Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

1970's "Count Yorga" is one of those movies that some how manages to be both cheesy and yet, spooky at the same time. The film opens with a coffin being unloaded from a ship, onto a truck and I think anyone who's seen these types of movies before knows what that means. From there, we meet Donna, her friends, boyfriend, and the mysterious Count Yorga, who possesses great power and knowledge concerning the occult. Eventually, our characters find out that Yorga is no mere mortal, but instead one of the undead. From there it just gets better and better, as our heroes realize they must destroy Yorga before he turns Donna into the undead. The movie has plenty of cheese in it and as such there are scenes where you can't help but burst out laughing. Yet, the movie has a lot going for it as well, like the capable direction and writing of Bob Kelljan, the certain charm that the overall look of the movie has, despite the low budget, and some creepy and disturbing scenes like the woman who, after being bitten by Yorga, decides that eating her cat is a good way to get some iron. But the thing that really makes the movie so good is Robert Quarry's performance as Count Yorga. His presence is so strong that he is able to rise above what ever flaws there are of the film and portrays Yorga as someone who is charming and intelligent, but underneath is something that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Also, its interesting to see the first vampire movie that was able to successfully update the vampire to a modern setting like Los Angelos. If you love vampires like I do, I highly recommend this movie for your collection. And remember, as the narrator says in the beginning of the movie, "if one is superstitious, even on a small, seemly insignificant level, one must be vulnerable to all superstitions, conceivably even those of vampires".

Excellent vampire film because of the acting presence of Robert Quarry , who although an American can portray that old world style sophistication that I had not scene since Bela Lugosi's unforgettable interpretation of Dracula .Quarry is magnetic as Count Yorga , his twisted sense of superiority and confidence in the face of Roger Perry's character is fascinating as they spar with each other verbally and then Perry's character finally succumbs to Yorga's minions . Bob Kellijan does a great job with this and the follow-up ''The Return of Count Yorga '' of capitalizing on Quarry's appeal which carries the film .Hail Robert Quarry ! anyone who can make a vampire role his own is a great actor , Lugosi's footsteps are huge but Mr. Quarry holds his own !!

Made on a decidedly low budget, this contemporary vampire story is noted for placing a Dracula-like figure in a modern setting for perhaps the first time and for the captivating performance of Quarry in the title role. Anderson plays a young lady who holds a séance with her boyfriend and two other couples along with Quarry who leads the event. She is trying to connect with her recently deceased mother, who was also the lover of Quarry from three weeks prior to her death. Following a jarring and somewhat harrowing experience in the séance, the party breaks up and young Murphy and Lang give Quarry a ride home. Lang becomes intrigued by Quarry, a recent transplant from Bulgaria who lives in a musty castle on a gated estate. Before long, Quarry has nibbled on Lang and enticed her to his side while Murray and pal Macready prepare to do battle with him. They enlist the aid of blood specialist Perry, who acts as a sort of modern day Van Helsing, trying to come up with ways to combat the vampire. Quarry is a striking presence as Count Yorga (actually meant to be Iorga, and pronounced that way in the film, but changed by the distributing company in order to be more easily pronounced by the movie-going public!) The actor clearly relishes the chance to perform this type of role and brings a gravity to it, despite some of the lighter and campier aspects of the movie. Perry gives a skilled, knowing performance as well, obviously aware that a blend of seriousness mixed with levity was called for in the production. Lang is attractive and reasonably good (soap fans will be interested to know that her daughter Katherine Kelly Lang has played Brooke on "The Bold and the Beautiful" for many years!) Murphy, who would grow into a prolific character actor, isn't bad either, but most of the rest of the cast is weak. Macready, who produced and directed the film (and enlisted his more famous father to provide a ripe, flavorful voice-over), while nice enough looking, is almost laughably expressionless and wooden during most of his screen time. Initially conceived as a sort of T & A horror flick, it eventually morphed into a standard horror outing, though some sexually prominent elements remain. Quarry watches as two of his undead brides ALMOST make out and Lang has a self-caressing sequence as she's falling under his spell. Perry has a bedmate who was clearly chosen more for her body than her ability to recite dialogue, though he scene is amusing whether intentional or not! The low budget is revealed occasionally such as when two men carry on a conversation done entirely in voiceovers as they are shown walking, in long shots, through L.A. (these scenes afford priceless glimpses at the city at that time, however) and in the Volkswagon minibus scenes in which the actors are clearly emoting during daylight hours for a scene that takes place late at night! However, the visible snags are all part of the charm, for the most part. The non-polished production aspects lend the film a somehow more realistic and accessible feel. Memorable moments include Quarry enduring a late night tete-a-tete with Perry and Macready and Lang experiencing a gruesome encounter with her cat. The popularity, primarily at drive-ins and other theaters of that ilk, led to a sequel ("The Return of Count Yorga") one year later.

Robert Quarry gives a suavely sinister and mesmerizing performance as Count Yorga, a smooth, cultured and highly dangerous Bulgarian vampire who's posing as a psychic medium in modern-day 70's Los Angeles, California. Yorga preys on several young ladies and incurs the wrath of their boyfriends, who find that killing Yorga is easier said than done. Directed with real skill and assurance by Robert Kelljan (who also wrote the witty script), with sharp cinematography by Arch Archambault, a steady pace, a lively, shuddery score by Bill Marx, a good deal of tension, and an extremely wild, rousing and gruesome conclusion that comes complete with a surprise downbeat ending, this horror opus puts a really nifty and entertaining contemporary hip spin on the usual bloodsucker premise. This movie further benefits from solid acting from a largely attractive cast: Roger Perry as the concerned, practical Dr. James Hayes, Donna Anderson as the fetching Donna, Michael Macready as Donna's worried, protective boyfriend Michael Thompson, Michael Murphy as the brash Paul, Judy Lang as the alluring, outgoing Erica Landers, Edward Walsh as Yorga's brutish, creepy manservant Brudah, and buxom blonde 60's soft-core cinema starlet Marsha Jordan as one of Yorga's sexy, yet lethal vampire brides. Better still, Kelljan totally pushes the PG rating to the limit: Erica snacks on a cute little kitten in one particularly shocking scene and Yorga's vampire brides all show off a lot of cleavage. George Macready supplies the supremely sonorous narration which bookends the picture. A real fun'n'funky delight.