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Blacula
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<p><i>Blacula</i> is a 1972 American <a href="/facts/Blaxploitation_horror_films/85kx3PYn">blaxploitation horror film</a> directed by <a href="/facts/William_Crain_(filmmaker)/1H3tLlye">William Crain</a>. It stars <a href="/facts/William_Marshall_(actor)/De42SfW1">William Marshall</a> in the title role about an 18th-century African prince named Mamuwalde, who is turned into a vampire (and later locked in a coffin) by <a href="/facts/Count_Dracula/L0r44SMH">Count Dracula</a> in the Count's castle in <a href="/facts/Transylvania/Gc7JtLU6">Transylvania</a> in the year 1780 after Dracula refuses to help Mamuwalde suppress the slave trade. </p><p><i>Blacula</i> was released to mixed reviews in the United States, but was one of the top-grossing films of the year. It was the first film to receive an award for Best Horror Film at the <a href="/facts/Saturn_Awards/gDUeo1b4">Saturn Awards</a>. <i>Blacula</i> was followed by the sequel <i><a href="/facts/Scream_Blacula_Scream/95SkvkQQ">Scream Blacula Scream</a></i> in 1973 and inspired a <a href="/facts/Blaxploitation_horror_films/85kx3PYn">wave of blaxploitation-themed horror films</a>. </p>