| Count Dracula | |
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_US_poster.jpg) U.S. theatrical release poster | |
| German | Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht |
| Directed by | Jesús Franco[1] |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Erich Kröhnke[2] |
| Based on | Dracula byBram Stoker |
| Produced by | Harry Alan Towers[1] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | Bruno Nicolai[1] |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
Count Dracula (German:Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht,lit. 'At night, when Dracula awakens'; also known asEl Conde Dracula,Bram Stoker's Count Dracula,Il Conte Dracula) is a 1970horror film directed and co-written byJesús Franco, based on the novelDracula byBram Stoker. It starsChristopher Lee asCount Dracula,Herbert Lom asAbraham Van Helsing, andKlaus Kinski asR.M. Renfield, along withFred Williams,Maria Rohm,Soledad Miranda,Paul Muller andJack Taylor.[6]
The film was an international co-production between West Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.[5][1] AlthoughCount Dracula stars Lee in the title role, it is not aHammer production likehis otherDracula films, being produced instead byHarry Alan Towers.
On initial release,Count Dracula was advertised as the most faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel to date.[7][citation needed] Among other details, it was the first film version of the novel in which Dracula begins as an old man and becomes younger as he feeds upon fresh blood.
Jonathan Harker, a lawyer traveling fromLondon toTransylvania to secure property forCount Dracula, arrives atBistritz to stay for the night. There, he is warned by a concerned lady against continuing his journey. Believing that her concerns are rooted in peasant superstition, he ignores her, but starts to feel unnerved by the way everyone looks at him. Harker later arrives at theBorgo Pass, where the Count's mysterious coachman picks him up.
Harker disembarks atCastle Dracula, and the coach immediately rushes off. Harker approaches the main door and meets a thin, tall, gaunt old man. He turns out to be Dracula and takes Harker to his bedchamber. There, Harker notices that Dracula casts no reflection.
Later, Harker goes to sleep and wakes in an ancient crypt wherethree beautiful vampiresses harass him. Dracula rushes into the room and orders them to leave Harker alone. He then gives them a baby to feed on. Harker wakes up screaming in his room and assumes it was a nightmare, but two small wounds on his neck indicate otherwise.
Harker soon realises he is a prisoner, and tries to escape by climbing out his bedroom window. He finds his way back to the crypt where Count Dracula and his three brides rest in coffins. Harker runs out of the crypt screaming, and jumps out of the castle's tower into the river below.
Harker wakes up in a private psychiatric clinic outside London, owned by Dr.Abraham Van Helsing, in the care of Dr.John Seward. He is told he was found delirious in a river nearBudapest. No one believes his story about Castle Dracula until Van Helsing finds the two punctures on Harker's neck. Harker's fiancéeMina Murray and her close friendLucy Westenra also arrive to help take care of him. Unbeknownst to them, Count Dracula has followed Harker back to England and now resides in an abandoned abbey close to the hospital.
As Mina takes care of Harker, Lucy's health strangely declines. Dracula has been secretly appearing to her by night and drinking her blood, growing younger as he feeds off his victim.Quincey Morris, Lucy's fiancé, joins Drs. Seward and Van Helsing in an attempt to save Lucy by giving her blood transfusions.
One of the patients at the clinic,R. M. Renfield, becomes of considerable interest to the men. Renfield is classed as azoophagus: he eats flies and insects in order to consume their life, believing that each life he consumes increases his own. He reacts violently whenever Dracula is nearby. He later dies from shock.
Lucy eventually dies, becomes one of the undead and murders a young child. The ordeal is put to an end when Quincey, Seward and Van Helsing ambush Lucy, stake her through the heart and decapitate her. Harker, restored to health, joins the group who now are sure that Count Dracula is a vampire.
Dracula turns his attention to Mina and begins corrupting her as well. Van Helsing suddenly suffers a stroke and begins using a wheelchair. Dracula visits him, mocking his attempts to destroy him. But Van Helsing regains mobility, gets out of his wheelchair, and is able to walk again. Quincey, Harker and Dr. Seward track Dracula to the abandoned abbey, but he has fled to Transylvania with the aid of a travelingRomani band.
As Count Dracula's Gypsy servants take him back to his castle, he is trailed by Harker and Quincey. After battling the Romani, the two heroes find Dracula's coffin and set it on fire. Dracula, unable to escape in full daylight, is consumed by flames.
The production originally planned useBarrandov Studios inCzechoslovakia, but due to budgetary constrains filming took place at Balcázar Studios inBarcelona, Spain. The scenes at ProfessorAbraham Van Helsing's sanatorium were shot atTirrenia Studios in Italy. Exteriors were shot mainly in Spain, with somesecond unit footage in France.[8] The exteriors ofCastle Dracula were filmed atSanta Bárbara Castle inAlicante, whichJesús Franco later used to filmDracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein.[9] The film's sets were designed by theart directorKarl Schneider and set decorator Emilio Zago (jointly credited under the alias George O'Brown). A scene featuringtaxidermied animals that are reanimated—implicitly under Dracula's command—was reportedly improvised by Franco,[10] and was accomplished by out-of-frame stagehands turning the animals' bodies towards the camera.[10][11]
Franco originally wanted to castVincent Price as Professor Van Helsing, but he was under contract toAmerican International Pictures. Franco then turned toDennis Price, but he was prevented from taking the role due to health issues. In the end,Harry Alan Towers brought aboard his regular actorHerbert Lom. Due to his late arrival, all of his scenes had to be shot separately fromChristopher Lee. Consequently, Dracula and Van Helsing never appear in the same shot together.Dubbing for the English-language version was supervised byMel Welles. Lee and Lom did their own dubbing. The German dub hadWilhelm Borchert as the voice of Dracula.
The film premiered in West Germany on April 3, 1970 under the titleNachts, wenn Dracula erwacht (lit.At Night, When Dracula Awakens). In the United Kingdom, an English dub was released byHemdale Film Corporation in July 1973.
Count Dracula was released onDVD in 2007 byDark Sky Films. Special features include an interview with director Jesús Franco, a reading fromBram Stoker'sDracula novel by Christopher Lee, and a text essay on the life of actressSoledad Miranda.[12] The DVD has come under criticism for omitting the scene in which a distraught mother (Teresa Gimpera) pleads for her baby's life at the door of Dracula's castle.[13] The DVD also uses the Italian credits for the film but with the French title cardLes Nuits de Dracula.
The film was released uncensored onBlu-ray and DVD in 2015 bySeverin Films. A4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, sourced from an uncutcamera negative, was released in 2023 also by Severin Films.
Robert Firsching ofThe New York Times wrote, "This doggedly faithful adaptation is plodding and dull. Even Christopher Lee (in an uncharacteristically weak performance as Dracula),Klaus Kinski (as the mad Renfield), and seven credited screenwriters cannot make this confused, distant film worthwhile. Franco appears as a servant to Professor Van Helsing (Herbert Lom), and though certainly literate, the film nevertheless fails as both horror and drama."[14]
Brett Cullum ofDVD Verdict wrote, "For curiousDracula fans, Jess Franco'sCount Dracula is a neat find. It's a stellar cast working under a low budget, and it comes off entertaining if not a classic. It's aB-movie treatment at best, but ... Lee comes off fiery and committed to making this Count one that will be noticed."[12] Brian Lindsey ofEccentric Cinema wrote, "Upon weighing [the film's] pros and cons,Count Dracula emerges a substantially flawed film. But I can still recommend it to any fan of Lee, Franco, Miranda, and even of Stoker's novel."[13] George R. Reis ofDVD Drive-In wrote, "Count Dracula is flawed in many ways, but for fans of gothic horror, it's still irresistible ... Barcelona naturally allows for some truly handsome scenery and an appropriate castle for Dracula to dwell in, and the performances of the international cast are above average."[15]
Dracula scholarLeslie S. Klinger said "the picture begins well, closely following the Stoker narrative account ofHarker's encounter with Dracula. The film rapidly proceeds into banality, however, and except for the characterization of Lee as an older Dracula and the brilliant Kinski, the film is largely forgettable."[16] Film criticJonathan Rosenbaum called it "one of the world's worst horror films" in his review ofPere Portabella's filmCuadecuc, vampir, which was shot during the making of this film.[17]
Cuadecuc, vampir is a 1970 experimental film byPere Portabella that was shot behind-the-scenes ofCount Dracula, including candid footage of the stars during the production.
[...] an unbelievable sequence, improvised by the director, in which stuffed animals (including a badger, a swordfish, an owl and a fox) are turned and jiggled before the camera to induce the belief that they have somehow come to life.
