Taste Of Blood, A

AKA:	Secret Of Dr. Alucard, The

Release date:	1967 USA
Running time:	118' (cover 120') - Source: VHS PAL
Rating:	Germ.: NR; UK: 18; US: NR
Main Crew:	Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis (Gore-Gore Girls 1972; The Wizard Of Gore 1970;                Something Weird 1967; Color Me Blood Red 1965; Blood Feast 1963) Producer: Creative Film Enterprises Score: Larry Wellington Writer: Donald Stanford Director of photography: Andy Romanoff
Cast:	Use the dropdown menu to see the full cast Bill Rogers / John Stone Elizabeth Wilkinson / Helene Stone Otto Schlessinger / Dr. Howard Helsing William Kerwin (as Thomas Wood) / Dr. Hank Tyson Lawrence Tobin / Detective Crane Ted Schell / Lord Gold Eleanor Valli / Hester Avery Gail Janis / Vivian Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Seymour Sheldon) / The Limey Seaman Dolores Carlos / Sherri Morris Sidney J. Reich (as Sidney Jay) / Arthur Morris, the Lawyer Judy Waterberry / Ida, the Maid Roy Collodi / Delivery Man Karl Stoeber / Man walking Dog Thomas Rowland / Detective Barrie Walton / Telephone Operator Cal Bowman / Hank's Golfing Friend Doug Weston / Police Photographer Jake R. Pawlson / Policeman Bill Kozak / Man running from Tomb
Summary:	John Stone (Bill Rogers), a mild American businessman, receives an odd inheritance in the mail: two bottles of ancient brandy which, unknown to Stone, also contain the blood of his ancestor, Count Dracula! Despite the foreboding of his wife, Helene (Elizabeth Wilkinson), John drinks the brandy and, sure enough, slowly turns into a pasty-faced vampire. Worse, in addition to his newfound thirst for neck-slurping, Stone seeks revenge against the ancestors of those who killed the vampire king. However, when Stone murders an exotic dancer known as "Vivacious Vivian" (Gail Janis), Dr. Howard Helsing (Otto Schlessinger) of the famous Dracula-killing Helsings takes notice, but not before Stone puts Helene under his spell.
Note:	- Director Herschell Gordon Lewis was the first American horror director with an academic background (he was teaching English and the humanities at Mississippi State, and advertising at Roosevelt in Chicago, and has written 24 books, primarily about copyrighting), and directed what is considered the first splatter film ever made ("Blood Feast" 1963). His exploitative drive-in features were, at the time, the goriest movies around (he is quoted: "(Sam) Peckinpah shoots people, we dismember them"). - "A Taste Of Blood" was a script Lewis bought, written as a straightforward Dracula story by Doc Stanford, and though this is none of the usual Herschell Gordon Lewis gore feasts, his blue-faced vampire tears chunks out of his victim's necks instead of leaving two little puncture marks. - With a running time of nearly two hours, this is Lewis' longest feature (the usual Lewis movie clocked in at just around 80 minutes), had the longest shooting schedule (a full 3 weeks), and dealt with a more traditional horror theme (vampirism). He also considers the film to be his lone stab at some kind of mainstream film.
	click here for filmstills (pictures from the movie) Our Ranking short review: will come soon!!