It's Fright Bite Tonight -as Jack Palance Becomes the Vampire Count in "Dan Curtis' Dracula"!

Posted on March 1, 2025

Tonight on MeTV- you’ve thrilled to the amazing horrors brought to us by Dan Curtis, from “Trilogy of Terror” to “Dark Shadows” and ‘The Night Stalker”-and this time, we witness his take on the classic novel that began the tale of the most famous vampire of all- in “Dan Curtis’ ‘Dracula’!”

Note: this 1974 made-for-TV production, starring Jack Palance, was originally called “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”- but is now identified by the Dan Curtis title to avoid confusion with the Francis Ford Coppola 1992 film-also due to Coppola actually buying the exclusive rights to the title “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”! Notably, tonight’s film was really the first version of the Dracula story to touch upon the Vlad the Impaler history of the Count, and to adhere more closely (but not entirely) to the original novel.

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The story begins in a very familiar way-in 1897- the residents of a Transylvanian village seem fearful upon hearing that real estate solicitor Jonathan Harker (NOT Renfield in this version- in fact, there is no Renfield in this story) is on a business mission at -Castle Dracula! Harker’s last leg of his trip to the castle in the carriage sent by Dracula, is accompanied along part of the way by a pack of wolves. He meets with the Count, who is looking for some property in England- and is interested in the least desirable offering Harker has- the decaying Carfax estate. Dracula then shows an unsettling interest in the photo Harker has of his fiancée Mina’s best friend- the lovely Lucy.

After encountering the Count’s undead wives, Harker realizes that his host is a vampire! He remains a prisoner at the estate, while the Count makes his way to England. Not long after his arrival, Lucy comes down with an unexplained illness-and her beloved, Arthur, not knowing where to turn, calls on a doctor- who else but Van Helsing?!

The doctor begins to suspect the truth about Lucy’s illness- with the shocking proof stunning poor Arthur. Things become more intense when Mina becomes the object of the fiendish Count’s attentions- with the story leading back to Transylvania for a final showdown!

This film, written by the great Richard Matheson, was the reuniting of Jack Palance and Dan Curtis, after having worked together on a TV version of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”- in which Palance had the title role. We’ll discuss him and the rest of the cast, with some background on the production, and again be plagued by Nostalgiaferatoo, who offers a defense of Dracula. We’ll reveal a product that’ll soon spread all over England, bring you a song, and more.

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“Dan Curtis’ ‘Dracula’ ” begins tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time- and, as always, that’s when the live-Tweeting will begin during the show on Twitter/X, with live commenting also taking place on Bluesky. Make sure you use the hashtag #svengoolie in both places! Again, last week, we were trending nationally on both during our time slot, thanks to you. Chicago area viewers can get an encore look at Russ Tamblyn and the two massive combatants in “War of the Gargantuas”- this morning at 11 am on WCIU, The U.

Now available in our store- from Toynk- the new Syndicate Collectibles 3.75-inch Svengoolie figure! Another perfect addition to your Sven collection- so, order now! Make sure you browse all the items in the store- including recent additions like the various “Svengoolie Squares” apparel featuring the characters you see on our show!

Please join us tonight for one of the most chilling portrayals of Count Dracula ever- courtesy of Jack Palance!