Film Review
The first in Hammer's series of seven Dracula films is easily one of
the best, an atmospheric piece that surpasses even the classic
Universal 1931 Bela Lugosi version
in its creepiness and sustained aura of menace from beyond the
grave. After their successful pairing in Hammer's previous
The Curse of Frankenstein
(1957), Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are brought together for a
second time, to form one of cinema's most enduring iconic pairings, as
Dracula and his nemesis Van Helsing. This is the film that made
Lee an international star, although the actor soon grew tired of his
association with the role of the vampiric count and it would be almost
a decade before he would next don the familiar fangs and cape, in
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
(1966).
Whilst it may not follow Bram Stoker's original novel to the letter,
this film captures the essence of the novel more successfully than any
screen adaptation before or since. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster
effectively compresses Stoker's sprawling first-person narrative into a
taut, fast moving good-versus-evil morality tale that has no time for
the kind of silliness and Grand Guignol excesses that would slip into
Hammer's later
Dracula films.
It is hard to imagine any pair of actors better suited for the roles of
Dr Van Helsing and Count Dracula than Peter Cushing and Christopher
Lee. Who could play the dedicated vampire hunter as
realistically and with as much moral authority as Peter Cushing?
And surely no one could surpass Christopher Lee as the demonic Count, a
character that is barely contained by the screen, such is the charisma
and vitality that resonate from the six foot five actor. Lee's
Dracula may be the embodiment of pure evil but there is also a
suggestion of pathos, an impression that the vampire is more victim than villain
- something that is more noticeable in
Hammer's subsequent
Dracula films.
Terence Fisher's direction is slick, meticulous and tirelessly
inventive, making the most of the film's low budget and weaving a
Gothic nightmare that is chilling in its realism and unremitting
graveyard aura. Much of the credit for the film's striking
Gothic look goes to art director Bernard Robinson, who achieved design
miracles with next to no money. Here Hammer set a standard of
excellence that the studio would struggle to match in subsequent
years. It is one of the few British horror films of this period
that still manages to send a shiver down the spine and makes you peep
warily into the wardrobe before you go to bed.
This is a rare thing indeed: a Gothic horror film with teeth.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Terence Fisher film:
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
Film Synopsis
Jonathan Harker makes the journey to Klausenberg to take up the post of
librarian at Castle Dracula. The real motive for his expedition
is to kill his employer, Count Dracula, but before he can do this he is
attacked by a mysterious woman in white. The next day, Harker
discovers that he has been bitten on his neck and realises that he is
destined to become a vampire. With no time to lose, he locates
the coffins containing Dracula and his sinister bride. Although
he manages to dispatch the latter, by driving a wooden stake through
her heart, Harker fails to destroy Dracula before he awakes. A
few weeks later, Dr Van Helsing travels to Klausenberg in search of his
missing friend. Van Helsing finds Harker's body in the
crypt of Castle Dracula, but there is no trace of the evil Count.
Harker's fiancé Lucy Holmwood and her brother Arthur are shocked
when Van Helsing breaks the news of his death to them, but far worse is
to come. To avenge the death of his bride, Dracula intends to
claim Lucy for himself and begins paying her nocturnal visits.
Despite Van Helsing's best efforts, Lucy becomes one of the undead, but
the vampire hunter manages to destroy her before she can spread the
plague of vampirism. A far greater challenge remains,
however - to find Dracula and bring an end to his vile reign of
tyranny...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.