva. On close investigation of the corpse at the funeral home, Dr. Thomas notices oddities with Bobby McCoy's death that he later concludes to be consistent with vampire folklore.
Prince Mamuwalde continues to kill and transform various people he encounters, as Tina begins to fall in love with him. Thomas, his colleague Lt. Peters (Gordon Pinsent), and Michelle follow the trail of murder victims and begin to believe a vampire is responsible. After Thomas digs up Billy's coffin, Billy's corpse rises as a vampire and attacks Thomas, who fends him off and drives a stake through his heart. After finding a photo taken of Mamuwalde and Tina in which Mamuwalde is not visible, Thomas and Peters track Mamuwalde to his hideout, the warehouse where Bobby McCoy and Billy Schaffer were first slain. They defeat several vampires, but Mamuwalde manages to escape.
Mamuwalde lures Tina to his new hideout at the nearby waterworks plant, while Thomas and a group of police officers pursue him. Mamuwalde dispatches several officers, but one of them manages to shoot Tina. To save Tina from death, Mamuwalde transforms her into a vampire. After Peters manages to kill the vampire Tina, Mamuwalde believes he cannot live any longer after losing her twice. Mamuwalde leaves for the surface where the morning sunlight rots his flesh quickly and kills him.

Tags: cult, blaxploitation

Review:
Though it may not be the best vampire/horror flick in the world, and it takes liberty with historical facts (a slave trade in Transylvania?!) it does contain a rather touching love story.
The great Shakespearean actor William Marshall (Dr. Daystrom to you original Star Trek fans) plays the tormented African prince magnificently; asleep for 200 years, he awakes to find an African-American culture riddled with blaxploitation cliches.
But in fact, not only is "Blacula" well-made, it ranks as one of the best vampire films of all time."Blacula" certainly doesn't age very well; the music, clothes, and Afros alone drive a stake into the movie's hip status!
In 1972, this movie was at the early end of the blaxploitation era, and besides the fact that the main character was a bloodsucker, the characters were generally positive (i.e. no pimpin' drug-dealin' gangstas)  You'll be hard pressed to find another early seventies black movie that can say that!I think, for the time, it was a pretty good low budget horror movie.
In 1780,African Prince Mamuwalde visits the castle of Count Dracula in Transylvania seeking his support in ending the slave trade.Dracula curses his noble guest,murders his wife and transforms Mamuwalde into a vampire,imprisoning him in a coffin to suffer the unending thirst of the damned.Released nearly two centuries later by a pair of homosexual interior decorators,Mamuwalde emerges as Blacula,a vampire with a strong urge to kill.On a nightly quest for human blood he meets and fells in love with Tina,the woman who reminds him his long time dead wife..."Blacula" is a campy and enjoyable horror flick.William Marshall is perfect as a lonely and sympathetic vampire Blacula.The acting is fine and there are some nice scares including slow-motion attack on Sam,the morgue attendant.Overall,"Blacula" is an ultimately satisfying blacksploitation flick that is surely destined to be a cult classic.8 out of 10..
This film is pure style and coolness, which is delivered in a highly entertaining manner.In 1780, the African Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) is on a visit at Count Dracula's castle in Transsylvania with his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee).
Almost two centuries later, a black/white couple of (very) gay interior decorators buy several pieces of furniture from Dracula's castle, including the coffin in which Mamuwalde was locked.
William Marshall fits perfectly in the role of Blacula, and so does Thalmus Rasulala, who plays the hero character as a super-cool Shaft-style forensic specialist.
I also love the fact that it's unique to all other "blaxploitation" movies in the sense that it has a story with true backbone, and the film's main player, William Marshall, gets so into the role he plays and isn't just another Afro-American leading man that talks the lingo and prances around in a fur.
This film is a love story (of the "long lost" variety, an approach also used by the DARK SHADOWS tv show of the same era), but it definitely has TEETH: The slo-mo attack on Elisha Cook, Jr., for instance, helps make BLACULA one of the scariest horror movies of its era.
(Trust me on this: I've seen some movies whose production values would make BLACULA look like THE GODFATHER by comparison.) Sure, it's dated- but the love story at its heart is timeless..
The name "Blacula" indicates a less than stellar cinematic experience but the flick actually delivers the goods in most things; solid acting (particulary the lead), decent scares and a surprisingly thoughtful and tragic story.William Marshall registers strongly as Prince Mamuwalde who travels to Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania and is soon attacked and cursed by the vampire Count.
In the end; Blaxploitation film or not; "Blacula" is a good horror film that's treading much covered ground but imbues it with a fresh take on the material (that's often been covered since), a sense of style, very decent scares and a great central performance by a very forceful actor.
As a stand alone vampire movie, the best thing about it is William Marshall's strong performance as the title character and the lovely Vonetta McGee, one of the more popular starlets in the blaxploitation genre.
In terms of transplanting a Gothic style monster in a contemporary setting, it is less awkward than Hammer's "Dracula A.D." but not as good as "Count Yorga, Vampire".Nevertheless, "Blacula" was a hit and this led to a small wave of average to truly bad horror films featuring black casts including "Abby", "J.D.'s Revenge", a sequel to Blacula and the wonderfully awful "Blackenstein".You would be hard pressed to find a decade that had a greater variety (but not necessarily quality or quantity) of horror films than 70's and "Blacula" is an example of a movie that came from the same decade that gave horror fans "The Exorcist", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Alien"..
the film has the makings of a Gothic romance but with a funk soul atmosphere, driven by a lively rhythm and blues soundtrack composed by Gene Page the acting is hit-and-miss, with excellent performances from Thalmus Rasulala as Dr. Gordon Thomas, the film's version of Van Helsing, and William Marshall in the title role.
1780: African prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) and his wife Luva (Vonetta McGee) visit Count Dracula to enlist his help in the fight against slavery.
Meanwhile, scientific investigator Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala) comes to believe that the spate of recent deaths are the work of a vampire and tries to convince the police of what is happening.The first example of Blaxploitation horror, Blacula succeeds in being both scary and silly, with a side order of camp.
Marshall plays his role surprisingly straight, but the general atmosphere is one of lightheartedness, the film even taking time out for a couple of funky musical interludes courtesy of The Hues Corporation (who would later top the charts with their disco hit 'Rock The Boat').
I a good, solid vampire movie.Some will start to feel bad for Mamuwalde aka Blacula towards the end of the film but I find that for me it was at the very beginning that he had my sympathy.
I was Dracula himself that turned/cursed the Prince - he is now doomed to walk the earth as the vampire Blacula.The movie is not only a fun horror film but a beautiful romance film.
Cheesy but fun blaxploitation horror classic about an African prince turned into a vampire by Dracula.
It's still an often laughable movie with no real scares but a couple of good shock scenes such as when the lady cab driver awakens as a vampire and attacks poor Elisha Cook, Jr. I like the ending, too.
An ancient African prince (William Marshall), turned into a vampire by Dracula himself, finds himself in modern Los Angeles.According to Colin McCracken, this was "the first successful horror film to star an almost entirely black cast".
This one stands up fairly well, despite a limited budget and formula story, thanks to the strong central presence of the deep voiced and dignified William Marshall, plus a good supporting cast that included Denise Nicolas and Vonetta McGee. Plus, the production values are actually quite decent for a low budget, quickly shot movie, thanks to effective use of shadow- filled urban settings that create good nightmare landscapes.
And lead William Marshall lends great dignity in portraying Mamuwalde, the African prince cursed by Dracula himself (Charles Macaulay), as a smooth operator especially when he finds his late wife Luva reincarnated as Tina (Vonetta McGee in both roles).
While I don't think of this as a great movie, I was so entertained by Blacula especially when The Hues Corporation-St. Clair Lee, Fleming Williams, Hubert Ann Kelley-were performing that I wouldn't mind seeing it again much sooner than later.
Any film titled "Blacula" doesn't really deserve to have high hopes surrounding it, but this horror piece is really rather good.Sure, it's difficult to watch Thalmus Rasulala's performance without thinking of Richard Ayoade in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, but William Marshall brings such sincere dignity to the lead role it's hard not to be dragged along.While not exactly literary, the script is what compels.
It is simultaneously a "time capsule" as many of the Blaxploitation films are, very "a la mode" films with the latest afro wigs, the longest eye lashes and fangs, popular R&B music, and attractive players besides good actors as William Marshall, or cult favorites as Elisha Cook Jr. On the negative side, the very annoying single factor of the film for me was Ji-Tu Cumbuka whenever he appeared on the scene.
This was a lot better than I thought it would be.In 1700s Transylvania (which actually looks like 1970s cheap Los Angeles sound stage) Count Dracula invites a proud African Prince and his lovely wife to dinner.
It's humorously bad one moment; it's well-crafted and insightful the next.The interracial gay couple spells out the campiness of Dracula in the film's first present-day scene, as they explain it as their reason for buying the late Count's possessions, including Blacula locked up in his coffin.
That is, when he's not growling while biting his victims or being transported by a dolly with parts visible in frame.As the film's Transylvanian prelude set in 1780 establishes, Blacula was once the African Prince Mamuwalde, who traveled to Castle Dracula to request the Count's help in suppressing the slave trade.
(After some footage of a coffin being transported, which was cannibalized from another Dracula-esque film, "Count Yorga, Vampire" (1970).) The first time an officer sees Blacula, he chases him--presumably because he finds a black man running to be suspicious.
"Blacula" follows the usual complex discovery plot, the common formula of horror movies as outlined by Noël Carroll, so most characters are unaware or skeptical of vampirism at this point in the film.
The same may be said of the Doctor's killings of White vampires, although his character manages to successfully align himself with the White ruling class, as represented here by the police force, whereas Blacula, 200 years ago, was betrayed in his attempts to cooperate with the White Dracula.
And were you to put these movies side by side, "Blacula" would probably be the much more watchable of the two.Watch it if you want to see '70's unintentional camp, if you want to see a period piece of media in the relatively primitive 1970's, or if you are a fan of any of the actors for some reason (William Marshall's only other notable role seems to have been as the "king of cartoons" on "Pee-wee's playhouse" - I just KNEW I'd seen him again in something.).
Accidentally awakened in Los Angeles, an African Prince bitten by Count Dracula finds a young woman who is the reincarnation of his dead wife and woos her while leaving a trail of bodies in his path forcing them to stop the prince before she becomes his new bride.This was pretty good and had a lot to like about it.
The first scene goes 180° in regards to the opening, where we see a mixed gay couple making the unfortunate purchase of blacula in his coffin and shipping said coffin to Los Angeles where the entire movie takes place.
Marshall is on a mission to stop the African slave trade, but Charles Macauley who plays the infamous count defends the institution and then he and his vampire minions attack the visiting prince and make him a vampire in a sealed coffin with McGee locked in a sealed tomb.Two centuries go by and a pair of gay and flamboyant antique dealers buy the contents of Dracula's castle and unloose Marshall on 20th century Los Angeles.
However, this film is different in that it really pointed out the excesses of the era.William Marshall played Mamuwalde/Blacula as a proud Black man who was thrust into a world of sex and alcohol and greed.
My wife thinks I am crazy to have watched it several times (as well as the sequel, SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM), but I think it's a silly little trip back to the 70s and a welcome relief from many movies that take themselves way too seriously.The sad thing about these two movies is that William Marshall was a really good actor with a beautiful voice--it's a shame he didn't get more starring opportunities in Hollywood other than this, an episode of Star Trek and a few other odd jobs..
Decent Fun. Blacula (1972) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A racist Count Dracula bites the neck of an African Prince (William Marshall) because he wants to stop slave trading.
The pre-credits opening sequence is terrific and hugely atmospheric, as it involves a flashback set in Transylvania during the year 1780, where the black prince Mamuwalde and his adorable fiancée Luva visit Count Dracula's castle, hoping he'll support them in their quest to end slavery.
William Marshall is an African prince who's turned into a vampire by none other than Dracula in 1780, then placed in a coffin.
Campy and entertaining, Blacula is a clever modernization of the Dracula story with events and characters that largely parallel the classic film adaptations somewhat more closely than Stoker's original novel.
In full boom of the genre Blaxploitation, appeared this new version of the myth of Dracula, represented in the figure of an African prince who invited with his wife by Count Dracula, and who will be converted by this, or rather cursed to be a vampire, an undead for all eternity.Saving his modest media Blacula, is a more than worthy entertainment, quite well posed, putting him as a romantic antihero, whose goal is to recover the lost love in a girl who is the reincarnation of his wife cruelly murdered by Dracula centuries ago.In that aspect Blacula has more to do with the work of Coppola than with the films of the Hammer or the Universal, where the count is the incarnation of evil, without any kind of empathy or affection towards humans, here is a tortured soul and betrayed that seeks justice and redemption.The undervalued William Marshall totally gives the hit as Dracula with his air of seductive and aristocratic, one of the most interesting and charismatic Dracula that has been seen.The photography is excellent, and its rhythm quite well taken without bored at any time.It is curious to see a gay couple appear at the beginning of the film, taking into account the era in which it was shot, it is something of the most unusual, which does nothing but enhance the cult status of this film.
Blacula, as the title suggests, is a variant on the classic Dracula story, only with a black vampire in the lead role.
In any Dracula film, a lot of responsibility for how good it is rests on the shoulders of the man playing Dracula, and while William Marshall was somewhat treading unknown territory; in fairness to all the great Dracula performances, he's a bit of a let down.
I was sorry to hear that the lead actor William Marshall passed away from alzheimers For the time the movie was quite nice and didn't relate to the other films in that genre.
All you have to do is watch one of the Dracula movies that are faithful to the book and imagine that every character is black and you've seen Blacula..
Still, it's a campy film, and I'm sure a number of black comedians from Richard Pryor to Flip Wilson could have provided input on how to make Blacula more unique.Additionally, this is one of the few vampire movies of the time that took place in America.
Bass-voiced and classically-trained William Marshall was perfect for the role of Prince Mamuwalde, who came back after 200 years as Blacula.
Tina's friend, Dr. Gordon (Thalmus Rasulala) and his girlfriend Michelle (Denise Nicholas) soon begin to suspect that the undead are in town and that they must be destroyed.The film is very dated now (Looking at some of the fashions may make you blind), but the saving grace was (And is) the late William Marshall, who gave Blacula some dignity and grace despite his surroundings and ridiculous situations: When he attacks one woman, you swear he's on skates!
Blacula (William Marshal-creator of the M-5 Multitronic system) comes back to life in the United States two hundred years later and does typical vampire stuff.The film wasn't as camp as I thought it would be.
In the opening to this film, William Marshall as Prince Mamuwalde visits Charles Macaulay's impressive Count Dracula about suppressing the slave trade.
I was obsessed with the old film monsters and anything with a vampire was cool with me, especially one like William Marshall's Blacula who was such as classically Gothic vampire, yet modern and hip at the same time.As I'm now in my 30s and have re-watched the movie several times in recent years, I find that the cracks are far outweighing the positives and my opinion of this movie is lessening with each view.For those who haven't seen, it's essentially an update of the Dracula story.
Fortunately although 'Blacula' has moments of cheap B movie exploitation in other regards none of them come in dealing with our main character.This film is so fortunate in having William Marshall in the title role.
With a title like 'Blacula' one would expect this film to play up all the rape aspects of vampirism.
William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Thalmus Rasulala, Denise Nicholas and Charles Macaulay star in this 1972 horror film based on Bram Stoker's character, "Dracula." This begins in 1780 where we meet Count Dracula (Macaulay) who has dinner with African Prince, Mamuwalde and his wife, Luva (McGee).
After a disagreement, Dracula decides to turn Mamuwalde into a vampire like him calling him, Blacula.
At the beginning of the film, we see the first black actor William Marshall who plays the well known blood killer Dracula and his wife being invaded by vampires.
The principle characters were blacks, if there were any whites in the film, they were authority figures and the heavies.Blacula tells the story of an African Prince who is turned into a vampire by Dracula, and his wife dies while he is locked in a coffin.