Ani-mated

At windows they hover, and peer
And in, at your lover, they leer
Transmuting, they land,
This suit-wearing band,
To dinner, 'neath covers, draw near.



One of the many scenes of Count Dracula flying into a woman's boudoir: John Carradine seduces Anne Gwynne in House of Frankenstein (Erle C. Kenton; 1941). Title by cellmate David Cairns.

Rats Showbusiness

From the student, an ode to the master
But so moodily slowed, snails are faster
Like the Murnau, in theory
This is thoroughly eerie
Including a rodent disaster.

Surly Hack with David Cairns



Nosferatu the Vampyre, aka Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night (1979), director Werner Herzog's homage to F.W. Murnau. Supposedly Herzog said the rats were easier to direct than star Klaus Kinski. Top: Isabelle Adjani acts her way around the her furry co-stars. Below: Werner Herzog "directs" the vermin.

Nosfera-Two

"The past I'll explore," Herzog reckoned
And a classic of horror film beckoned
Klaus Kinski in black
Is a sinister Drac,
A ghastly Count Orlok the second.

Klaus Kinski plays Count Dracula in Werner Herzog's updating of F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu, and his makeup and performance closely resemble that of Max Shreck as "Count Orlok" in the original film.

A Klaus Shave

Orlok's back! Now in color and sound
All in black, with his skull bare, uncrowned
He's pale and he's hairless
And with daylight gets careless
Can't get back to his burial mound.

David Cairns

Klaus Kinski stars in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). Kinski's character is called Dracula, but is a loving homage to Orlok, the count in the original, silent Nosferatu. Bruno Ganz is blood source Jonathan Harker.

Klaus Kinky

He's back! From the grave to the screen
For a snack, he craves gory cuisine
There's no cross in your house
So here's saucy old Klaus
With a Thwack! stick a stave in his spleen.

David Cairns



Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani star in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre, aka Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night (1979), a stylistic remake of the 1922 Dracula adaptation by F. W. Murnau.

Klaus Resemblance

 

This crackpot's as cold as a clam
As soon as he shows, you'd best scram
He's "Dracula", sure
But his background's obscure
He owes more to Max than to Bram.

As Count Dracula, Klaus Kinski channels Max Schreck in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). The film is a stylistic remake of F. W. Murnau's unauthorized 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, which starred Schreck as the vampire count named Orlok. Title by David "Santa Klaus" Cairns.

The Crime of the Ancient Mariner

A creature climbs out of the hold
His features cause fraus to grow cold
To the deckhands' surprise,
This old wreck never dies
A leech that's a thousand years old.


Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).
Title by ancient rhymer David Cairns.

Bite of the Hunter

 

After dark he's a curse and a blight
Leaves two marks, gives a person a fright
Human life is in peril
Hide you wife! This guy's feral
And his bark isn't worse than his bite.

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) sucks from the neck of Ellen Hutter (Greta Schröder) in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922). Title by nail-biter David Cairns.

Hush, Hush, Sweet Orlok

His walk is a little unsteady
He balks at both mani and pedi
He's wily, but olden
Thinks silents are golden
For talkies he'll never be ready.

The shadow of Count Orlok (Max Schreck) in the silent masterpiece Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Nostrilatu

While he lies in his box, snugly dozing
You surmise something's noxious, start nosing
You are hot on the scent
Of a not-too-fresh gent
And surprise the old fox, decomposing.

David Cairns

Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) uncovers the fragrant Count Orlok (Max Schreck) in Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Stop Making Scents

Each night Orlok raises a stink
First he bites, then he stays for a drink
He's a worm, but with fangs
And with vermin he hangs
From his frightful bouquet grown men shrink.

Max Schreck is Count Orlok in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Nose-feratu

If you peek where a corpse decomposes
It will reek, so of course hold your noses
In this box, mutely rests
The most noxious of pests,
An old freak named Count Orlok, who dozes.

Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) opens the coffin of Orlok (Max Schreck) in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922). Title by David "Nosegay" Cairns.

Predate Night

Asleep in your crypt until late,
You creep with a stiff-legged gait
And lurching down lanes 
In search of new veins
Bite deep, your addiction to sate.

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) drinks from the neck of Ellen Hutter (Greta Schröder) in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922). Title by post-dated David Cairns, host of Shadowplay.

Eternal Unrest

When it's light, off this vampire will nod
And sleep tight on his damp, native sod
He's the strangest of cats
He digs mangy old rats!
A delightful example of "odd".

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) rises from his coffin in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

The Satanic Copyrights of Dracula

 

They shot without clearing the rights
Took the plot, creepy peer, and his bites
Film consigned to the fire
Of a shining vamp pyre
But has not disappeared from our sights.

David Cairns

Max Schreck stars in Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau; 1922), an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Copywrong

 

Your shadow alights like a shroud
Too bad with all rights they're endowed   
You dared to play poker     
With heirs of Bram Stoker
Too Vlad-like, your bite's not allowed.

Max Schreck is Count Orlok in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922), a movie which casts a long shadow in film history. But it almost went up in smoke. From Wikipedia: "...an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok"). Stoker's heirs sued over the adaptation, and a court ruling ordered that all copies of the film be destroyed. However, a few prints of Nosferatu survived..."

No, No, Nosferatu

A specter, a shadow, a shade
Max Shreck knew how Vlad should be played
Amok and unsightly
And sucking blood nightly
From necks, 'til his sad, sudden fade.

Actor Max Schreck, unforgettable as Count Orlok in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Dawn's Early Blight

You're a guy with the funniest ways
You just lie there, you shun working days
You look awful, feel sickly
To your coffin, and quickly!
Or else die by sun's fatal rays.

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) meets the dawn in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Nocturne Pale

Not sleepy, at night he will walk
And people will rightfully gawk
He's hook-nosed and thin,  
And look at his skin!
Grim reaper-like, whiter than chalk!

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) makes an entrance in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922). Title by David "Pale Ale" Cairns.

Nervous Schreck

How pleasant to know Herr Max Schreck!
Our resident old German wreck
He will greet you, quite formal
His features abnormal
Then, mesmeric, go fer yer neck.

David Cairns

Max Schreck is memorably creepy as Count Orlok in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922).

Vex and Silence

This fiend was interred six feet deep
But we've seen him disturbed in his sleep
His intentions are vague
Sow dissension, spread plague
An obscene but not heard silent creep.

David Cairns

Count Orlok (Max Schreck) rises from slumber in Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F. W. Murnau; 1922), an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.