Dracula Bites the Big Apple

Dracula Bites the Big Apple

Credits
Title:	Dracula Bites the Big Apple
Directed by:	Richard Wenk
Written by:	Fred Olson
Produced by:	Richard Wenk
Cinematography:	C.W. Cressler
Edited by:	Hal Popik
Production
Released:	1979
Running time:	22 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
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Dracula Bites the Big Apple is an American film short of the horror and dark comedy genres with an emphasis on vampire fiction. It was directed by Richard Wenk with a screenplay written by Fred Olsen. It stars Peter Loewy in the eponymous role of the infamous vampire known as Dracula.

Plot[]

Dracula needs a new groove. Shaking off the dust of his usual trappings, he decides to explore America. And what better place to start than to check out what's happening in New York City! He flies into the city with the promise of a new unlife after sampling the local cuisine aboard the flight (which includes the entire passenger manifest and flight crew). A taxicab takes Dracula, his servant Renfield and his trusty coffin down the streets of Manhattan as a musical number of "Dancing in the Moonlight" breaks out. The taxi driver takes off without him, taking his coffin with him. Dracula sends Renfield to track down his coffin.

Dracula buys some souvenirs, gets kicked out of an establishment, walks a rat, and gets a summons from a police officer. Dracula finds a delectable young woman that interests him and decides to put his vampiric hoodoo on her and taste her blood. Unfortunately, this also involves interrupting a child's birthday party. Afterward, he pays a stop to New York's swankiest disco club, Studio 54. However, club owner Steve Rubell refuses to let him, citing that they have too many "Draculas" already.

As the evening hours begin to fade, Dracula and Renfield end up on Coney Island where they finally recover his coffin. Dracula sets the coffin adrift into the ocean, then climbs in just as dawn begins to rise.

Cast[]

Actor

Role

The girl

Customs official

Notes & Trivia[]

This is Richard Wenk's directorial debut.
This short is included in the DVD release for Vamp, which is another vampire based dark comedy and Richard Wenk's first major film work. Film producer Donald P. Borchers found this short in 1984 and offered Richard Wenk the opportunity to direct a feature film, which became Vamp.
Writer Fred Olsen is credited as Fred Olson in this film.
Steve Rubell plays himself in this film. Rubell was a night club owner and the founder of infamous New York hot spot Studio 54. Rubell passed away from complications from the AIDS virus on July 25th, 1989 at the age of 45.
Actor Whitey Wenk is likely related to director/writer Richard Wenk.
A cover version of the song "Dancing in the Moonlight" is performed in this short. The son was originally written by Sherman Kelly and performed by his band, Boffalongo. It was released as a single in August, 1970.
This short opens with a spoken line taken from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world".
In the scene where Dracula mesmerizes the young woman and stalks her back to her apartment, samples of Bernard Herrmann's score from Psycho can be heard playing.

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