Billy the Kid Versus Dracula

Film: Billy the Kid Versus Dracula

Year: 1966

Director: William Beaudine

Writer: Carl K. Hittleman

Starring: John Carradine, Chuck Courtney and Melinda Plowman

Review:

This was a film that I didn’t know about until working my way through the Horror Show Guide Encyclopedia. The title made me chuckle. What I didn’t realize is that this low budget effort featured actors who worked in westerns and you also have the great John Carradine, who cut his teeth in Universal before being in films like Shock Waves and The Howling. I had only seen this one so I was intrigued to revisit my Scouring through the Sixes.

Synopsis: Dracula (Carradine) travels to the American Old West in the 1800s, intent on making a young and beautiful female ranch owner his vampire bride. Her fiancé, the reformed outlaw Billy the Kid (Chuck Courtney), finds out about it and rushes to save her.

This film starts with a family in the American west. They are actually from what I am assuming is Germany. The mother is Eva Oster (Virginia Christine) and she is with her husband, Franz (Walter Janovitz) and their daughter Lisa (Hannie Landman). They’re sleeping outside their wagon. We then see a bat fly up to them. They are superstitious, knowing the lore. They go to sleep. The bat becomes Dracula (John Carradine). He attacks Lisa.

Dracula then gets picked up by a stagecoach. Inside of it is Mary Ann Bentley (Marjorie Bennett). She’s accompanied by her brother, James Underhill (William Forrest). James is coming from Boston and with Mary’s husband passing away, he’s a former banker who is going to help run the ranch. She shows a picture of her daughter to Dracula and he is smitten. She informs him that James has never met her daughter.

The stagecoach stops for the night and when it does, they see a tribe of American Indians. Dracula’s eye is caught by an attractive maiden, Nana (Charlita). He attacks her and her body is found the next morning. The stagecoach starts off again, being chased by Nana’s tribe, knowing that whoever did this is inside. There is a crash, killing everyone. Dracula sees an opportunity as the lone survivor. He changes into a bat, heading toward town.

We then meet Mary’s daughter. Her name is Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Bentley (Melinda Plowman). She is engaged to the lead ranch hand. The problem is that her mother doesn’t know yet. He goes by William Bonney (Chuck Courtney), who is actually the notorious thief and gunman Billy the Kid. He’s trying to reform his life. Billy heads for town while Betty gets ready to join him.

Dracula arrives first. He meets with Pete (Richard Reeves) who runs the saloon and hotel. Dracula takes a room upstairs and states that he does not want to be bothered until the stagecoach arrives. Billy arrives next and goes up to introduce himself. Soon after it is reported that the stagecoach has crashed, killing everyone.

Also coming to this place are the Osters. Lisa needs medical attention. The doctor is Henrietta Hull (Olive Carey). Her knowledge is limited to what her husband taught her, who was the doctor before his passing. Dracula recognizes this family. Lisa is spooked, thinking that she recognizes him. Dracula uses his ability of persuasion to stop her and then turns on his charm.

Taking advantage of no one knowing James and with the passing of Mary Ann, Dracula assumes his identity. Billy is leery of him which causes Dracula to need him sent away. Betty is torn what to do, deferring to the belief that he is her uncle. She is the focus of this vampire and Billy has to contend with the other farmhands, who side with their new boss.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. The film has an interesting and creative premise, though it makes changes like having Dracula move in the daytime. While films like Nosferatu use sunlight to kill Dracula, I don't recall that in the original source material. Regardless, seeing the classic villain in a different time period was enjoyable. Having a historic villain like Billy the Kid being our hero is good as well, especially since the reason is due to his love of Betty. I can work with this premise.

Let’s then look at the positives. I do love this built in issue that Billy the Kid is a notorious outlaw. He hasn’t been punished so he’s hoping to fly under the radar here. The problem then becomes that Ben Dooley (Harry Carey, Jr.) and his crew who work on the ranch as well, don't like him. Billy must be careful and not draw attention to him. Since no one knows Dracula’s true identity for a long stretch, he’s able to create issues for Billy. That does well enough in building some tension.

Now an issue that I originally had was Eva and her husband being taken in to work for Betty. Eva believes that her daughter was killed by a vampire. This works in its favor to explain things quicker. Since this has a small budget, that is the reason. Dracula doesn’t like the Osters and wants them sent away. It is playing up that they’re from the old country and bringing their folklore with them. This part was solid in my opinion.

There is a theme there about clashing mythologies. We have Dracula, representing European Gothic horror with Billy the Kid and the American frontier. There is a redemption tale for Billy as well. The problem there is that he doesn’t truly pay for his sins, unless you see this ordeal with Dracula as that. Dracula also can be seen as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’.

Let’s then shift over to the acting performances. The film boasts a decent cast. Carradine is effective as Dracula, with a good, villainous stare, aided by an interesting filmmaking technique. Courtney, however, is too stoic as Billy and lacks the needed ruggedness. Casey is an appealing, believably naive character. Christine, Janovitz, and Landman convincingly portray the first attacked family. Bennett and Forrest successfully set the scene, and veteran actor Carey appears in a supporting role. The cast is fine.

All that is left then is filmmaking. Now I do think that the cinematography and framing were fine. It hides a good amount, reducing it to interior shots. We also see inside of a cave, which is a good touch since it is supposed to be a former silver mine. When we do see the outside, wild west stuff, it worked well enough. There isn’t much in the way of effects. The rubber bat was better than other uses of it. I did like this red light they put on Dracula when he’s using persuasion. Other than that, the soundtrack didn’t stand out.

In conclusion, this is a fun, if flawed, low-budget genre mashup that succeeds mainly on the strength of its bizarre premise and the presence of Carradine's performance. While the film struggles with pacing, character depth for its lead, and minimal special effects, it offers an interesting thematic collision between Old World mythology and the American frontier. Ultimately, it's a piece of 1960s B-movie horror schlock that delivers exactly what its title promises, making it a noteworthy curiosity for dedicated fans of oddball cinema, even if it doesn't quite rise to being a genuinely good film.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 10