The Night Dracula Saved The World (1979)
aka The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
Directed by Bruce Bilson
Children's Video Library VHS
THE FILM
In this Halloween TV Special, Dracula doesn't really save the world but he does throw a Disco Dancing party. He dresses like John Travolta and "boogies". Count Dracula is played by Judd Hirsch. Could you please find yourself a copy of this before Halloween?
Mariette Hartley is superb as The Witch. John Schuck was born to play The Frankenstein Monster. Henry Gibson is grand as Igor. Jack Riley is underused but charming as the Wolfman. There's also a zombie and a mummy. They assemble the night before Halloween because Count Dracula has, apparently, made an announcement that Halloween is in trouble. But, he didn't...So who did? Is it the Wolfman who has made a mint doing razor blade commercials? The Frankenstein Monster who saw Young Frankenstein and can't stop dancing. Or the Zombie or the Mummy with The Big Butt? Or, could it be, The Disgruntled Witch, whose flight over the moon begins every Halloween?
Well, I'm not going to ruin it. Let me just say that the Monsters are goofy -- Hirsch & Hartley carry the leads beautifully and I had a great time watching this. I even had a bit of a tear in my eye during the penultimate scene (pre-Disco Dancing party). The pace isn't too quick but this is a pretty cool variation on the Monster World that lasts the 25 (or so) minutes we see here and no more. Enjoy every moment we're with them. I sure did. Watched this twice and I will watch it again before Halloween.
I didn't want to talk about Prime Time Holiday Specials from my youth but, darnit, I keep getting pulled back to it. So, I'll just write quick...My sister and I used to absolutely adore the approach of Halloween because we had three Holiday Special cycles: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Hat Blocking Wednesday. 8-9 PM, at least once or twice a week as the holidays approached, we would sit down, excited, wide-eyed, ready to enjoy, and take in the holiday specials. The scares of Halloween, the feelings of goodwill from Thanksgiving and the Majesty of the Unblocked Hat from HBW. I don't remember any of these hours being terribly fast moving but they weren't meant to be. We wallowed in the joy of the season. This was a way to extend a time of year that we loved (and I still love) so much. The specials didn't move fast because we didn't want them to...Good Lord, after the specials it was time for bed and then school in the morning. Why rush to that? Relax and luxuriate.
I remember this special. 1979, I was 6. I believe it played a few times over the first half of the 80s. Generally, I did prefer animated stuff but I knew that this was fun because of the Monsters. I get the feeling that I could only really appreciate a special like this today. It has good actors being really goofy while trying to save one of the best days of the year. All the monsters are cool. There are some funny lines and Judd Hirsch gets to pull a lot of faces. There's a verve here that brings this thing to life. It doesn't make it the Best Special Ever. I don't even know if it makes it one of the top ten. But, it is very good, very worth your time. Do they still have Holiday Special Nights on Prime Time? If they don't, grab this and the Garfield Halloween and park it. You'll enjoy yourself.
But, don't buy Halloween candy until right before Halloween. You'll end up eating it all.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
It's a very old VHS. It looks and sounds just fine to me. Please crank the Disco Dancing party up high.
EXTRAS
None. There is a fun logo for the Video Company that made me dance around the room but that's a very personal thing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While there is some nostalgia here, I don't think that's a bad thing when it comes to Holiday Specials. It's seeing them every year at the same time that gave them the power they had. I'm wide-eyed watching this now and I'm a grown-up dope. I wish we could have got a Christmas episode with this cast playing these monsters. I wonder if Mr. Skull would let me review the Christmas Monster Mash LP this December?
— Dan Budnik, 10.28.10 |
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