 Released on August 3, 1973, it was made in an attempt to cash in on the success of "Blacula"; released the previous year by American International Pictures.However, "Blackenstein" fared poorly in comparison to its predecessor, with most reviews agreeing that the movie was "a totally inept mixture of the worst horror and blaxploitation films".Big and burly African-American soldier Eddie Turner (Joe De Sue) stepped on a land mine while serving in Vietnam and lost both arms and both legs.