Santo in The Treasure of Dracula (1969)

Santo in the Treasure of Dracula (24 July 1969) is a
Mexican Film directed by René Cardona (Santa Claus,
La Horripilante bestia humana, Las Luchadoras contra
la momia) and written by Alfredo Salazar (The Robot
vs. the Aztec Mummy, Las Luchadoras contra la momia,
Las Luchadoras contra el médico asesino).



Music By Sergio Guerrero (Chabelo y Pepito contra los
monstruos, El Beso de ultratumba, El Miedo no anda en
burro).



Produced by Guillermo Calderón (Santa Claus, La Horripilante
bestia humana, Las Luchadoras contra el médico asesino).



Any fans who have collected generously illustrated vampire
cinema books surely recognize pictures from a particular
movie. The photos in question depict a suave Dracula
positioned against a line-up of abundantly-bosomed
topless beauties. It looked as though Russ Meyer had
directed a vampire pic, but the title in question was the
Mexican-made "El Vampiro y el Sexo," which literally
translates to "The Vampire and the Sex"(!).



"El Vampiro y el Sexo" actually turns out to be the more
adult version of SANTO IN THE TREASURE OF DRACULA,
a spicier variant (reportedly created for export purposes)
with alternative nude scenes. This version is yet to surface
(damn!), but the standard Mexican cut has arrived on
DVD, for the first time with English subtitles!.



Aside from being a great wrestler, El Santo is also an
Einstein-type genius who has just invented a time
machine. He tells of his invention before a gathering
of scientists, but I imagine it's hard to take a beefy
guy wearing a mask and sports jacket seriously, so
they doubt Santo. The friendly Dr. Sepulveda (Carlos
Agosti) believes in Santo, and is willing to be his
time-traveling guinea pig. Santo suggests that a
woman would be more ideal (for some scientific
reason), so Sepulveda's daughter Luisa (Noelia Noel)
volunteers. Garbed in a Ziggy Stardust silver jumpsuit,
Luisa is transformed back into time.



We then see a nightgown-garbed Luisa falling into a
bed, a century earlier. She is now the daughter of
Professor Soler who is worried about her health and
inquiring about two bite marks on her neck. Professor
Van Roth arrives, and clearly being a "Van Helsing"
type, mentions vampirism as the culprit, wanting to
fight off the undead with mistletoe. There is also a
neighbor who goes by "Count Alucard," and even in
Spanish-language films, Alucard spelt backwards
means trouble. He of course is Dracula (Aldo Monti)
and wants to make Luisa one of his vampire brides.



Resting in his lair, Dracula gets staked, but before
the same is done to Luisa, she is plunged back to
the present safe and sound, as Santo was able to
view the whole experience on television, different
camera angles and all. Not only has Santo invented
a time machine, but he has also mastered
multi-angled closed circuit TV (through time and
space) without the necessity of cameras.



Meanwhile, a hooded stranger (alas, "The Black Hood")
had sneaked into the house and was also watching the
events, and he wants to abuse the information to find
Dracula's gold treasure for himself. Santo also needs
to find the jewels (hidden in a coffin) to prove that his
time machine works. This all leads to a brawl in
Dracula's crypt with Santo and friends against the Black
Hood and his gang, as well as a wrestling match to
decide who will obtain the vampire's valuable ring-
-which offers information on the missing treasure (this
plot device was also employed in WRESTLING WOMEN
VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY, penned by the same screenwriter).



The Black Hood later releases Dracula, unleashing him in
the modern world. Luckily, Santo's wrestling buddies are
quick for a favor and handy with dynamite.

SANTO IN THE TREASURE OF DRACULA is a fairly
entertaining, if somewhat confusing take on the legend.
Santo seems to take a back seat in this one, and has to
play off silly comic sidekick Perico (Alberto Rojas), an
irritating Jerry Lewis wannabe with huge eyeglasses and
a bulky dollar sign necklace. Santo's straightman act is
actually funnier then anything Rojas does, and the film
also has some unintentional humor. This can be
witnessed when Professor Roth's observance of Dracula
not having a reflection in the mirror. Dracula then
smashes the full-size glass and comely recovers by
declaring his hatred of mirrors to the unaffected professor.



Monti (who again essayed the role in SANTO AND THE
BLUE DEMON VS. DRACULA AND THE WOLF MAN) seems a
good choice for Dracula, somewhat resembling onetime
007 George Lazenby. Loaded with the expected fog
machines and clumsy rubber bats, the film has a nice
amount of atmosphere, emerging as a homage to Universal,
Hammer and even the then-current "Dark Shadows"
daytime soap opera.



Rise Above Entertainment has released SANTO IN THE
TREASURE OF DRACULA full frame on DVD in its original
Spanish language with English subtitles. Even though the
film was shot Eastmancolor and originally released that
way in Mexico, this is the now more common black and
white version. The quality here is acceptable, though the
conversion of the color photography to B&W causes
some darkness, grain and loss of detail in spots. Black
and white actually suits the film well, resembling the
early 60s Mexican horror films, but a title sequence
intended to show oozing red blood (similar to that of
Hammer's DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE) is
left murky and looses its intended effect. The Spanish
mono audio is adequate on the whole.



Extras include "The Best of Santo" which is about two
minutes of clips from various Santo adventures, a trailer
for the new Santo film (SANTO: INFRATERRESTRE) a
newly-created one for SANTO AND THE BLUE DEMON
VS. DRACULA AND THE WOLF MAN, and a modest still
gallery (no pics from the nudie version). David Wilt
again writes the informative liner notes include in an
insert booklet.

>>Cast:

-Santo - Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata
-Aldo Monti - Count Drácula
-Noelia Noel - Luisa
-Roberto G. Rivera - Dr. Kur
-Carlos Agostí - Dr. César Supulveda
-Alberto Rojas - Perico
-Pili González - Paquita
-Jorge Mondragón - Professor Soler
-Gina Morett - Lupe, the maid
-Fernando Mendoza - Professor Van Roth

>>Shooting Locations:

1. Coyoacan, México D.F., Mexico.
2. Desierto de los Leones, Estado de México, Mexico.
3. Xochimilco, México D.F., Mexico.

Fonts:
Dvddrive-in
Imdb.

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed
by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring
Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham.
Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula
A.D. 1972 has a present-day (1970s) setting, in an attempt
to update the Dracula story for contemporary audiences —
Dracula is brought back to life in modern London and preys
on a group of young party-goers that includes the descendant
of his nemesis, Van Helsing.



It is the seventh Hammer film featuring Dracula, and the sixth
to star Christopher Lee in the title role. It also sees the return
of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the first time since 1960's
The Brides of Dracula. The film has a number of different titles,
including Dracula '72 (UK working title) and Dracula Chelsea '72
(UK working title), Dracula jagt Mini-Mädchen (Dracula Chases
the Mini-girls), its German title, and Dracula '73, the title it was
given when released a year later in France.



>>Production:

Following the success of the modern-day vampire film Count Yorga,
Vampire, Warner Bros commissioned two Hammer Dracula films set
in the present day, which were to become Dracula A.D. 1972 and
The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Dracula A.D. 1972 began production in
September 1971 as Dracula Today and was filmed in Chelsea and
Hertfordshire. The film was inspired by the events surrounding the
Highgate Vampire case.



While the two present-day Dracula films star both Lee and
Cushing, they do not correspond to the chronology established
in the Victorian/Edwardian era films; the first Hammer Dracula
film, Dracula, is set in the 1880s, whereas the flashback sequence
of the last battle between Van Helsing and Dracula in Dracula A.D.
1972 is set in 1872 - long before the first meeting of Van Helsing
and Dracula in the original film.



Dracula A.D. 1972 was marketed with the tagline "Past, present or
future, never count out the Count!". When it was released in the USA,
a brief clip was played before the film in which actor Barry Atwater
(the vampire Janos Skorzeny in The Night Stalker) rises from a coffin
and swears the entire audience in as members of the Count Dracula
Society.



It was followed by the final film in Hammer's Dracula series,
The Satanic Rites of Dracula, which similarly has a modern
setting and features some of the same characters.



>>Plot synopsis:

In a prologue set in 1872, Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) and
his sworn enemy Lawrence Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) battle on
the top of a runaway coach. It crashes and Dracula is impaled by
one of the wheels. Van Helsing dies from his wounds. At that
moment a follower of Dracula (Christopher Neame) arrives,
collects Dracula's remains and, a few days later, buries them
near Van Helsing's grave at St Bartolph's Church.



(This opening sequence was not in the previous film Scars of
Dracula, but is completely new and not part of the Hammer Horror
Dracula chronology up to this point.)



One hundred years later, we are introduced to a group of young
hippies that includes Jessica Van Helsing (Stephanie Beacham),
granddaughter of Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), a
descendant of Dracula's old nemesis and an expert on the occult,
and Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), who closely resembles
the disciple of Dracula seen in 1872. Alucard persuades Jessica
and the others to attend a black magic ceremony in the now
abandoned, deconsecrated St Bartolph's, where he performs a
bloody ritual involving one of their group, Laura Bellows (Caroline
Munro). Jessica and the others flee in horror, after which Dracula
is resurrected and kills Laura.



Laura’s body is discovered, drained of blood, and a police
investigation begins, headed by an Inspector Murray (Michael
Coles). Murray suspects an occult element and interviews Lorrimer
Van Helsing, who is shocked to learn the details of Laura’s death.
He realises that Johnny Alucard (whose name is Dracula written
backwards) is a disciple of Dracula, and that Dracula must have
returned.



In the meantime, Alucard brings another of Jessica’s friends,
Gaynor Keating (Marsha Hunt), to St Bartolph’s, where she is killed
by Dracula and Alucard is himself turned into a vampire. The vampire
Alucard kills a passer-by and lures Jessica’s boyfriend, Bob
(Philip Miller), to a café they frequent, where he turns him into a
vampire as well. While Lorrimer is out, Bob goes to the Van Helsing
house and persuades Jessica to come to the café, where he and
Alucard capture her and take her to Dracula.



Lorrimer discovers Jessica is missing, tracks down Alucard’s flat and
kills him. He finds Bob's dead body and discovers Jessica in a trance
at St Bartolph’s, where Dracula plans to take his revenge on the Van
Helsing family by turning her into a vampire. Van Helsing sets a trap
for Dracula and waits for him to return at nightfall. After a struggle,
Dracula is killed by a stake through the heart and Lorrimer rescues
Jessica.



>>Reception:

Critical reaction to Dracula AD 1972 has been mixed. Upon the
film's release, Roger Ebert gave the film only one star out of four.
Dennis Prince of DVD Verdict said, "Dracula A.D. 1972 is definitely
one of the weakest installments in Hammer's horror catalog and
will likely only have strong appeal to Dracula completists." Eccentric
Cinema wrote, " One can have a fun time with this movie — mostly
because of its faults. It's cheese all right, professionally made
cheese that's much better acted and staged than it really has any
right to be."



The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review called the
film "a major disappointment" and "the low-point of the whole
Hammer Dracula series" despite "minor positive aspects". George
R. Reis of DVD Drive-In wrote, "Considered a low point in Hammer’s
roster, Dracula A.D. 1972 is hardly that. ... The film has a number of
things going for it. ... Cushing’s exceptional Van Helsing pretty much
carries the film. ... Christopher Neame is charismatically evil as
Johnny Alucard [and] his stirring fight scene with Van Helsing is a
highlight. ... How can Hammer fans not like this stuff?"



>>Cast:

-Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
-Peter Cushing as Lorrimer Van Helsing/Lawrence Van Helsing
-Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing
-Christopher Neame as Johnny Alucard
-Michael Coles as Inspector Murray
-Marsha Hunt as Gaynor Keating
-Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows
-Janet Key as Anna Bryant
-William Ellis as Joe Mitcham
-Philip Miller as Bob
-Michael Kitchen as Greg
-David Andrews as Detective Sergeant
-Lally Bowers as Matron Party Hostess
-Constance Luttrell as Mrs. Donnelly
-Michael Daly as Charles
-Artro Morris as Police Surgeon
-Jo Richardson as Crying Matron
-Penny Brahms as Hippy Girl
-Flanagan as Go Go Dancer (uncredited)
-Brian John Smith as Hippy Boy
-Stoneground as Themselves

Four actors from the James Bond franchise appear in this film.
Christopher Lee, who played Francisco Scaramanga in The Man
with the Golden Gun, appears as Count Dracula. Caroline Munro,
who played Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me, appears as Dracula's
first victim Laura Bellows. Michael Kitchen, who portrayed Bill Tanner
in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough, appears as Greg. Finally,
Christopher Neame, who played corrupt MI6 agent Fallon in Licence
to Kill, appears as Dracula's servant, Johnny Alucard.

>>Soundtrack:



The soundtrack was composed by former Manfred Mann member
Mike Vickers, and is in a funky, 'blaxploitation' style that reflects
the early 1970s setting of the film. It was not released commercially
prior to a long-awaited CD release in 2009. The film also features
two songs, 'Alligator Man' and 'You Better Come Through', by the
American band Stoneground, who were a late replacement for The
Faces. The Black Mass segment uses the track 'Black Mass: an Electric
Storm in Hell' by the pioneering electronic group White Noise. The
Black Mass scene with Christopher Neames' dialogue was also sampled
by Orbital For 'Satan - Live' and 'Tension'.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUNT BELA

White on white
translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi's dead.

- Lyric excerpt from "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus.



BELA LUGOSI
born: 29-10-1882
birth place: Lugos, Hungary (Now Romania)
died: 16-08-1956

Born Be’la Ferenc Dezso Blasko, the actor who brought
Dracula to life on the silver screen changed his name for
the stage, taking Lugosi as it meant “one from the town of
Lugos.”



Bela Lugosi was the youngest of four children to be born into
an upper middle-class family in Hungary. However, at the age
of twelve he ran away and hoped to act. He found little work,
other than in the mines or railroad yards, until one of his older
sisters arrange for him to take some small roles in provincial
theatre.

Formal training was the usual route for actors at this time, so
Lugosi studied acting theory and method diligently.



Soon, Bela Lugosi was averaging thirty to forty roles per year,
many of which were operettas, as he possessed a fine singing
voice as a young man. In 1911, Lugosi went to work in the
theatre in the capital city of Budapest, and gained much
popularity.

When World War I broke out, although actors were exempt from
military service, Bela volunteered to fight for his country and
became an infantry lieutenant. He was wounded three times
during the war, and decorated for his efforts, before leaving
the army in 1916.



After the war, Bela Lugosi made several films under the name
“Arisztidt Olt” until political turmoil in his own country forced
him to move to Germany in 1919.

In 1921, Lugosi moved to New York, where he established a
Hungarian-speaking troupe, as he himself still spoke no
English. When, in 1923, he landed the role of Fernando in the
Broadway production 'The Red Poppy', the actor learnt his lines
phonetically.

1927 saw Bela Lugosi cast as 'Dracula' for the first time in the
original Broadway show of the same name, in which he starred
for two years. He then went on to do other film roles, before
taking his 'Dracula' to the silver screen in 1930.



Lugosi went on to star in several other vampire films, before
returning to the role of Dracula for the last time in 'Abbott and
Costello Meet Frankenstein', in 1948.



Bela Lugosi died a peaceful death in 1956, and was buried in
full 'Dracula' costume.

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Fonts: The Biography Channel

Bram Stoker International Film Festival (2009)

Whitby, England Oct 16-19, 2009

>>Mission Statement:

The Bram Stoker International Film Festival established in
order to provide more opportunities and exposure for
filmmakers, screenwriters, Sci-Fi and games developers
working within the horror, science fiction and suspense
genres, as well as to draw more attention to WHITBY by
means of our annual Film Festival.

Our international organisation hopes to provide education
and entertaining visual experience for the attendees of The
Bram Stoker International Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller Film
Festival, which will showcase and celebrate the diversity of
projects submitted to our competition year on year.

We will further develop a forum for filmmakers from across
the globe, where novices and seasoned veterans alike can
interact and learn from one another, as well as from our
array of special celebrity guests and industry professionals.
The intention is to build year on year and develop the Film
Festival into on of the most popular and respected events
in Europe.

Visitors and fans can meet their favourite stars; buy horror,
sci-fi related merchandise and converse with company
representatives at the Bram Stoker expo, held in conjunction
with our film screening during the festival. We are further
looking at the literary world to invite guest writers to
workshop their skills.

Ever wondered how that effect was done? Well now is the
time to ask! The festival hopes that their efforts continue
to attract attention, tourism and economic impact to WHITBY
and surrounding area and they can provide an even bigger
and better event for attendees each and every year. The
Festival will provide to the area and beyond, quality
entertainment in an enjoyable, pleasant atmosphere. It will
provide excellent movies and opportunities for social
interaction with music, games, educational classes and
special events, with an emphasis on all areas of film.



>>Target:

The targets for The Bram Stoker International Film Festival
are to create an entertainment, community education, and
cinematic experience venue offering unique and appealing
entertainment for all visitors.

The purpose of The Bram Stoker International Film Festival
is to provide the area, and beyond, with quality entertainment
in an enjoyable, pleasant atmosphere. It will provide excellent
movies and opportunities for social interaction with music,
games, educational classes, and special events, with an
emphasis on all areas of film.



>>Bram Stoker International Film Festival

> Honorary President: DACRE STOKER

Mr. Stoker, 49, is a great-grand-nephew of Bram Stoker, the
Irish author who introduced the world to Dracula in 1897.

Dacre has graciously accepted the role as President after
conversations with his friend Mike McCarthy ( Festival Director).

Dacre says:
"That he is thrilled and honoured to be associated with the Film
Festival and is looking forward to seeing Whitby and visiting the
spiritual home of Dracula and did not think twice after speaking
with Mike about the long term plans and direction of the Bram
Stoker International Film Festival"

Dacre is continuing the Stoker literary legacy with Dracula: The
Un-Dead, the original title for Dracula before an editor changed
it. The novel, which will be launched Globally in October 2009,
will coincide with the Film Festival. The story draws on excised
characters, existing character back-stories and plot threads
that were cut from the original Dracula novel, which has never
been out of print since it was first published in 1897.

Dracula: The Un-Dead has been co-written with New York
based screenwriter Mr Ian Holt.

Dacre Stoker grew up in Canada. In 1979, while in college, he
picked up Dracula for the first time.

"I was surprised that this old story was a 'page turner' and fairly
fast-paced," he said.

He wrote a paper about his great-grand-uncle and his possible
motivations for writing the novel.

"I had seen so many film versions of Dracula and very few had
any resemblance to Bram's original novel. ... I found it really sad
that all the trash Hollywood had put out had really sullied Bram's
and the family's literary legacy," he said.

Several years ago, Mr. Stoker met Mr. Holt through a mutual friend.

"Ian's story ideas for a sequel to Bram's work really sparked a lot of
those old feelings I had when I did my college paper. Ian and I
decided to work together to re-establish the Stoker lineage ... by
resurrecting Bram's original themes and characters," he said.

Mr. Holt, 36, has been fascinated with Dracula since he was a child.

His quest to know Dracula has taken him to Transylvania, to sleep in
the ruins of the castle and stand at the spot where Vlad the Impaler,
the real-life inspiration for Dracula, would have watched the
executions of his foes.

He said he has actively pursued the opportunity to write a sequel for
a decade.

"Writer of the sequel to Dracula, that's the epitaph I've always wanted,"
he said.

The sequel is set about 25 years after the first novel ends.

More than 600 pages of the original novel were edited from the
final work. Mr. Stoker and his wife, Jenne, visited the Rosenbach
Museum in Philadelphia where Bram Stoker's original, handwritten
notes were on display. The North American branch of the Stoker
family has an autographed copy of the original novel.

Mr. Stoker said those items plus some private family papers were
used to complete the sequel, which has Bram Stoker's original title,
The Un-Dead.

"Believe me when I say we and Bram have some real big surprises
for the fans - plot twists and characters that have been hidden
from the public since 1897," says Ian. The new story is set in
London in 1912, a quarter of a century after the blood-sucking
Count apparently came to grief. The Vampire-hunter Van
Helsing's protege Dr Seward is now a disgraced morphine addict,
and Quincey, the son of Stoker's hero Jonathan, has become
involved in a troubled theatre production of Dracula, directed
and produced by Bram Stoker himself. The play plunges Quincey
into the world of his parents' terrible secrets, but before he can
confront them his father is found murdered, impaled in
Piccadilly Circus.



The new book is the first Dracula story to be fully authorised by the
Stoker family since the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi and looks set
to be a bestseller. It has already been sold for £1m to Dutton US,
HarperCollins UK and Penguin Canada, and a film version is also
being planned. Dacre Stoker, who formerly coached the Canadian
Olympic Pentathlon team now lives in the USA..

Pre-Order NOW!



AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLES
BOOKS A MILLION
BORDERS
INDIE BOUND

More Info:
Bram Stoker International Film Festival
Dracula "The Un-Dead"

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is a 1968 British horror
film directed by Freddie Francis for Hammer Films. It stars
Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with support from Rupert
Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Barbara Ewing,
Ewan Hooper and Michael Ripper.



The world of the film is arguably far darker and more ambiguous
than the world created by director Terence Fisher for the previous
three films in the Dracula series.



>>Plot summary:

The film opens in a middle-European village still in the throes of
Dracula's reign of terror (see Dracula: Prince of Darkness), where
an altar boy discovers the body of a woman stuffed in the church's
bell. She is another victim of Dracula, and the village - which
Dracula's castle overlooks - is terrified.



A year after Dracula has been destroyed, a Monsignor (Davies)
comes to the village on a routine visit only to find the altar boy is
now a frightened mute. The villagers refuse to attend Mass at
church because "the shadow of his castle touches it". The Priest has
apparently lost his faith. To bring to an end the villagers' fears, the
Monsignor climbs to the Castle to exorcise it.



The Priest cannot follow him up the mountain and the Monsignor
continues alone. As the Monsignor exorcises the castle, attaching
a large metal cross to its gate, a storm strikes, and the Priest tries
to run, but falls and is knocked out, cutting his head on rock. His
blood trickles into a frozen stream; through a crack in the melting
ice it trickles on to the lips of the preserved body of Count
Dracula and brings it to life.



The Monsignor goes back to the village believing that the Priest
had already safely returned, and assures the villagers that the
castle is sanctified to protect them from Dracula's evil. He returns
to his home city of Kleinenberg.



Unknown to the Monsignor, the Priest is under the control of the
resurrected Count. Furious that the cross prevents him from
entering his castle, Dracula demands that the enslaved Priest says
who is responsible. The Priest leads Dracula in pursuit of the
Monsignor and he discovers a new victim for Dracula's revenge -
the Monsignor's beautiful niece, Maria (Carlson). First, Dracula
bites and enslaves Zena the tavern girl (Ewing). Zena almost
succeeds in bringing Maria under Dracula's power, despite her
jealousy. However, Maria's boyfriend Paul (Andrews) works in
the bakery beneath the tavern, and he rescues her.



Dracula punishes the tavern girl for her "failure" by biting and
killing her. The Priest is summoned to burn her corpse in the
fire of the bakery oven; and he helps Dracula find Maria.
Dracula comes into her bedroom at night over the rooftops.
The scene where he bites her is intense and ends with her hand
pushing away her china doll.



The Monsignor sees the signs of vampirism in his neice and
follows the fleeing figure, but is knocked insensible on the
rooftop by the Priest. In his dying state he recruits Paul to
help. Paul is an atheist but his love for Maria drives him.
Unwittingly he enlists the Priest's help who, unable to break
free from Dracula's influence, tries to attack Paul. Paul forces
the Priest to lead him to Dracula's lair beyond the tavern
bakery. They stake Dracula through the heart; the faithless
Priest and the atheist Paul cannot complete the rite and
Dracula removes the stake himself. He draws Maria to him
on the rooftop, and they are pursued by Paul and the Priest.



Dracula carries Maria to his castle, orders her to remove the
metal cross. She tumbles it over the parapet to the ravine
below. Paul faces the Count outside the castle and during
the struggle Dracula drops over the parapet and lands on
his back, impaled on the cross. He fights to free himself,
weeping tears of blood, but the Priest recites the Lord's
Prayer and Count Dracula perishes, and dissolves into dust.
Reunited with Maria and his religion, Paul crosses himself
over the spectacle.



>>Cast:

-Christopher Lee (Count Dracula)
-Rupert Davies (Monsignor Ernest Muller)
-Veronica Carlson (Maria Muller)
-Barry Andrews (Paul)
-Barbara Ewing (Zena)
-Ewan Hooper (Priest)
-Michael Ripper (Max)
-John D. Collins (Student)
-George A. Cooper (Landlord)



>>Production:

This was the first of the Hammer Dracula films to be shot at
Elstree Studios in London. Notably missing are the approach road,
coach path and moat seen in front of Castle Dracula in 1958's
Dracula and 1966's Dracula: Prince of Darkness. Those films were
made at Bray Studios.



The film was photographed by Arthur Grant using colored filters
belonging to director Freddie Francis, also a cameraman by trade,
who used them when photographing The Innocents (1961).
Whenever Dracula (or his castle) is in a scene, the frame edges are
tinged crimson, amber and yellow.



In Australia, the film was the first Hammer Dracula to be passed by
the censors; the previous films Dracula (1958) and Dracula: Prince
of Darkness (1966) were banned. The film was slightly censored and
ran for a three-week season at Sydney's Capitol theatre in January
1970. In the US, the film was rated G.

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