When Dracula Met Frankenstein: My Years Making Drive-In Movies with Al Adamson

by Sam Sherman, John A. Russo (Foreword) & Tom Weaver (Afterword)

In 1968 two ambitious young filmmakers, working on a shoestring, made a movie about a ruthless motorcycle gang. Titled Satan’s Sadists, it became the initial release of their new company, Independent-International Pictures, and was wildly profitable. Over the next two decades Sam Sherman and Al Adamson collaborated on a succession of low-budget films that attracted moviegoers to drive-ins and hardtop theaters alike. They exploited all the hot trends—horror, sci-fi, biker films, martial arts, sexploitation, blaxploitation—and marketed their product with dynamic, occasionally lurid campaigns. IIP used limited resources wisely and cast its films with a mix of talented young performers and former stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Along the way Sam and Al encountered many of the industry’s most colorful characters, both behind and in front of the camera.

In this book Sam Sherman revisits those halcyon days and reveals the behind-the-scenes story of IIP’s rise and fall. But When Dracula Met Frankenstein is more than the chronicle of one company: It paints a vivid picture of the entire drive-in era and the feisty independent producers and distributors who comprised the lower strata of the motion-picture industry. Accompanied by nearly 250 images—posters, scene stills, and candid on-set photos (many never before published)—Sam’s memoir is a must-have for casual fans and film historians alike. Its 378 pages are chock full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes that not only to put to rest the most outrageous rumors about IIP but also provide valuable insights about the under-documented underbelly of the movie trade.