Countess Dracula is a 1971 Hammer horror film based on the legends surrounding the “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Báthory. It is in many ways atypical of Hammer’s canon, but can be considered related to that studio’s Karnstein Trilogy attempting to broaden Hammer’s output from Dracula and Frankenstein sequels.
The film was produced by Alexander Paal and directed by Peter Sasdy, Hungarian émigrés working in England. The original music score was composed by Harry Robertson.
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Ingrid Pitt reprised her role as Countess Elizabeth on the 1998 Cradle of Filth album, Cruelty and the Beast.
Trivia:
Ingrid Pitt’s voice was dubbed. Supposedly, she was so furious at director Peter Sasdy that she vowed never to speak to him again.
Countess Dracula was based on Hungarian Countess Erzsebet (our modern day “Elizabeth”) Bathory who lived from 1560 to 1614. Countess Bathory was allegedly responsible for the deaths of approximately 600 virgin girls, all of which involved torture and gruesome methods of killing. Her atrocities are mostly speculation. She is credited for influencing our modern day concept of Dracula as an entity depending on human blood for youth and vitality.
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The picture that appears behind the opening credits is an 1896 painting by Hungarian artist Istvan Csok. It shows the real Countess Bathory enjoying the torture of some young women by her servants. In an inner courtyard of one of her castles, the naked girls are being drenched with water and allowed to freeze to death in the snow.
Ingrid Pitt replaced Diana Rigg who turned the role down.
Although cuts were requested by the BBFC (and the film remains listed as cut on their website) the edits were never made following an appeal by Hammer to chief censor Stephen Murphy.
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.
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is the Sequel to “Prince of Darkness” (1966).
Veronica Carlson and Christopher Lee
Directed by Freddie Francis
Writer – John Elder
Producer – Aida Young
Cast
Christopher Lee … Dracula
Rupert Davies … Monsignor Ernest Mueller
Veronica Carlson … Maria Mueller
Barbara Ewing … Zena
Barry Andrews … Paul
Ewan Hooper … Priest
Marion Mathie … Anna Mueller
Michael Ripper … Max
John D. Collins … Student
George A. Cooper … Landlord
Chris Cunningham … Farmer
Norman Bacon … Mute Boy
The Story: (Spoiler Alert!!)
A year has passed since the demise of Dracula, buried under the ice in the river that flows past his castle. Ernst Mueller [Rupert Davies], monsignor of the monastery at Kleinberg, has decided to visit the village to see that all is well. What he finds is appalling. The village priest [Ewan Hooper] has become an alcoholic. The villagers will not attend Sunday Mass because the shadow of Dracula’s castle touches the church during the evening hours. The Monsignor decides to exorcise the castle and prove to the villagers that the evil is gone. He and the priest climb the hill to the castle, but the priest chickens out halfway. The Monsignor continues alone to the castle door where he performs his exorcism and seals the castle door with a large cross. The priest, in the meantime, is taking swigs from his hipflask. He stumbles over a cliff, cuts his head, lands on the river ice, causing it to crack open just above Dracula’s body. The priest’s blood drips through the cracked ice, flowing into Dracula’s mouth, and Dracula is thus resurrected.
Veronica Carlson
Barred from his castle by the cross on the door, Dracula [Christopher Lee] must now find other lodgings. He enslaves the priest, forcing him to dig up a new coffin for him. He also forces him to reveal who is responsible for the exorcism. The coffin is loaded onto a funeral coach, and the priest and Dracula head toward Kleinberg. His exorcism finished, the Monsignor also returns to Kleinberg where he lives with his brother’s widow Anna [Marion Mathe] and his niece Maria [Veronica Carlson]. It is Maria’s birthday, and a dinner party is planned for her. Tonight, Maria will introduce her boyfriend Paul [Barry Anderson], who she has been climbing over the rooftops to meet secretly) to her family. Paul works as a baker at the Johann Cafe and engages in scholarly studies during his spare time. Scared to meet Maria’s family for the first time, Paul’s plight is not helped when his friends at the cafe spill beer down his shirt. Still, all goes well at the dinner until Paul, in a fit of truthfulness, admits to the Monsignor that he is an atheist. Paul returns to the cafe, downs 3 glasses of Schnapps, and passes out. The waitress Xena [Barbara Ewing] carries him up to bed just as Maria enters through a window.
On her way home, Xena is attacked by Dracula. With Xena’s help, Dracula and his coffin are moved into a storage room in the cafe cellar, and the priest takes a room at the cafe. The next evening, when Maria drops by the cafe to see Paul, Xena leads her into the bakery, covers her head with a bag, and takes her to see Dracula. Maria escapes, however, when Paul comes looking for her, and she tells of being attacked by a man “with burning eyes.” Angry at the failed attempt, Dracula kills Xena and orders the priest to destroy her in the furnace fire. Later that night, Dracula comes to Maria’s bedside and drinks from her. He returns the next night but, just as he prepares to drink from her, the Monsignor enters the room. Dracula sees the cross in the Monsignor’s hand and leaps from the window. The Monsignor attempts to follow but is knocked out by the priest. As the Monsignor lies dying, he sends for Paul and tells him what he must do to save Maria. Paul finds Dracula’s coffin and drives a stake through his heart but, because neither he nor the priest can pray to God, Dracula succeeds in removing the stake. He escapes, summons Maria and, together with the priest, they return to Dracula’s castle. Paul gets a horse and follows.
Upon reaching the castle, Dracula forces Maria to remove the cross from the castle door. As she throws it down the cliff, Paul arrives. He and Dracula battle. They both fall off the porch. Paul catches a branch on the way down but Dracula falls to the ground where he is impaled upon the cross just tossed away by Maria. As the priest recites the Pater Noster, Dracula turns to dust.
Production Info:
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. ……… Source(s) IMDB, Wikipedia
The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O’Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster. The original music score was composed by Malcolm Williamson.
Baron Victor von Frankenstein, a cold, arrogant and womanizing genius, is angry when his father forbids him to continue his anatomy experiments. He then sabotages his father’s shotgun, killing him as a consequence. Inheriting the family fortune, he uses the money to enter medical school in Vienna, but is forced to return home when he impregnates the daughter of the Dean. There, he sets up his laboratory, starting a series of experiments involving the revival of the dead, eventually building a composite body from human parts, which he then brings to life.
Kate O'Mara
Cast
Ralph Bates … Victor Frankenstein
Kate O’Mara … Alys
Veronica Carlson … Elizabeth Heiss
Dennis Price … The Graverobber
Jon Finch … Lt. Henry Becker
Bernard Archard … Prof. Heiss
Make Up Department
Tom Smith … makeup supervisor
Pearl Tipaldi … hair styles supervisor
Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Studios.
It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, alongside Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged by some critics, the film does restore a few elements of Bram Stoker’s original character: The Count is introduced as an “icily charming host”; he has command over nature; and he is seen scaling the walls of his castle. It also gives Lee more to do and say than any other Hammer Dracula film except its first, 1958′s Horror of Dracula.
Trivia:
Jenny Hanley was dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl.
Dennis Waterman was Hammer’s choice; Roy Ward Baker has said in interviews he thought Waterman was badly miscast.
The last feature of Toke Townley
Last Hammer horror of Michael Ripper.
Scars of Dracula is the first Dracula film to attempt to capture the scene in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel where the Count actually crawls out and climbs along a wall in a bat-like manner, the only difference being that in the Stoker novel, Dracula climbs down, while in Scars of Dracula he climbs up.
This is the second Hammer Dracula film to feature a servant to the count named “Klove” (the first was Dracula: Prince of Darkness, though the role was played by a different actor in each film.
Cast
Christopher Lee … Dracula
Dennis Waterman … Simon Carlson
Jenny Hanley … Sarah Framsen
Christopher Matthews … Paul Carlson
Patrick Troughton … Klove
Michael Gwynn … The Priest
Michael Ripper … Landlord
Wendy Hamilton … Julie
Anouska Hempel … Tania
Delia Lindsay … Alice, burgomaster’s daughter
Jenny Hanley
Make Up Department
Heather Nurse … assistant makeup artist
Wally Schneiderman … makeup supervisor
Pearl Tipaldi … hairdresser
Demons of the Mind is a 1972 British period horror film, produced by the Hammer studio. It was directed by Peter Sykes and its cinematographer was Arthur Grant. The cast includes Gillian Hills, Robert Hardy, Patrick Magee, Michael Hordern and Shane Briant.
Trivia:
Robert Hardy replaced Eric Porter who withdrew from the movie to
Gillian Hills
film Hands of the Ripper (1971) which was made simultaneously.
Gillian Hills was a last-minute replacement for Marianne Faithfull who was recast due to insurance reasons.
The role of Elisabeth was originally intended for famous pop icon Marianne Faithfull.
Although the movie was completed in 1971, it sat on a shelf for over a year and was finally released on a double bill with the trashy psycho feature Tower of Evil (1972).
The role of Baron Zorn was originally offered to Paul Scofield and James Mason, both of whom turned it down.
Shane Briant made his film debut as the tormented Emil.
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain’s Hammer Films.
Like several of Hammer’s previous films, such as One Million Years B.C. (1966), the film portrays dinosaurs and humans alongside each other. Directed and scripted by Val Guest, it was based on a treatment by J.G. Ballard, and nominated for an Oscar for its visual effects.
The special effects are considered a benchmark in stop-motion animation believability, so much so that the film is referenced in the movie Jurassic Park. Stop-motion effects were created by Jim Danforth, assisted by David W. Allen and Roger Dickens.
The landscapes (Earth during the Quaternary) were filmed in Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), in some places as Maspalomas beach, Ansite Mountain, Amurga and Caldera de Tejeda, in others. It was briefly released on DVD as an exclusive from Best Buy with a G-rating, but was later recalled because it was the uncut version and contained nudity. The original is now a collector’s item.
Trivia:
Victoria Vetri revealed in a 1984 interview that the U.K. version of the film contains nudity. The nude scenes include her character Sanna making love to Tara (Robin Hawdon) in a cave.
A 27-word “caveman language” was devised for this movie, supposedly drawing on Phoenician, Latin, and Sanskrit sources. Some of the key words in this language are: “neecha” is “stop” or “come back”; “zak” is “gone” or “left”; “akita” is “look” or “see”; “neecro” is “bad” or “evil”; “m’kan” is “kill” or “killed”; “mata” is “dead”; “yo kita” is “go”.
In March 1971, Warner Brothers cleverly distributed this film in the USA on a double bill with the similarly themed dinosaur film The Valley of Gwangi (1969).
Cast:
Victoria Vetri
Victoria Vetri … Sanna
Robin Hawdon … Tara
Patrick Allen … Kingsor
Drewe Henley … Khaku
Sean Caffrey … Kane
Magda Konopka … Ulido
Imogen Hassall … Ayak
The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer.
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It stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley and Richard Pasco. The film was photographed by Michael Reeves, and designed by Bernard Robinson. For the score James Bernard combined a soprano with a little-known electronic instrument called the Novachord. The film marks one of the few occasions when Hammer turned to Greek mythology for inspiration; this time it is the legend of the Gorgon that is respun for the Hammer audiences.
Tagline: A Monster With the Power to Turn Living Screaming Flesh Into Stone!
Trivia:
Prudence Hyman’s snake-filled wig was worked by five wires which were attached to a box that was about 25 feet behind her.
Although the UK cinema version was uncut some shots of the Gorgon’s decapitated head were slightly darkened by the BBFC.
Actress Barbara Shelley, who played the possessed heroine, Carla Hoffmann, wanted to play the part of the gorgon as well for continuity, and suggested to producer Anthony Nelson Keys that she use a special wig with live green garden snakes woven into it for a more realistic effect. Her idea was rejected by Keys due to budget and time considerations. When Keys saw the abysmal gorgon effects in the finished film, he told Shelley that he should have listened to her suggestion. As Christopher Lee quips, “The only thing wrong with “The Gorgon” is the gorgon!”
The name of the Gorgon character is “Megaera”, supposedly taken from mythology. But Megaera (“jealous”) in ancient myth is one of the three Erinyes, or Fates – the goddesses of revenge – not a Gorgon. According to Hesiod, the three Gorgons were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa.
Prudence Hyman was nearly decapitated for real. She was supposed to duck when Lee swung the sword but forgot to do so at the critical moment. The assistant director pushed her aside just in time. The scene was then redone with a dummy.
Michael Goodliffe who plays Richard Pasco ‘s father in this film is only 12 years older than Pasco.
Hands of the Ripper is a 1971 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy for Hammer Film Productions.
It is set in London in Victorian times, and stars Angharad Rees as Anna, a vulnerable young woman who is exploited by her guardian (Dora Bryan), a medium, and haunted by the subconscious memory of her mother’s murder by her father – Jack the Ripper. She is taken in by a Freudian psychiatrist (Eric Porter), who is determined to find out the cause of her by-now-murderous impulses.
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The film also stars Jane Merrow, Keith Bell and Derek Godfrey. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios, with some location work at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
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Tagline: A new terror-filled X film
Trivia:
Lynda Baron’s character is named after one of Jack the Ripper’s real-life victims, Elizabeth Stride, whose nickname was “Long Liz”.
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For the climactic scenes in St Paul’s Cathedral – permission was requested and turned down to film on location. A replica was built instead.
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 UK film based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll.
Cast:
Ralph Bates as Dr. Jekyll
Martine Beswick as Sister Hyde
Gerald Sim as Professor Robertson
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Tagline: The sexual transformation of a man into a woman will actually take place before your very eyes!
Trivia:
Husband and wife Ralph Bates and Virginia Wetherell first met as they prepared to shoot the scene in which Bates as Dr. Jekyll kills the prostitute played by Wetherell.
Caroline Munro was offered the part of Sister Hyde but refused because it required some nudity.
The BBFC requested cuts to remove the inter-cutting of a murder and a rabbit gutting, and to edit a bedroom murder and the stabbing of Professor Robertson. The bedroom murder was shortened though Hammer re-edited the stabbing of the doctor to comprise flash shots of earlier killings. Despite initial BBFC objections the film was then passed, and all later releases feature this same edited print.
Mary and Madeleine Collinson in Twins of Evil (1971)
Twins of Evil is a 1972 horror film by Hammer Film Productions starring Peter Cushing. It is the third film of The Karnstein Trilogy, based on the vampire tale Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. The film has the least resemblance to the novel and adds a witchfinding theme to the vampire story. It is sometimes seen as a prequel to The Vampire Lovers, the first film in the Karnstein Trilogy, as the set design and costumes give the film an 18th Century look and feel. Much of the interest of the film revolves around the contrasting evil and good natures of two beautiful sisters, Frieda and Maria Gellhorn (played by twin Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson). Unlike the previous two entries in the series, this film contains only a brief vampire lesbian element.
Tagline: A new terror-filled X film
Trivia:
Harvey Hall is the only actor to appear in all three films of the Karnstein trilogy, although in different roles in each one. Peter Cushing also played one of the leads in the first, The Vampire Lovers, and also Luan Peters, who plays a small role in this film, also appeared in the second film Lust for a Vampire.
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Both the Collinson Twins were dubbed
Ingrid Pitt was offered the cameo role played by Katya Wyeth.
Used the same sets as Vampire Circus (1972)
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According to Damien Thomas Dennis Price was Ill and in a great pain while filming his brief cameo.
