Yesterday, I needed a break badly, so I exhumed a video of the 1970 film Count Yorga, Vampire (I'd taped it off AMC a couple years back and never gotten around to watching it).  I'd hoped that the story would make more sense this time than on my original viewing of a heavily edited print on the "CBS Late Movies" back in the early 70s.

I noticed some definite nods to DS (some might choose to term them "ripoffs" of our show).  The seance sequence at the beginning is VERY DS.  Count Yorga's home attire of long burgundy silk dressing gown is very Barnabas Collins (though the kimono-styled thing he changes to towards the end of the film is decidedly NOT).  And a scene where the suspicious Doctor (very reminiscent of the Dave Woodward character in the '67 storyline) and two of his friends attempt to keep the Count up and chatting till dawn strongly reminded me of a similar scene involving Barnabas, Burke, and Joe (or was it the sheriff?).

Apart from DS, the movie also stole from The Fearless Vampire Killers (particularly with the ending).  I don't think Count Yorga is a very well-made film, but it's still fun to watch, especially for the cheesy LA '70 sets and costumes, and some of the weird dialogue (occasionally it seems as if they were making a spoof rather than a serious picture).

I've always thought Robert Quarry deserved better than he got.  I enjoyed his performances in this and in "Dr. Phibes Rises Again."

btw, I have no idea what was up with the fangs in this movie.  Especially on the vampire brides, they look more like the results of advanced malocclusion.  Ah well.

G.

Welcome, Ian!  I was 9 going on 10 when I first started watching DS, back when the show was brand new.  My babysitter told me about it, and since I always had a thing for witches and vampires (what can I say, I was an odd kid), I just had to tune in.

Your avatar is very cool.  What's the source of the images?

Gothick

Well, that is all certainly very strange, Rod.

I guess the magazines have different stock responses to writers.  When I approached Scarlet street a couple of months ago about running one of my Grayson Hall articles, the editor wrote back to me that they "do not run material of this type."  Since they've printed articles about actors much more obscure than GH in their pages, I figured that you have to have an "in" with staff before they'll even bother to look at what you've written.

I hope your article can see print--it sounds great.

Best wishes,

Steve

Hi Countess,

glad to hear you have such appreciation for the Divine One!  Yes, Her fans are LEGION!

Just FYI, that isn't a t-shirt she's wearing in that final sequence--it's a short-sleeved cheongsam styled dress.  The thing that you thought might be a monkey is actually an immense brooch that's pinned to the center of her bosom.

A commercial release of this film came out in Japan last year.  There are ridiculous complications around the distro rights for Polly Maggoo.  I read a review of the Japanese import in the French gay culture mag, Tetu, the last time I was up in Canada at my boyfriend's place.

I have been lucky enough to see it the movie in the theatre four times to date.  It's fun to see some of the details, such as the fact that in the first scene, those things she's clutching in her lap are a pair of sunglasses and a packet of Marlboros.

Also, it's worth noting that Delphine Seyrig, a French cult actress who appeared in such classic films as Last Year at Marienbad and Donkey-skin (Peau d'ane) a Jacques Demy Catherine Deneuve vehicle, had a small role in Polly Maggoo.  Of course most of us know Delphine best for her Goddessy performance in Daughters of Darkness, in which she appeared opposite gorgeous, talented John Karlen.

G.

Yes, I obviously didn't catch your byline when I had my very brief brush with the piece (pick up zine, flip past pages, go, "seen that, done that"), return to rack.

As you know, my enthusiasm for the topic for the WB project was never very high, and the tude of those suits left a REALLY bad taste in my mouth for the whole thing.  I'm sure your writing enlivened an otherwise sad subject.

Kudos!

Steve

I looked at that Fangoria issue in a store, and there wasn't much new there that I could see.  There weren't many photos and none were an improvement on the ones published on Collinwood.net.

The article seemed to argue that network execs short-sightedness and budget issues were what doomed it, which was pretty much what I had gathered from the numerous posts here over the past year.

It's an expensive magazine, so I would say--only order it from the website if you're a completist with the "remakes of DS" stuff.

G.

Thanks for holding out that hope about the Japanese release possibly containing the Julia's walk sequence, Darren.  My own hope in that area is zero, but who knows?

As Jean-Claude mentioned, the cut of the greenhouse scene makes Jeff's absence in subsequent scenes completely inexplicable.  I remember that I didn't even understand what was happening in the movie half the time until I read the "Marilyn" Ross novelization, which as you know was based on an early script draft, and included several sequences never even filmed.

And dammit,I *want* that scene where Roger complains that all the craziness at Collinwood is cutting in his time reading... PROUST!

Ah well.  At least I have the laserdisc version of the films to enjoy (though as you pointed out long ago, only the one shown on television has the correct sound mix for NoDS).

Steve