Horror of Dracula
(1958), dir. Terrence Fisher, Hammer Film Productions
With the Curse of
Frankenstein winning both praise and condemnation, and more importantly
money, Hammer opted to repeat the formula. With Fisher as director and the team
of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as leads, the next logical horror
franchise to go after would be Dracula.
The film begins much the same as Stoker’s novel, but the
beginnings are about the only things the two works have in common. Jonathan
Harker (John Van Eyssen) arrives at the remote castle home of Count Dracula
(Christopher Lee) after spending a night in a village filled with terrified
villagers. The count isn’t present, but Harker makes himself at home, as we
learn that he has been hired to catalogue the castle’s library.
Things are a miss though, as that evening Harker is
approached by a strange woman (Valerie Gaunt) who begs him to help her. Before
Harker can do anything, Count Dracula arrives. He’s charming and cordial as he
escorts Harker upstairs, but we learn something about Harker. It seems he’s
really to kill the Count, for reason that soon become obvious.
The strange woman appears again. When Harker goes to comfort
her, she opens her mouth to reveal fangs. She bites him as Dracula reappears,
his eyes red and his mouth bloody. He slaps the woman away and knocks Harker
out. When the doomed librarian wakes up, it’s nearly dark. He notices the two
fresh wounds on his neck and rushes though the castle. He finds the hidden
crypt and two coffins. Opening the first one, he finds the strange woman asleep
in a bed of dirt. He stakes her in a bloody fashion, but when he opens the
count’s coffin, it’s empty. Dracula, however, arrives seconds later and he’s
not happy.
Later, Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) arrives at the same
village. He was the one who sent Harker on his doomed mission. The villagers
are just as helpful to Van Helsing as they were to Harker, but the inn keeper’s
daughter finally screws up enough courage to point Van Helsing the way to the
castle and give him Harker’s journal.
Van Helsing arrives at the castle in time to see a hearse loaded with a coffin
galloping away. Ignoring that, he explores the castle, finding the remains of
Harker’s handiwork and an empty picture frame that Van Helsing recognizes as
formerly containing a picture of Harker’s fiancée’s Lucy Holmwood (Carol
Marsh). He also finds Harker, now a vampire.
A quick staking later, Van Helsing races back to Austria to
inform Lucy and her brother Arthur (Michael Gough) of the news. Lucy takes the
news badly, as does Arthur’s wife Mina (Melissa Stribling). When Lucy starts
showing signs of a strange wasting sickness and has two fresh wounds on her
neck, Van Helsing springs into action. She dies three days later.
When Lucy starts hanging around the home, Arthur finally
believes Van Helsing and they start hunting for Dracula.
While there is plenty of excitement, and a climax that sets
the bar rather high for vampire films, the entire story is extremely dependent
on coincidence and Lee is utterly wasted in a role that barely has ten lines
and almost as much screen time. Cushing saves the film, however, as his Van
Helsing is better than Edward Van Sloan in almost every way of measuring.
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