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Santo En El Tesoro De Dracula
(Santo in The Treasure Of Dracula)
[Rise Above]
1969; b&w
Directed by Rene Cardona
Starring: Santo, Aldo Monti, Noelia Noel, Roberto G. Rivera, Carlos Agostí, Alberto Rojas & Pili González
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We all know Santo is a legendary wrestler / crime fighter / monster slayer - and by we, I mean anyone who's seen or read about Santo movies - but in Santo En El Tesoro de Dracula we learn he's also a scientist and physicist. Our masked hero has invented a time machine that, apparently, has the potential to transport an individual back in time (duh) to their own previous life. (Which is a nice twist on the traditional HG Wells line of thought.) He unveils his invention to assembled group of prestigious scientists at the home of a nuclear physicist friend where he's constructed the thing, but since Santo hasn't actually tried it on a human everyone except for his friend and the friend's daughter laugh at him. Determined to prove them wrong (and, obviously, to prove himself right), he enlists his friend's daughter to go back in time. (Oh yeah, his research has also led him to the conclusion that, apparently, women are better suited physiologically for time travel than men.) So, clad in a spiffy metallic jumpsuit, the girl stands on a moving sidewalk in front of a spinning spiral doohickey, that starts moving her towards the rear of the gizmo. Then she begins spinning faster and disappears into the late 1800s… via a fall (make that jump from a ladder) onto a bed. How do we know where she goes in the past you might ask? Simple. Everyone back in the present is watching the events unfold on a TV monitor. (Which, of course, raises the question as to how Santo managed to get cameras from the 20th century rigged up in the 19th century when he's never been there. But we'll just conveniently ignore that anachronism.) As it turns out, our heroine - the 19th century version - is not well. She's suffering from a mysterious malady that only seems to abate when she gets a blood transfusion. Needless to say, her father and his doctor pal are deeply concerned, as is their relatively new neighbor, Count Alucard. I think you can all guess where this is going; straight to the inevitable discovery of vampirism and the staking of Dracula and his minions. But how does this tie in with Santo? Well, when Santo brings the girl back into the present time she's armed with knowledge of the location of the vampire's secret tomb. If they can get Dracula's medallion and signet ring and translate the Serbian symbols on them they will learn the location of his treasure. Engaging in a bit of grave robbing (quite out of character for Santo) they find the tomb and get the medallion, forgetting the ring in all the excitement. While all this has been going on, a character known for obvious reasons as the Black Hood, who has been tailing Santo's every move since he sent the girl back in time, goes and gets the ring. Confrontations between the Hood, his henchmen and Santo ensue, eventually leading to a wrestling match between the hood's son, Atlas, and Santo with the winner getting both the medallion and the ring. Santo wins, of course, but that's only the beginning, as the Hood re-animates Dracula with predictably dire results. After much rigmarole, Santo triumphs with the help of some dynamite toting wrestling pals and everyone walks off happily into the sunrise. While this is not the best Santo movie, it's nonetheless essential viewing for any fan and, although a bit confusing, not a bad introduction for a newbie.
—the Kommandant
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