No hack here!

Count Dracula

Directed by Jess Franco
Written by Augusto Finocchi, Jess Franco, and Harry Alan Towers from Bram Stoker's novel
Starring Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Soledad Miranda, Maria Rohm
Theatrical release: 1970
DVD Release: 2/27/2007
Dark Sky Films

Jess Franco has always had a fiercely loyal following and a reputation as one of cinema's least talented hacks. He's certainly prolific: IMDb lists over two HUNDRED feature length films that he's directed.

Somewhere in between his rabid worshippers and equally rabid naysayers lies the truth of Jess Franco. And the truth is that, while he's no James Whale/Terence Fisher, or even a Freddie Francis, Franco is a decent filmmaker, more than capable of putting together an enjoyable, atmospheric horror film.

When Christopher Lee agreed to star in Franco's version of Bram Stoker's novel, the actor was about to embark on his 5th Hammer Dracula. He had grown tired of the repetitive film series, and felt that Hammer was beating a dead horse and running the character into the ground. But he jumped at the chance to do Franco's film. Franco promised to return to Stoker's original novel as a source material, and present, for the first time in screen history, the vampire count as envisioned by Stoker himself.

Though Count Dracula 's screenplay adheres to Stoker's story only in part, Franco kept his promise to Lee: when first seen, the bloodsucker is a white-haired old man. After each feeding, in each scene in which he appears, Dracula looks younger and younger.

The film has many wonderful moments. The appearances of the three ghostly vampire brides is profoundly eerie, as is the mist shrouded sequence where Jonathan Harker (Paul Muller) meets up with the Count at Borgo Pass. The wolves that follow their coach are an ominous, terrifying sight. The great German actor Klaus Kinski steals the show as the maddest, most over the top Renfield since Dwight Frye, and Herbert Lom makes for a very dignified Van Helsing.

But it's Lee's film. He gives his absolutely best performance as the vampire, showing here, more so than in the Hammer films, why he's the second most famous screen Dracula of all time. The film suffers a bit from poor English dubbing, but Lee, thankfully, provides his own, highly recognizable voice.

Count Dracula was shot in Franco's native Spain , a country which has a very specific kind of architecture. The settings look nothing like the Transylvania and London where the action takes place. But the period sets and costumes are beautifully appointed, and create a nice atmosphere nonetheless.

NOTE: those who purchased Republic's VHS release of this film in the early 90's are advised to hold onto their tapes. Dark Sky's DVD is missing a key scene, present on the tape, where a mother bangs on the door to Castle Dracula, screaming for the child that she lost to the Count. It is one of the novel's most famous sequences. Horror specialists Dark Sky present a pristine, letterboxed print of Count Dracula . It is, in fact, a far better print than the one offered by Republic, so completists may want both: the disc for its visual quality, the tape for the missing scene.

by David Alexander Nahmod
reprinted from BOFFM #4 (forthcoming)