Rating: 1.5/5
Hooptober 6.0 | 1/32 | film from before 1966 1/6
CW // Suicide, Misogyny, Animal Cruelty
A construction crew intends to blow up a castle and replace it with a nuclear plant. Before they can, a black horse-drawn carriage erupts from the gates. The carriage holds a coffin — inside, the Baron Roderico.
The carriage driver encloses the coffin in a shipping container at Frankfurt. The container will go to the Baron’s last nephew in Italy, Count Osvaldo Lambertenghi. After ensuring the container’s safety, the carriage driver jumps in front of a train and commits suicide.
Meanwhile, Count Osvaldo signs over his castle to be turned into a hotel. With nowhere to go, Osvaldo becomes a bellhop for the hotel. The gardener, Lellina, whom Osvaldo secretly loves, has no such luck, and the hotel fires her.
Osvaldo believes his luck will change after receiving a letter from his Uncle Roderico, saying that Osvaldo is Roderico’s heir. At midnight, Roderico emerges from his coffin, and Osvaldo learns the truth — his uncle is a vampire!
One year after his debut as Dracula for Hammer, Christopher Lee travels across Europe to be in his first Italian picture. They dub Lee’s voice with someone else, so it has an uncanny quality.
I’m sure this movie was funny to Italian audiences in the 50s. I can tell the lines that have the cadence of humor, but none of it lands for me. I blame the English dubbing.
Christopher Lee is nearly twice as tall as Renato Rascel. That might be the funniest part of the movie.
Rascel’s physicality transcends the language barrier. He’s a goofy little guy — not my sense of humor, but amusing.
The movie has some pretty images and vistas — a composition or two is above average.
Still, this is a dull movie — only the Christopher Lee completionists should seek this out