In Scream Blacula Scream (1973), the sequel to the 1972 cult classic Blacula, an ex-policeman investigates a series of suspicious deaths. William Marshall reprises his role as Blacula, and Pam Grier joins the cheesy thrill ride as a voodoo priestess. Predictably, with the return of Blacula, (undead) bodies begin to pile up…

Coming two-thirds into the film, clocking in at a little over an hour, ex-policeman Justin Carter (Don Mitchell) learns about bat hairs present at the scene of a crime. His next step? A library, of course!

The next scene cuts to a shot of bookcases and a white hand slowly reaching out…

… which belongs to a reel librarian.

Played by Sybil Scotford, the librarian is onscreen for only a few seconds in this brief scene. She is decked out in typical early ’70s clothes — plenty of polyester and orange paisley on display — with her long brown hair pulled back in a bouffant and low ponytail. Her character has no name in the credits, only “Librarian,” listed below Pimp #1 and Pimp #2. As you do. 😉

After she locates the hand-lettered “OCCULT” sign on the bookcase, she says, “Let’s see. This is it. This whole shelf. Black arts, occult. That should keep you busy for awhile.” She smiles (a little coyly?) at Justin and takes off her glasses as she leaves.

Already interested in the books on the shelves, Justin answers back, “Yeah. Mmm hmmm” before turning back to the shelf. He picks out a thick book and goes to a chair beside the last bookcase. Time passes as we see multiple books stacked up on the chair beside him.

The entire library scene lasts just over a minute, with the reel librarian onscreen for merely seconds. Therefore, it lands in the Class IV category of librarian films, and the librarian fulfills the typical Information Provider role. Justin obviously found some information to help him in the case, as in the next scene, he tries to convince the police supervisor that they need to investigate vampires.

The most notable aspect of the scene is how badly this library is organized. It is obviously a set — all you need are bookcases, books, a chair or two, hand-lettered signs, and a woman in glasses! — but not a very well-thought-out set. The three signs we see on the bookcases are all placed where they hang OVER the books — highly inconvenient for anyone to see or reach the books shelved behind the signs.

Also, the signs that are visible go from “GRAPHICS” to the “OCCULT” to “FICTION.” Huh? What kind of library system or collection is this?! You guessed it — the fake kind! Also, NO CALL NUMBERS on the books!

Those screams you hear in the background? They’re from real librarians watching this scene! 😉

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Sources used:

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• Scream Blacula Scream. Dir. Bob Kelljan. Perf. William Marshall, Pam Grier. American International, 1973.