"Easter Hammer Horror" at Oddball Films April 10, 2009

Event: “Easter Hammer Horror”: Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Screens at Oddball Films. Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an Easter Weekend screening of the Hammer Films production of “Dracula Has Risen From the Grave”. This 1968 Technicolor production has a strong religious theme, a fair amount of gore for its time, a heavy dose of sexual tension, and stars the iconic Christopher Lee as Dracula. In addition, the rarely screened “Monsters We Have Known and Loved” (b&w, 1964) from the short lived TV series “Hollywood and the Stars” will precede the feature. Narrated by Joseph Cotten, this half program examines the famous and bizarre creatures that have graced the screen, including some rare out takes from films such as the original “Raven”, “Nosferatu”, “Frankenstein”, “The Black Cat” and many more.
Date: Friday, April 10, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

“Easter Hammer Horror”
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave Screens at Oddball Films

On Friday, April 10, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an Easter weekend screening of “Dracula Has Risen From The Grave”, the atmospheric 1968 production from the legendary Hammer Film studios. Also screening will be a rare 16mm television episode of “Hollywood and the Stars: Monsters We Have Known and Loved”, an overview of classic film monsters narrated by the great Joseph Cotten. Plus monster movie trailers and a special Easter short.
Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Dracula Has Risen From The Grave” (Color, 1968)
Directed by the great Freddie Francis (cinematographer on The Elephant Man, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and Scorcese’s Cape Fear), this is the third and best Hammer production to feature Christopher Lee as Count Dracula. Extremely atmospheric and filled with haunting imagery, the religious theme was never stronger (though coupled with overt sexuality and rather explicit gore), as the blood of a priest resurrects The Count: Dracula returns to wreak havoc on the small Transylvania town.

The plot: “The fear of the vampire returns to a small village in Transylvania when the body of a young girl, with two fang marks in her neck, is found hanging in the church belfry. Some time later, a visiting monsignor finds that the terrified villagers have stopped attending church services and never venture near the castle of Count Dracula. Appalled, the monsignor forces the parish priest to accompany him while he performs an exorcism rite and hangs a crucifix on the castle door. The frightened priest flees and falls by the edge of a frozen stream. Beneath him lies the body of Dracula, who is revived by blood trickling from the wounded priest. Dracula arises, places the priest under his spell, and vows revenge on the monsignor. Upon arriving at the village where the monsignor lives with his sister-in-law Anna and her daughter Maria, the count initiates Zena, a tavern waitress, into the cult of the vampire and compels her to bring Maria to him. Zena obeys, but Maria's boyfriend, Paul, an atheist, rescues the young girl. After killing Zena for failing him, Dracula gains entry to Maria's bedroom. On his initial visit, he succeeds in leaving his fang marks on the girl's throat; his second visit, however, is thwarted when the monsignor steps forward and drives him away with a crucifix. Although the monsignor is struck down by the priest and later dies, he gives Paul instructions to combat the vampire. Finding Dracula's coffin, Paul tries to kill him but fails because he is unable to recite a Latin prayer. Then, Dracula returns for Maria and carries her off in his hearse. He orders her to remove the monsignor's crucifix from the door of the castle and hurl it down to the rocks below. Paul arrives and, during a struggle, knocks the count over the mountain wall. As Dracula is impaled on the crucifix, the repentant priest intones the requisite prayer over the vampire's body, while Paul embraces Maria and makes the sign of the cross.” (TCM)

Amazingly, the film was rated “G” by the newly formed MPAA Rating Board- some say it was the first film to receive a rating. It probably wouldn’t make an “R” rating today, but the “G” rating is bizarre to say the least! It has been suggested that as horror films in the day were aimed at the teenybopper set, the “G” rating was fitting. See what YOU think…

“Hollywood and the Stars: Monsters We Have Known and Loved” (b&w, 1964)
Fantastic but short-lived TV series narrated by Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Shadow of a Doubt) exploring the wild and wonderful monsters that continue to scare and intrigue us. From the famous (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman) to the cult (50 ft. Woman, the Golem), both classics and forgotten are presented. Includes rare out takes and behind the scenes footage.

PLUS: Horror film trailers and an Easter short that will really scare the bajeeesuz out of you!

About Hammer Films:
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. First founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers and comedies – and in later years, television series. Hammer films had low budgets, but nonetheless appeared lavish, making use of quality British actors and cleverly designed sets. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Brothers. (Wikipedia)

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro and Victoria Theatre.