biography
Born in Hollywood on July 25, 1929, director Al Adamson grew up in southern California as the son of western actor and director Victor
Adamson, aka Denver Dixon. His first foray into filmmaking came by way of his father, who was directing the low-budget western
Half Way to Hell (1961); billed as Lyle Felice, Al Adamson starred in and helped direct the film, which was shot in Mexico and Utah.
In 1965, Al Adamson produced and directed his first film, Psycho a-Go-Go (1965; with Tacey Robbins) in which he also has a small role.
With some assistance from his sometime producing partner, Sam Sherman, Adamson eventually repackaged Psycho a Go-Go as Blood of
Ghastly Horror (1972; with Tommy Kirk and Regina Carrol), splicing in newly shot footage using the talents
of John Carradine, Kent Taylor, Tommy Kirk, and actress/singer Regina Carrol.
Adamson partnered with Sam Sherman, the two creating Independent International Pictures in the late 1960s. His next release, Satan's
Sadists (1969; with Russ Tamblyn, Scott Brady, and Regina Carrol), was an
exploitation film to cash in on the biker craze and performed well at the box office. Blood of Dracula's
Castle (1969; with Alexander D'Arcy and Paula Raymond) followed, which had been shot three years beforehand.  
LEFT and CENTER: Shots of actress Regina Carrol. Adamson and Carrol began a romance in the late 1960s, and the director cast Carrol in many of this subsequent films. The couple married in 1972. RIGHT: Behind-the-scenes photo of Al Adamson and Zandor Vorkov (aka Roger Engel) while shooting Dracula vs. Frankenstein in 1970Although he is remembered today as a horror director, in truth Al Adamson only made a handful of horror films following Blood of Dracula's Castle, which include Horror of the Blood Monsters (1970; with John Carradine and Robert Dix), Brain of Blood (1971; with Grant Williams and Regina Carrol), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971; with Anthony Eisley and Regina Carrol), and Doctor Dracula (1978; with John Carradine and Regina Carrol). Following trends in the exploitation market, Adamson branched out into sexploitation films such as Blazing Stewardesses (1975; with Yvonne De Carlo and Regina Carrol) and The Naughty Stewardesses (1975; with Marilyn Joi), as well as blaxploitation flicks including Dynamite Brothers (1974; with Timothy Brown, Aldo Ray, and Carol Speed) and Black Heat (1976; with Timothy Brown and Russ Tamblyn). |
the films of al adamsonHalf Way to Hell (1961) 
Al Adamson (center, wearing a hat) acted in the western Half Way to Hell, a film he also helped script. It was directed by his father, Victor AdamsonPsycho a Go-Go (1965) 
From Adamson's crime drama Psycho a Go-Go. LEFT and RIGHT: Pop singer Tacey Robbins (aka Joan Murray) stars as pop singer Linda ClarkeBlood of Dracula's Castle (1969)  
Images from Al Adamson's horror favorite Blood of Dracula's Castle. This film was shot in the summer of 1966 but was not released until October 1969. LEFT: Paula Raymond as the Countess, a vampire. CENTER: Alexander D'Arcy and Paula Raymond are exposed as vampires at the end of the film. RIGHT: With Vicki Volante and John CarradineSatan's Sadists (1969) 
From Adamson's biker film Satan's Sadists, scripted by Greydon Clark. LEFT; With Kent Taylor and Scott Brady. RIGHT: Russ Tamblyn stars as Anchor, head of a vicious biker gangHell's Bloody Devils (1970)
Broderick Crawford starred in Adamson's biker flick Hell's Bloody DevilsHorror of the Blood Monsters (1970)
Al Adamson (fourth from left) appears as a vampire in an early sequence of Horror of the Blood Monsters. Part of this film is borrowed from a 1965 adventure film titled TaganiDracula Vs. Frankenstein (1971)   
LEFT: Lon Chaney Jr. passed away not long after his performance as Groton in Adamson's Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, Chaney's last film. CENTER A: With J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Frankenstein, John Bloom as the monster, and Zandor Vorkov as Dracula. This was also Naish's last film. CENTER B: Regina Carrol is searching for her lost sister. RIGHT: Near the end of the film with Zandor Vorkov and Regina CarrolBrain of Blood (1971)  
From Adamson's horror flick Brain of Blood. LEFT: Grant Williams (in his final film) and Kent Taylor try to fend off Gor (John Bloom). CENTER: Grant Williams tends to one of Gor's victims. RIGHT: With Regina Carrol and Grant WilliamsThe Female Bunch (1971)
With Jennifer Bishop in Adamson's fun crime drama The Female BunchBlood of Ghastly Horror (1972) 
From Adamson's horror film Blood of Ghastly Horror, which contains much footage from Psycho a Go-Go. LEFT: Regina Carrol, as Susan Vanard, is menaced by one of Kent Taylor's human experimentsBlazing Stewardesses (1975)
With Marilyn Joi, Jerry Mills, and Connie Hoffman in Al Adamson's sex comedy romp Blazing StewardessesCinderella 2000 (1977)
Catharine Burgess stars in Adamson's science fiction effort Cinderella 2000later yearsAl Adamson wrapped his film career with the release of Lost (1983; with Sandra Dee), probably his best effort; he then went into real estate. Carrol and Adamson, who owned homes in various locales, traveled extensively until Carrol's health deteriorated. After a long struggle with cancer, she passed away on November 4, 1992 at age 49. Less than three years later, Al Adamson died at age 66 on June 20, 1995, when he was murdered by live-in contractor Fred Fulford in his Indio, California home. Fulford buried Adamson's body underneath four tons of concrete and was caught in Florida in August 1995 while on the run. Adamson was survived by his brother and two sisters. |
filmographyFILM
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