It’s Hammer time at the House of Franklin-Stein! Peter Cushing returns as Van Helsing, and he’s up against a new vampire, and his bevy of beauties! It’s the Hammer classic, The Brides of Dracula!
Then it’s Hammers of Justice Time! Chris and Cindy review Batman: The Brave and the Bold’s “Shadow of the Bat”! The Dark Knight goes darker when he becomes one of the undead, out to vampirize his Justice League International teammates! Special thanks to episode writer J. M. DeMatteis for the great insight and feedback!
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Clip credits:
The Brides of Dracula directed by Terrence Fisher, music by Malcom Williamson
Opening wedding march by Marc Shaiman from Addams Family Values
“Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula” by The Diamonds
Batman: The Brave and the Bold opening and closing themes by Andy Strummer
“Peter Cushing” by The Surfin’ Wombats
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“Ah, you just like it for the tits.”
Evergreen comment.
And not just for this podcast.
Words to live by.
Great episode. I actually saw The Brides of Dracula for the first time when it aired on Svengoolie, and I loved it. Van Helsing (and, by extension, Peter Cushing) seems to be at the top of his game in this one. First, when he cauterizes his own vampire bite, and then when he creatively uses the windmill to finish off the Baron. My theory for why the windmill destroyed, rather than repelled, the vampire is that this is the mill where they grind the grain to make the communion wafers for the local church. So it is, in effect, a holy windmill.
As an aside, Chris, your mention of your Batman and Robin alarm clock reminded me of my own Batman the Animated Series alarm clock. When the alarm goes off, the bat signal flashes on the ceiling, and a voice says “Gotham City is in trouble! Call for Batman!” It was a big hit in my college dorm. I may need to pull it out of the basement, and see if it still works.
I like your explanation Brian, and it is now officially part of my head canon. Just like Marianne being hypnotized, and not just an airhead.
I had that BTAS alarm clock too. Sadly, I got it as a gift at Christmas, and it never worked, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell my Mom to take it back. I still have it though!
Chris
Sadly I have never seen this movie! Not sure how, but just never caught up to it (yet I had time for Hammer’s THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY? Discuss), but I really want to see it, Daffy Duck laugh notwithstanding.
That B&B episode is so great, but of course most of them were. Glad to hear from JMD, glad I could help play matchmaker. Had no idea his ending was changed, yeah, the whole “dream” thing does soften it a bit. But I don’t remember it bothering me at the time, either.
I’m just happy this whole episode passed without Cindy mentioning how much she hated DR. PHIBES.
Again, Chris, your needledrops are amazing. That song about the proto-Goth Girl was super fun.
Well, I’ve never seen THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, so, we’re even! But yes, do try and check it out. It’s in that 8-movie Hammer set Universal put out a long time ago that’s still in print, and includes lots of greats like Curse of the Werewolf, Phantom of the Opera, Paranoiac, and The Evil of Frankenstein (double the Cushing!).
Thanks again for getting me in contact with JMD. The ending did bother Andrew a bit when it aired, but by then he had seen all the classic Universal movies, so a copout wasn’t needed in his mind.
Let’s just agree not to mention the good (or in Cindy’s case, not-so-good) Doctor again, shall we?
That song by The Diamonds is one of my go-to for HoF, but I found a lot of new-to-me fun ones this year. I have more than I can even use!
Chris
Once again, all I know about the topic at hand I learned from this podcast. I appreciate Cindy’s solution to the effectiveness of any “cross” against a vampire. One must have faith. I was getting myself into a little lather thinking about it. ANY perpendicular X will repel a vampire? That can’t work. Think about how many “crosses,” not crucifixes, would be in the architecture of any of those pseudo-Gothic buildings? Cindy’ reasoning is more solid than most of the rest of the internal logic of this picture.
I have not seen this episode of B:B&tB, but I used to watch it with my daughter when she was young, and we would most definitely have turned this one off! I would not have wanted her, at that age, to see so many gruesome images, especially done to, and by, heroes. I politely disagree with Mr. deMatteis, this could not be anything other than a dream, otherwise all the violence Batman did to his allies would be real, and horrible. (BTW, said daughter is now a teen, and watches many old movies. Her choice last week was the original “Nosferatu!”)
Vampires and crosses/crucifixes make for interesting deviations in the lore. Heck, in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, you have to pray when you stake a vampire, or it doesn’t work! Christopher Lee balked at the scene where he pulls a stake out his own chest, hammered in by an atheist!
My son watched that B&B when it aired, (when he was about 10), and he wasn’t permanently scarred or anything, but I never try to tell parents what is right or wrong for their kids. They of course, know best. I know some folks who let their children watch slasher flicks in their preschool years, and others who wouldn’t let their pre-teens watch Hocus Pocus! But your daughter has good taste! Old Graf Orlock in Nosferatu still gives me the willies!!!
Chris
Chris
Ok, it’s really neither here nor there, but can I just say how “WRONG ADDRESS!” in the promo makes me laugh every time?
I had forgotten that Chaney says “I believe you’re in the House of Dracula right now” in A&C Meet Frank. When I came across it culling audio, I couldn’t resist!
Chris