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Christopher Lee as Dracula; 2 cameos
Topic Started: Sep 7 2007, 02:31 PM (992 Views)
Inspector Carr
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Christopher Lee has appeared in 7 films as the Legendary count, however in his Dracula getup he has appeared in 2 other big screen films, can you name them
(hey this might be real easy but what the heck)
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Ignatz Ratzkywatzky
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I know Lee appeared in the outfit in Peter Sellers' The Magic Christian, but he has often denied that the character in that film was actually Dracula. There will be a slight pause while you collectively sigh, "Who cares?"

Although The Magic Christian received scathing critical reviews upon its release, I'd rank it just below Dr. Strangelove and Being There in Sellers' filmography. Any film that boasts Sellers, John Cleese, and Graham Chapman as writers is at least worth a view.
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Inspector Carr
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The Magic Christian is correct for one of the answers, The other even escaped my for years until I saw it (in fact both Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing appear, Cushing however neither have any dialogue) And The Magic Christian is a very interesting artifact to revisit......and though it may be as bad as they say, I would love to see a DVD release of Son of Dracula with Harry Nilson and Ringo Starr as Merlin. The only copy I have had is a butchered late night television broadcast of it)
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Inspector Carr
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Any other takers........or shall I release the vital information?
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Laughing Gravy
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Please do! And by the way, my memory of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is that THAT isn't much more than a cameo for Mr. Lee... isn't that the one where he has no dialog?

That Hammer book I'm reading doesn't go into why Lee wasn't in the first sequel to (Horror of) Dracula, which turned out to be Brides of Dracula, only that the studio head specifically told the writers that Dracula wasn't going to be Dracula II. Anybody know?
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Inspector Carr
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Okay Balconeers here is the mystery appearance revealed (and by the way I stumbled upon this by accident while watching this film when it broadcast on cable)
This scene is "so out there" that I could not possibly have made it up.

but first a little history.

at the height of both sixties counterculture and the slow ebbing of the spy craze. MGM decided to cast both Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr (two over 40 types that grasped feverishly to be cool at this point in time) in a quasi spy comedy venture entitled "Salt and Pepper" which ironically was the name of thier very trendy London discotheque (The Salt and Pepper Club) and between having cocktails and grooving with the Chicks they find themselves thrown into a rather dull spy caper.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0063534/


Obviously this film was one of the ingredients for the recipe that Mike Myers cooked up for Austin Powers. and if one looks carefully it is directed by none other than Richard Donner (yes the Richard Donner of the Superman the Richard Donner version as well as the Lethal Weapon series).


But first off this is not the film.....


due to a decent box office return The Studios whipped into action a sequel or perhaps the second of a series of misadventures of Mr Salt and Mr Pepper.

"ONE MORE TIME" was released in 1970 and instead of sticking to a groovy spy theme the viewing audience was treated to the most cliche ridden big gloomy mansion stories of all time that makes Gene Wilders HAUNTED HONEYMOON and Tim Conway's and Don Knott's THE PRIVATE EYES seem like Edgar Wallace thriller's.

This time around Mr Pepper (Peter Lawford) must impersonate his recently murdered cousin (who strangely enough looks just like Peter Lawford, oh my god it is Peter Lawford!) and he and his sidekick Mr Salt (Sammy Davis Jr) are off to the country to get to the bottom of this mystery...what follows is around 90 minutes of boring overacted, overdirected and most of all over used slapstick, feets don't fail me now haunted house schtick.

Oh yes and may I add that it was directed by none other than Jerry Lewis.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0066183/

Well now that I have bored you with my rather mundane history of this duo of films. And you are now scratchng your heads in dismay and muttering to yourself
"Where does Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing fit into all this"

Alas my friends you need not wait not more........


At one point during the film at night no less...Sammy Davis is wandering the gloomy halls and stumbles upon a bookcase that moves and reveals a hidden staircase( Egads what lies beyond and perhaps beneath) as he makes his way down mumbling to himself he happens upon a "Laboratory" and standing silently and not uttering one word of dialogue is Christopher Lee (as Dracula or at least in his cape) standing next to a bookcase while Peter Cushing in a similar silent way stands near the laboratory examination table as perhaps Dr Frankenstein.

What follows is a reaction by Sammy Davis that would make both Lou Costello and Mantan Moreland roll in their respective resting places like dueling Dradle's

And of course when Sammy finally retrieves Peter to show him "what's going on in the basement" neither Lee nor Cushing are there.

So there you have it. The mysterious appearance of Christopher Lee as Dracula

And in closing may I add that both Lawford and Davis break character at the end of the film to talk to the audience while the seed is planted for another fun filled adventure of Mr Salt and Mr Pepper but in keeping with the final Dean Martin Matt Helm Appearance it is nothing more than a tease....

Thank goodness for that...


till next


P.S. Actually the One sheet posters are fun Jack Davis Artwork.....and are for the most part more amusing than the films....



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Ignatz Ratzkywatzky
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I'll have to check out ONE MORE TIME. I think it is the only Jerry Lewis-directed film that I've never seen. I've heard it's horrible, but most Lewis films have something (if only the visual style) to recommend them.
IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF! is a movie recommendation site, focusing on forgotten classics, lesser-known gems, and oddball discoveries. https://www.bottomshelfmovies.com
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Ignatz Ratzkywatzky
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Laughing Gravy
Sep 11 2007, 05:12 AM
That Hammer book I'm reading doesn't go into why Lee wasn't in the first sequel to (Horror of) Dracula, which turned out to be Brides of Dracula, only that the studio head specifically told the writers that Dracula wasn't going to be Dracula II. Anybody know?

Lee has often stated that he didn't want to be typecast, so he skipped the sequel, which many consider the best of the series. Of course, by 1965 he was ready to take the money that Hammer was offering, so he donned the cape once again, and then again, and again, and again.

1965's [/I]Dracula, Prince of Darkness is the one he performed silent, because he didn't like the dialog they gave him. He returned in later sequels, but due to the budget-breaking salary he requested, Hammer could not afford to pay him for the full shoot. Consequently, the time Dracula was on screen shrank dramatically. Dracula became a supporting player in his own films, often appearing for less than a half hour of screen time.
IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF! is a movie recommendation site, focusing on forgotten classics, lesser-known gems, and oddball discoveries. https://www.bottomshelfmovies.com
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Laughing Gravy
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Typecasting is not a bad way to earn a steady income, seems to me. I wonder if that is why Lee isn't in Revenge of Frankenstein and the other sequels, or the various Hammer Mummy sequels, too. And I guess I find it odd that the Hammer book doesn't mention Lee's reluctance to do sequels, making it appear that it was the studio's choice not to bring him back.

By the way, one of my favorite Christopher Lee performances is as the Frankenstein-like doctor who creates a merciless killing machine (no, not a Cybernaut, but not far away from one) on The Avengers. He plays the killing machine, too! I think the episode is called "Never, Never Say Die". Of course, Peter Cushing also appeared on the show, in the episode "Return of the Cybernauts", and is quite the charming villain. He turns Mrs. Peel into a human Cybernaut, the stinker. He plays the brother of the Cybernauts' original inventor, who was played by another well-known British actor, Michael Gough.

And just in case you're wondering, the other actor to play a Cybernaut creator (this time on The New Avengers) was Robert Lang.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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Inspector Carr
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Hmm Funny he had no problem doing sequels for Lord of the rings or Star Wars. perhaps the paycheck was a bit too hefty to turn down..
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roy_barcroft
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Ok
If I'm correct Chirstopher Lee starred as Dracula in seven Hammer made Dracula movies and then the two cameos as mentioned before. If I'm correct aren't we all forgetting Jess Franco's Count Dracula starring Lee as the famous Count. This would bring the count to eight features starring Lee plus the two cameos.
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Inspector Carr
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You are right and I stand corrected, for that I should retire my badge and call it a day......
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roy_barcroft
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I recently saw a interview with Christopher Lee and he said that he considered the Jess Franco Dracula movie better than the last three or four Hammer Dracula movies. That's really saying something in that the Franco movie is better than some of the Hammer movies. I think we can all say the quality of the Hammer Dracula series had really slipped after the first two. I've always felt Horror of Dracula ranks right up as Peter Cushing and Lee's best performances. Any comments?
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Inspector Carr
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I agree and it solidified them as a great screen (scream) team....
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andarius
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Inspector Carr
Sep 7 2007, 02:31 PM
Christopher Lee has appeared in 7 films as the Legendary count,

Lee starred as the Count in a French comedy made in 1976 called Dracula Father and Son - I read about it in an old House of Hammer mag from 1977.
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