This movie often gets accused of being a "Young Frankenstein" rip-off, but the producers only altered the title from "Vampira" into "Old Dracula" to cash in on the tremendous success of Mel Brooks horror spoof. The truth is that "Vampira" got filmed prior to "Young Frankenstein" and it also can't hold a candle to that film, as this is a truly poor and almost pitiable attempt at comedy. The great cast, including David Niven and Peter Bayliss, do whatever they can, but Clive Donner's direction is uninspired and especially Jeremy Lloyd's screenplay is anemic and almost entirely devoid of laughs and creativity. In Transylvania, Count Dracula and his male servant Maltravers are hosting tourist tours in the old castle, and every once and a while this also allows them to restorage their blood reserves. When a group of Playboy models visits the castle, they discover that one of them has the same and extremely rare blood type of Dracula's deceased wife Vampira. But, as mandatory in lame comedy, the samples get mixed up and the count's beloved wife resurrects as a feisty black girl. Reason enough for the old-fashioned Count to travel to swinging London where his conservative life-style naturally conflicts with the free-spirited mentality. The best parts of the films are the dialogs between Niven and Bayliss, and even those are lukewarm at best. Everything else is downright pathetic, with as absolute low points Dracula's "night on the town" and the predictable finale with atrocious make-up effects.

David Niven's career hit rock bottom when he played the one and only Count Dracula in Vampira. Niven's dapper English charm is truly put to the test her and it fails.

Times are tough in Transylvania and Castle Dracula is now being rented out as a tourist attraction. The money's good and one can take an occasional bite out of a tourist. But Niven's real mission is to find the right blood to revive the Countess who's been asleep since the Roaring Twenties.

He finds the right blood from one of the tourists, but lo and behold the countess wakes up and turns black into someone that looks a whole lot like Teresa Graves. What to do, Niven's a most conservative Dracula and apparently interracial marriage is frowned on.

The rest of the film is spent on Niven trying to find a cure for Graves. And listening to Graves calling Niven such things as 'jive turkey' with both of them wondering where she's pick up the latest slang.

A few years earlier Godfrey Cambridge did Watermelon Man which laid a giant ostrich egg with the same kind of humor. It's not any funnier with Teresa Graves.

And David Niven should have been ashamed of himself.

This is one of those obscure films that in the annual edition of "Screen World" most likely was listed in the "also" chapter where minor films of little critical importance ended up with just a short paragraph featuring cast and crew and if lucky a teeny, tiny photo. sure enough, I had never heard of it until I came across that it accidentally, even though I thought I knew everything about David Niven's career.

This film could be described as "Murder By Teeth" in reference to Niven's smash hit "Murder by Death" two years later. as count Dracula, he is surprised when bringing his late wife back after 50 years in her eternal coffin finds that she has turned into the black Teresa Graves! There is little to offend side the initial shock, and after going to a black midnight movie, Graves begins speaking a more streetwise black dialect. she looks great in vintage fashions, and I must say that she was certainly one of the most beautiful actresses of the 1970's.

Count Dracula needs the blood three women for mysterious reasons and goes to London get it, utilizing vampire historian Nicky Henson in his plans. He sees an atmosphere quite different since he had been there decades earlier (when he look like Bela Lugosi) and somehow finds his place in the psychedelic world of 1970's London nightlife. Peter bayliss get some very funny lines as Niven's non-vampire valet.

While this is enjoyable for the most part, it is certainly a very dated film, obviously a quick trip off of Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein". Brooks would spoof the vampire genre with "Dracula Dead and Loving It" many years later with better results. But this film is hokey with scattered laughs, perhaps being a bit too proud of its tongue in cheek (or teeth in neck) attitude. There have been worse "Dracula" spoofs ("Transylvania 6-5000" is by far the worst),but I can see why this has definite flop status and hasn't gained a cult following. In short, its bite really doesn't leave much of a mark.