The "Alternate" TV
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Blood of Dracula's
Castle ©Crown International Pictures Inc.
Some
of the television prints, titled "Dracula's Castle",
are a longer version containing extra footage that have nothing
to do with what the original film was about. This additional footage was not
shot by (to the best of my knowledge) nor was it endorsed by either Al Adamson or Sam Sherman. It was shot and
added for television without their consent or approval after
they...unfortunately...lost control over the film.
(For verification, refer below to the emails exchanged between myself and Sam
Sherman on this subject. Mr. Sherman has no knowledge about the footage.).
In short, Robert Dix's
character of Johnny in the original theatrical print was merely a
psychopathic killer who escapes from prison to visit the Count
and Countess. The horrid extra footage of the TV print shows him
turning into a werewolf and stalking victims...with a bad transformation
effect too (a shoddy lap dissolve!).
This footage has only served to further the
mistaken notion in many books, reviews, and websites over the years that a werewolf
arrives at the castle to visit the Count and Countess. In these cases, these
reviewers have obviously only ever seen the television prints, and therefore are
not aware of the fact that Adamson and Sherman had nothing to do with
this footage, nor was it ever part of Al Adamson's original vision and intent.
The common misconception is that the additional footage runs anywhere from 12-15 minutes...in reality, it only totals around 7 minutes. Running time of the original theatrical version by Adamson is 84 minutes...the reedited television version's running time is approximately 91 minutes, a difference of only 7 minutes. There have also been many reviews listing the running time as 84 minutes and referring to the werewolf in the same review...again, those reviewers were not aware of what the original theatrical print was like and have only seen this reedited television version.
Added credits during the opening titles of
the television version include:
Additional Music-Don Hulette
Additional Post production by Paragon Films, Inc. Hollywood
Subj: Re: Al Adamson Horror Films Site
Date: 6/20/01
Sam, I had a question for a point regarding BODC that I would like to clarify (I've discussed this on a couple of horror film boards recently).
It concerns the werewolf footage added for the television prints (retitled "Dracula's Castle"). I originally saw BODC on
TV as that version, and only years later when I got the VCI video did I realize that footage wasn't part of the original film. It's been discussed and debated over the years by people who don't realize the footage was not originally part of the theatrical release...they seem to refer to it as the "missing footage".
Someone told me that Al did indeed shoot the extra scenes (according to David Konow's book, which I have not read yet), and Robert Dix donned the werewolf makeup to shoot the insert footage. Can you clarify this point for me?
Subj: Re: Al Adamson Horror Films Site
Date: 6/21/01 10:22:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Greg,
I cannot help you on this as I know nothing about it.
Best,
Sam
Subj: Re: Al Adamson Horror Films Site
Date: 6/21/01
In a message dated 6/21/01 10:22:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Sam writes:
>>I cannot help you on this as I know nothing about it.<<
Ok, thanks. It's possible then that the extra footage was done without yours or Al's knowledge, then?
Greg
The Paragon International Pictures
credit at the beginning
The original theatrical version
The tv version
The title
from the altered television print
The following images will help to detail each of the added footage segments and
what occurs in each one.
NOTE two things: 1.Not every shot from each segment is represented
here, and 2.Since I am unable to properly
do image captures, all of these images were taken with a digital camera and
enhanced best as was possible.
The approximate running time of each segment, plus the point
at which it begins in the television print, along
with a brief description of each segment. Hereafter, Robert Dix's character will
be referred to as "WereJohnny".
Segment 1 - 15:00-15:40 - the beating of the prison guard.
This is the first scene with added footage.
The scene in the TV prints doesn't just end with Johnny beating the guard to
death...the full moon comes
out from behind the clouds, Johnny transforms into the werewolf (as seen by the
shoddy lap dissolve below),
and WereJohnny continues beating the guard until the scene change.
Segment 2 - 20:10-21:40 - Johnny in the woods and at the
creek.
In Al Adamson's original version, this sequence begins with a shot of the
morning sun, then Johnny
is seen lying in the creek, right before the prison posse shows up trying to
track him down.
The added TV footage is inserted before the original sequence shot by Adamson,
and depicts
WereJohnny running through the woods, stopping at the creek to drink the water,
and crawling
away as the full moon disappears behind the clouds.
Segment 3 - 48:40-56:35 - stalking the girl in the woods.
NOTE regarding this segment:
This footage is intercut with two scenes from the original theatrical
version shot by Al Adamson...
The first is when Gene O'Shane (as Glen Cannon) and Barbara Bishop
(as his girlfriend, Liz Arden) are awakened during the night by a noise
(suggesting that what awakens
them are the events of this added footage), and they go prowling around the
castle, eventually encountering Mango.
The second scene used from the original version is when George the butler (John
Carradine) shows up and escorts
Glen and Liz back to their rooms.
In the altered television version, both of these scenes are intercut into the
added footage seen below.
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