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Dracula Blows His Cool

For once I feel I can say that the Italian titlists did better than the original ones. "Graf Dracula in Oberbayern" or also "Graf Dracula (beißt jetzt) in Oberbayern" i.e. Count Dracula in upper Bavaria (or bites in...) is the weak title of this 1979 German comedy that in Italy is known (so to speak) as "Il Succhione". Wonderful. Spot on. With that shred, so to speak, of malice.

Italians who make their mark not only in the title but also in the production with the presence of Gianni Garko, who is the protagonist, and Giacomo Rizzo.

Perhaps, given the film, this is not exactly something to be proud of, and certainly the then newcomer director Carl Schenkel, who went on to have a very respectable international career, would not put it among his best films.

As the title amply suggests Schenkel directs a sexy comedy set in Bavaria with good old Dracula as the main character. Or at least his relatives.

Gianni Garko plays Stani, a photographer, descendant of a wealthy family who owns a castle in Upper Bavaria that he uses for his work and to take, basically, erotic photos with a, shall we say, sadomasochistic theme. The place later also becomes a kind of very successful discotheque.

All this commotion, however, wakes Stanislaus, the dracula on duty, again played by Garko, who with his wife, Countess Olivia (Betty Vergès) comes out of the grave and goes back to being a vampire. Or at least he tries to.

'The Sucker' in the end does not exploit any positive aspect that a story like this could have. It does not make us laugh, never, instead boredom prevails, it overwhelms us with tits, which yes is always a good thing, but here in the long run the erotic aspect does not work either.

It remains a curious film, to be seen more for the presence of an international cast and a director, who, as mentioned, has made her way in the world of cinema.