Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula
Encyclopedia
Nocturna is a 1979
film conceived by star Nai Bonet
and written and directed by Harry Hurwitz
, who was credited as "Harry Tampa".
), granddaughter of the original Count (John Carradine
) who still resides in the crypt deep in the sub-basement of the establishment.
In order to increase business and the supply of fresh blood at the hotel, Nocturna books the American disco
group Moment of Truth to entertain in the hotel's cabaret, The Claret Room. While listening to the group rehearse their music, Nocturna experiences strange sensations which she has never felt before. At the same time, she is attracted to a handsome musician in the group named Jimmy (Antony Hamilton
). Soon they are having a passionate love affair, but the music that plays as they make love prevents her from making him another victim of her vampire's blood-lust. The music continues the strange transformation of Nocturna who sees her reflected image for the first time while dancing . Deeply in love with Jimmy, she disregards grandfather Dracula's advice, and runs away to America with him.
When they arrive in New York she leaves the disappointed Jimmy and seeks out the crypt of Jugulia Vein (Yvonne De Carlo
), an old love of Count Dracula
's, who lives underneath the Brooklyn Bridge
. Nocturna goes to a disco to meet Jimmy where she is transformed a gain by the soul-stirring powers of the music and all the other dancers join them in a fantastic erotic dance.
Meanwhile, back at Jugulia's crypt, Count Dracula has appeared with his henchman Theodore (Brother Theodore
), and has placed Jugulia under a spell forcing her to disclose the whereabouts of Jimmy's apartment. He orders his henchman to bring back Nocturna and to do as he wishes with her human lover. Theodore, who is hopelessly in love with her, captures Nocturna and brings her back to Jimmy's apartment tied inside a black bag. Theodore is about to take Jimmy's blood when Nocturna manages to rip through the bag, bear her fangs and pounce upon the cringing Theodore.
Theodore drags his broken body back to Jugulia's crypt and informs his master that he has failed. Jugulia leads them to the disco hoping to change Count Dracula's mind when he sees how happy his granddaughter is. However the Count is infuriated when he sees Nocturna dancing with Jimmy. He places him under his evil spell -- as well as all of the dancers in the disco. To save her lover's life, Nocturna agrees to leave with her grandfather and return to Transylvania. Jugulia, a romantic at heart, releases Jimmy from his trance. He is determined to risk his life to save Nocturna and rushes out of the disco. Before Count Dracula can destroy him, he rips an electrically lit "T" from the sign of the disco and advances towards the infamous vampire with his improvised cross. Count Dracula shrieks in horror at the sight, transforms himself into a bat and flies off to the safety of Transylvania. Jugulia, who has other plans for the Count, also transforms into a bat and flies after him.
Nocturna feels that she is human now and decides to watch the sunrise for the first time. Although they both realize it may mean her death, they stand in each other's arms awaiting the first rays of sunlight. The sun's rays illuminate Nocturna's anxious face. She smiles a warm human smile at Jimmy, and they tenderly kiss.
, Vicki Sue Robinson
and Moment of Truth.
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
film conceived by star Nai Bonet
Nai Bonet
Nai Bonet is an Vietnamese belly-dancer, singer and film actress. Born in Saigon to a Vietnamese mother and French father, Bonet began her professional career at age 13, when she headlined as a belly-dancer in a show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas...
and written and directed by Harry Hurwitz
Harry Hurwitz
Harry Hurwitz was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. His film The Projectionist was his directorial debut and also the first acting role for actor/comedian Rodney Dangerfield. He often used the pseudonym "Harry Tampa"...
, who was credited as "Harry Tampa".
Plot
Transylvania, 1979 -- Hard times have fallen upon the house of Dracula and to help pay the taxes on the ancestral castle, it has been converted into the Hotel Transylvania. The manager of the hotel is the beautiful and sensuous Nocturna (Nai BonetNai Bonet
Nai Bonet is an Vietnamese belly-dancer, singer and film actress. Born in Saigon to a Vietnamese mother and French father, Bonet began her professional career at age 13, when she headlined as a belly-dancer in a show at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas...
), granddaughter of the original Count (John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
) who still resides in the crypt deep in the sub-basement of the establishment.
In order to increase business and the supply of fresh blood at the hotel, Nocturna books the American disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
group Moment of Truth to entertain in the hotel's cabaret, The Claret Room. While listening to the group rehearse their music, Nocturna experiences strange sensations which she has never felt before. At the same time, she is attracted to a handsome musician in the group named Jimmy (Antony Hamilton
Antony Hamilton
Antony Hamilton was an Australian actor, model, and dancer.-Early life:Hamilton was born in Liverpool, England, was adopted by an Australian RAF-hero and his wife soon after birth, and grew up on a sheep farm in Australia. He attended the Scotch College in Adelaide, where dance and ballet was a...
). Soon they are having a passionate love affair, but the music that plays as they make love prevents her from making him another victim of her vampire's blood-lust. The music continues the strange transformation of Nocturna who sees her reflected image for the first time while dancing . Deeply in love with Jimmy, she disregards grandfather Dracula's advice, and runs away to America with him.
When they arrive in New York she leaves the disappointed Jimmy and seeks out the crypt of Jugulia Vein (Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the...
), an old love of Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
's, who lives underneath the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
. Nocturna goes to a disco to meet Jimmy where she is transformed a gain by the soul-stirring powers of the music and all the other dancers join them in a fantastic erotic dance.
Meanwhile, back at Jugulia's crypt, Count Dracula has appeared with his henchman Theodore (Brother Theodore
Brother Theodore
Brother Theodore , born Theodore Gottlieb, was a German-American monologuist and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness dialogues which he called "stand-up tragedy".-Early years:...
), and has placed Jugulia under a spell forcing her to disclose the whereabouts of Jimmy's apartment. He orders his henchman to bring back Nocturna and to do as he wishes with her human lover. Theodore, who is hopelessly in love with her, captures Nocturna and brings her back to Jimmy's apartment tied inside a black bag. Theodore is about to take Jimmy's blood when Nocturna manages to rip through the bag, bear her fangs and pounce upon the cringing Theodore.
Theodore drags his broken body back to Jugulia's crypt and informs his master that he has failed. Jugulia leads them to the disco hoping to change Count Dracula's mind when he sees how happy his granddaughter is. However the Count is infuriated when he sees Nocturna dancing with Jimmy. He places him under his evil spell -- as well as all of the dancers in the disco. To save her lover's life, Nocturna agrees to leave with her grandfather and return to Transylvania. Jugulia, a romantic at heart, releases Jimmy from his trance. He is determined to risk his life to save Nocturna and rushes out of the disco. Before Count Dracula can destroy him, he rips an electrically lit "T" from the sign of the disco and advances towards the infamous vampire with his improvised cross. Count Dracula shrieks in horror at the sight, transforms himself into a bat and flies off to the safety of Transylvania. Jugulia, who has other plans for the Count, also transforms into a bat and flies after him.
Nocturna feels that she is human now and decides to watch the sunrise for the first time. Although they both realize it may mean her death, they stand in each other's arms awaiting the first rays of sunlight. The sun's rays illuminate Nocturna's anxious face. She smiles a warm human smile at Jimmy, and they tenderly kiss.
Principal cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Yvonne De Carlo Yvonne De Carlo Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the... |
Jugulia Vein |
| John Carradine John Carradine John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history... |
Count Dracula Count Dracula Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler... |
| Nai Bonet | Nocturna |
| Antony Hamilton Antony Hamilton Antony Hamilton was an Australian actor, model, and dancer.-Early life:Hamilton was born in Liverpool, England, was adopted by an Australian RAF-hero and his wife soon after birth, and grew up on a sheep farm in Australia. He attended the Scotch College in Adelaide, where dance and ballet was a... |
Jimmy |
| Brother Theodore Brother Theodore Brother Theodore , born Theodore Gottlieb, was a German-American monologuist and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness dialogues which he called "stand-up tragedy".-Early years:... |
Theodore Renfield R. M. Renfield is a fictional character in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.-In the novel:A description of Renfield from the novel:R. M. Renfield, aetat 59. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable,... |
Soundtrack
The soundtrack featured songs recorded by Gloria GaynorGloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
, Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson was an American theatre and film actress and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."-Early life and career:...
and Moment of Truth.