Blood Legacy
Blood Legacy (also called Legacy of Blood and Will to Die) is a 1971 horror film directed by Carl Monson and starring Rodolfo Acosta, Merry Anders, Norman Bartold, John Carradine, and Faith Domergue.
| Blood Legacy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Carl Monson |
| Screenplay by | Eric Norden (screenplay) Carl Monson (story) |
| Produced by | Carl Monson (producer) Ben Rombouts (executive producer) |
| Starring | Rodolfo Acosta Merry Anders Norman Bartold John Carradine Faith Domergue |
| Cinematography | Jack Beckett |
| Edited by | John Post |
| Music by | Jaime Mendoza-Nava |
Production company | Studio West Film Distributors |
| Distributed by | Ellman Film Enterprises |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes 90 minutes (full) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $56,000 (estimated) |
Synopsis
In this 1971 effort, Christopher Dean (John Carradine) has died; his four adult children Greg, Veronica, Johnnie, and Leslie, and their spouses, as well Christopher's longtime three servants have been called to the mansion to hear Christopher's previously taped last will. The servants are to receive a salary of $500 a month as long as they stay on; the children are to receive equal portions of the $136 million balance of the estate; however, if any die, the remainder will go to the survivors. If all of the children die, the servants inherit what is left. The children must for some reason stay in the deceased's house for one week in order to inherit. In this taped message, Christopher makes plain that he has no affection or respect for his four offspring; he advises them to run away from his offer if they have any virtue.
The killings begin promptly with the murder of Mrs. Greg Dean's dog, proceed to the decapitation of the police officer called about the incident, and continue until one individual survives. The terms of the will are such as to cast suspicion on any of the parties present. The surprise, and illogical, twist is who conducted the killings and why.
Produced by Bennett Rombouts, directed by Carl Monson.
There is a 1978 film of the same name and similar plot, not to be confused with this one.
Cast
- Rodolfo Acosta: Sheriff Dan Garcia
- Merry Anders: Laura Dean
- Norman Bartold: Tom Drake
- Ivy Bethune: Elga
- John Carradine: Christopher Dean
- Richard Davalos: Johnny Dean
- Faith Domergue: Veronica Dean
- Buck Kartalian: Igor Garin
- Brooke Mills: Leslie Dean
- Jeff Morrow: Gregory Dean
- John Russell: Frank Mantee
- John Smith: Dr. Carl Isenburg
- Mr. Chin: Chin
Presentations
Horror hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (Cassandra Peterson) presented Blood Legacy as part of her Movie Macabre series. The film was also riffed by the cast of Cinematic Titanic.