''Dracula and Son'' (french: Dracula père et fils) is a 1976 French comedy horror film directed and written by

Édouard Molinaro Édouard Molinaro (13 May 1928 – 7 December 2013) was a French film director and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Bordeaux, Gironde. He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès (''Oscar'', '' Hibernatus''), '' My Uncle B ...

. The film is about a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

father and son. Christopher Lee reprises his role as

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...

from the Hammer Films ''Dracula'' film series (in total, this was the 9th and final time Lee played the role of Dracula on film).

Plot

With angry villagers driving them away from their castle in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

(Christopher Lee) and his son Ferdinand (Bernard Ménez) head abroad. The Prince of Darkness ends up in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

where he becomes a horror

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and wh ...

exploiting his

status. His son, meanwhile, is ashamed of his roots and ends up a night watchman in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

where he falls for Nicole, a French girl. Naturally, tensions arise when father and son are reunited and both take a liking to the same girl.

Cast

* Christopher Lee as Count Dracula * Bernard Ménez as Ferdinand Poitevin *

Marie-Hélène Breillat Marie-Hélène is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Marie-Hélène Amiable (born 1960), French politician, Mayor of Bagneux *Marie-Hélène Arnaud Marie-Hélène Françoise Arnaud (24 September 1934 – 6 October 1986) was a ...

as Nicole Clement *

Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects ...

as Herminie Poitevin *

Bernard Alane Bernard Alane (born Bernard Noël Vetel 25 December 1948) is a French actor and singer, he is the son of actress Annick Alane. He is best known in France for his roles in two films directed by Edouard Molinaro, ''Hibernatus ''Hibernatus'' is ...

as Jean *

Jean-Claude Dauphin Jean-Claude Dauphin, born Claude Legrand on March 16, 1948 in Boulogne-Billancourt, is a French actor. Biography He is the son of actor Claude Dauphin and actress Maria Mauban, the grand-son of the poet Maurice Étienne Legrand and nephew ho ...

as Cristéa * Anna Gael as Miss Gaylor *

Raymond Bussières Raymond Bussières (3 November 1907 – 29 April 1982) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1933 and 1982. He was born in Ivry-la-Bataille and died in Paris. He is buried in Marchenoir. He was married to the ac ...

as L'homme âgé à l'ANPE * Mustapha Dali as Khaleb * Xavier Depraz as Le majordome *

Marthe Villalonga Marthe Villalonga (born 20 March 1932) is a French actress. She was born in Fort-de-l'Eau, Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capit ...

as The Subway Woman

Release

''Dracula and Son'' was released in France on 15 September 1976. It was released in 1979 in the United States. The American distributor of the film cut many jokes in the film and replaced them with different gags.

Reception

Allmovie gave the film a rating of two stars out of five, but noted that "this was a very witty film prior to its decimation by an uncaring American distributor. A review in ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' gave a positive review of three stars out of four, noting that the film "actually works because it treats its subject with respect and doesn't degrade it for cheap, campy laughs." while noting that the film has a "poor dubbing job" that made the character Ferdinand Poitevin sound like a cross between

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

and Austin Pendleton.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* 1970s comedy horror films 1976 films Dracula films French comedy horror films French vampire films Films directed by Édouard Molinaro Films scored by Vladimir Cosma Vampire comedy films 1970s French films {{1970s-France-film-stub