Son of Dracula

Soundtrack album released 1974 on LP and cassette by Rapple/RCA Records (ABL1-0220 (LP), ABK1-0220 (cassette) or 07863-50220 (modern-day catalogue number).

This movie was never released on video and isn't likely to be issued on DVD. Sir Ringo Starr has said that the movie is so terrible, he can't possibly authorize an official release.

This movie was made during a period when Sir Ringo Starr, in between occasional single releases and session work, was concentrating on filmmaking and acting. Two movies in which he had starred, 200 Motels (1971) and Blindman (1971), had been released at the end of 1971, and before starting on this one, he had just finished work on his directorial debut, the T. Rex documentary Born to Boogie (1972).

As well as producing this movie, Sir Ringo Starr appeared as Merlin the Magician, who follows the birth and rise of young Count Downe (Harry Nilsson). Starr and Nilsson were longtime friends, and the ex-Beatle had recently played drums on Nilsson's 1972 album "Son of Schmilsson", which had spoofed horror movie motifs. A few months after those sessions, in August 1972, Starr decided to make a rock and roll Dracula movie (originally titled Count Downe), and invited Nilsson to come on-board. At first, Nilsson thought the whole idea must have come from his recent album. As it turned out, Starr had not followed its release, and until then-wife Maureen brought him a copy, he did not even know that "Son of Schmilsson" had already used a similar theme.

Filming was completed by November 1972, but this movie had to wait a year and a half for release. Soon after completion, Sir Ringo Starr called in Graham Chapman of Monty Python who was writing with Douglas Adams at the time, and had been working on a proposed (but eventually unfilmed) television special for Ringo. Along with Chapman's other regular collaborator, Bernard McKenna, they were asked to write a whole new script to be dubbed over the movie's lackluster dialogue, and they recorded an alternative, Pythonesque soundtrack, but the whole idea was then shelved. Later, attempts were made to market the movie, but as Starr later said, "No one would take it."