Brief encounters with the movies

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Dracula A.D. 1972

1972
Great Britain

Directed by: Alan Gibson
Written by: Don Houghton (screenplay); Bram Stoker (characters), uncredited
Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Neame, 
Rating: PG

Synopsis (from Rotten Tomatoes website):
...in ultra-mod '70s London, Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) is revived after 100 years by a gang of devil-worshipping swingers led by the not-so-cleverly-named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), and later joined by Jessica (Stephanie Beacham), granddaughter of the legendary vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing, returning to the role after more than a decade). After the group manages to resurrect the Count, he sets about the task of destroying the house of Van Helsing once and forever, leading to a battle in a de-sanctified cathedral. Despite some well-staged scenes, a thrilling prologue (involving a tense battle between Lee and Cushing aboard a runaway coach) and the presence of the stunning Caroline Munro, this is definitely one of the weaker entries in the series, and the script gives Lee very little to do with the hissing, red-eyed villain. 
My Thoughts:

Wow! Who knew vampires were so groovy? Not much of interest here. Peter Cushing turns in a decent performance, as always. But by 1972 Christopher Lee was 50 years old and had been playing Count Dracula for at least 15 years. It's a little disturbing to see the Count aging, since he's supposed to be immortal. One of Stephanie Beacham's earliest films, and she was lovely to watch. (And so were her breasts.)

My Rating at the IMDb: 2 stars out of a possible 10


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