The Brides of Dracula (1960) review

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA 1960

Peter Cushing (Professor Van Helsing), Martita Hunt (Baroness Meinster), Yvonne Monlaur (Marianne Danielle), David Peel (Baron Meinster), Freda Jackson (Greta), Miles Malleson (Dr. Tobler)

Directed by Terence Fisher

"There's a wolf howling down there...  he'll get'em all a' stirred, trust him. You don't know what you've done..."

The Short Version: Following their triple threat of Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy, Hammer went a different route upon revisiting the realm of European bloodsuckers. BRIDES has everything a fan of fanciful Gothic horror could hope for and more save for Christopher Lee's iconic presence. David Peel rarely, if ever resonates the vile nature of Lee's vampire with his blonde haired, effeminate Baron Meinster. He does swing a mean chain, and nearly converts Van Helsing to vampirism, though. His polar opposite interpretation is boyish, if occasionally riveting thanks in part to Peter Cushing as a noticeably invigorated Professor Van Helsing. It's essential viewing, and a great entry for fans unfamiliar with Hammer's celebrated brand of horror cinema.




Abandoned by her coach, French schoolteacher Marianne Danielle ends up at the feared residence of the Baroness Meinster. During a late dinner while a storm stirs outside, Marianne learns of the house's dark history and of its young, shackled owner, the Baron Meinster. Warned to stay away from him, the curious girl converses with the young man anyways. The Baron pleads with her to release him, and in so doing lets a great evil onto the world. Learning what has happened, Professor Van Helsing intervenes to halt this new plague of the undead.

Hammer Films follow-up to HORROR OF DRACULA (1958) has Dracula in the title but no Dracula in the movie. The film is reputed to have bore the title of DRACULA 2 in the early scripting stages, yet these are merely disciples of Dracula. The absence of the lord of the undead doesn't hurt the film, though, as Fisher and company fashioned one of Hammer's greatest achievements with sumptuous costumes and art decor. There's a macabre ambiance present that would be methodically drained away from Hammer's future vampire entries -- particularly noticeable in the 70s films.

 

Ostensibly an action-horror picture, BRIDES sets itself apart from the rest by enabling a more athletic protagonist and antagonist. Peter Cushing gets into the spirit of things more than he did in the previous vampire outing. He has a stronger presence this second go round; magnified because David Peel (as the vampire Meinster) isn't Christopher Lee by any stretch, but then he doesn't try to be. This is arguably Cushing's best film playing Van Helsing out of the five he did.

Cushing almost didn't do the film until after changes were made in the script. A few scenes intended for this picture were shoveled over into KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963) such as a bloodsucker being staked with a spade through a coffin; and an astonishing finale where Van Helsing summons hell-sent bats to do in the vampires. Other plot points were just dropped altogether like Marianne being vampirized.

The backstory for the Meinster's (sort of a malapropism on the word monster) likens vampirism to drug addiction. The Baroness and Greta the mad matron mentions the gaiety that once thrived at the estate, but alludes to her son having infested her circle with this "addiction". It also flirts with the incestuous nature, and proposed decadence of the aristocracy, and its latent preying on the human sheep in the villages below. This societal perversion is likewise analogous with the decline of western civilization via the dissolution of the 50s nuclear family into the radical, revolutionary, and controversial 1960s era of free love.




In Hammer's next vampire movie, KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963), Don Sharp's film fleetingly feels like a sequel of sorts; or at least develops some of the ideas presented in the earlier movie. It expands on the morally corrupt aristocracy talked about in BRIDES by visualizing them as a circle of satanic bloodsuckers who throw macabre masquerades whereby new victims are brought into their fold.

"First it's you clericals, Father, with your monolithic superstitions. And the peasants like her with their troglodyte indifference."

BRIDES OF DRACULA touches on other avenues, yet never lingers for too long on them. It strikes an engaging dichotomy between science and religion. Dr. Tobler (slight comedy relief via Miles Malleson's quasi bumbling, clueless physician) believes in the tangible, quickly disregarding the local superstitions of the peasants, as he calls them. The priest of course is well aware of the deviltry around him. Van Helsing provides a nice bridge between the two. He's a scientist, but also well versed in metaphysics and the supernatural. His vast knowledge is his greatest ally aside from the soul saving, vampire vanquishing accouterments he carries with him. The film doesn't spend much time on this clash of ideals, not that it needed to, but it's there whether intentional or not.



Peter Cushing is stoic and impeccably dressed throughout; and is always carrying his "doctors bag" full of crucifixes, wooden stakes, hammers and holy water. He gets to use them regularly here. One of the films major highlights is a sequence where he's actually bitten by the vampire(!). It's probably the most shocking bit of business in the films 86 minutes. You don't expect it, but when it happens, it's a wonderful cliffhanger moment in the annals of Hammer horror. The method by which Van Helsing escapes becoming one of the vampires brood will make you wince and squirm in your seat. It's highly effective.



David Peel as Baron Meinster isn't quite up to the villainy of Lee's genre defining vampire. A bit on the effeminate side, Peel does exude menace in certain shots, but most of the time, he makes one long for Christopher Lee. He never maintains that sense of evil that Lee brought to the role two years earlier. The delivery of his background and how he came to be in his blood-drinking state is far more terrifying. Peel's performance is a nice diversion till Lee donned the cape again in 1966, although he's certainly better than Noel Willman's Dr. Ravna in the otherwise poetically haunting KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963).



Freda Jackson nearly steals the show from everybody with her domineering stare and her unforgettable moments of voracious line delivery and mannerisms. She was well suited to these sorts of witchery enhanced roles. She was far more subdued, but no less scowling in Jim O'Connolly's VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969). Her last big screen credit was her wildest interpretation of a hunched over messenger of sinister reverence -- she was one of the blind cannibalistic Stygian witches in Desmond Davis's excellent fantasy adventure CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981).



One could argue that BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) is a better film than 1958s HORROR OF DRACULA. It does surpass that film in a number of ways. Terence Fisher definitely fills the screen at every turn leaving nary an inch of wasted space. As mentioned earlier, the studio sets and costuming are sumptuous; and go far in radiating a dark fairy tale quality. The score by Malcolm Williamson is vastly different from the signature work of James Bernard, who'd defined the Hammer style of music in the previous Frankenstein and Dracula pictures. Williamson's orchestral cues are accompanied by some eerie organ strains that do much to allow BRIDES to stand out as a defining work in Hammer horror.



Aside from some lapses in logic (the Baron frequently transforms into a bat, but seems to forget this ability at the most inopportune times), BRIDES OF DRACULA is among the classiest, if not the classiest of Hammer's horror canon. It's certainly a sterling effort of the Bray years, and puts the bulk of the latter period at Elstree to shame with its superior production values and meticulous qualities.

This review is representative of the Universal Franchise Collection 2 disc set.

Blood Trails from Drakulon: Hammer's Unmade Vampirella

 

"The failure of VAMPIRELLA is a great sadness in my life. I really loved the material. I had spent quite a bit of Hammer's money on it. Sam [Arkoff] and I mutually agreed we couldn't get it together." -- Michael Carreras in 1987. Fangoria #63, p62 

In 1969 Forrest J. Ackerman, editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, envisioned one of the most unique comic book heroines ever created. Vampirella (a bloodsucking version of BARBARELLA) was a moderately adult themed comic magazine character that was wildly popular with the male demographic throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. After Warren Publishing's various magazine lines ceased to exist in 1983, the title was resurrected in the 1990s, and has been luring readers into her periodical fold ever since.

Largely a cult item, interest was high enough that certain parties were attracted to the cinematic potential inherent in the property and its merchandising. Much of that interest in capturing Vampirella's exploits on the big screen came from a company proficient in tales of nocturnal neck nibblers. 

By the mid 1970s, Hammer Films was on shaky ground financially. They'd tried adding more blood and gore to their movies, experimented with co-productions that cross-bred differing genres, and made plans for a slew of pictures that never developed. From the late 50s throughout the 1960s they'd been successful at home and abroad for their unique style of atmospheric horror. In the 70s, audiences tastes had drastically changed, gravitating towards a more visceral approach to screen violence that made Hammer's style seem quaint by comparison. With several back-to-back domestic failures, problematic productions, and loss of major international distribution, Hammer turned to James Warren and Forry Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine for a solution.

The brass at Hammer figured their biggest consensus of fans would be the readers of what was then the most popular monster magazine in the world. In the September 1975 issue of FMOFM, Hammer Films reached out to their base with an ad that screamed, "What will Hammer do next?" The advertisement asked readers to come up with ideas as to what the company's next production should be. With proclamations of "Hammer needs help to scare you to death", the ad itself hinted at desperation from a company struggling to find its way in a market that was rapidly changing around them. Considering Hammer was in the midst of financial woes -- in addition to difficulties in getting certain pictures made at this point -- the conundrum was whether or not this last ditch effort would pay off in the long run.

"No matter what the trend in moviegoing, there will always be room for a good horror film." -- Michael Carreras in Famous Monsters of Filmland #123, p41; January 1976

In November of that year, Hammer was coming to the second Famous Monsters Convention in New York. There, the name of the prestigious British company's next potential movie would be revealed to a showroom full of interested parties.

Hammer president Michael Carreras was there, along with Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt and Playboy model Barbara Leigh. Some 4,000 monster movie fans showed up to the Hotel Commodore on the weekend of the 7th through the 9th. Not only were fans eager to meet up with like-minded Hammer-heads, but also to come into contact with some of the company's notable personalities; and also to learn just what sort of concoction Hammer was intending to make.



When Barbara Leigh walked across the stage and tossed away a vampires cloak showcasing a revealing Vampirella costume, the number of photographers flashbulbs exploding in unison was indicative of fan interest -- at least among the some 4,000 fans in attendance. A big screen, live action version of VAMPIRELLA was to be Hammer's next feature film. Peter Cushing (who was also in attendance) was signed to play Vampy's sidekick Pendragon. The script was written by Christopher Wicking and John Hough (TWINS OF EVIL) was attached as director.

The comic itself was very popular, so making a movie out of the sexy, scantily clad vampire agent from outer space seemed a viable prospect. 

Out of all of Hammer's advertised productions that never came to fruition up to that time, a Silver Screen version of VAMPIRELLA is one of the company's great missed opportunities. A number of actors and directors were considered for the picture, or attached to it at various points. Caroline Munro (see photo at left) was one of the ladies originally sought to portray the curvacious Drakulonian vampire. Due to the level of nudity required, she dropped out. Munro would have been a luscious Vampirella, but Leigh was an equally splendid choice for the role. 

She wasn't a Hammer girl, but Leigh had some choice exploitation features to her credit by the time the proposed VAMPIRELLA movie was in its planning stages. These included THE STUDENT NURSES (1970), TERMINAL ISLAND (1973) and BOSS NIGGER (1975). Barbara Leigh had the look, and there was no question she had the right figure and curves to fill out the 'barely there' costume. Unfortunately, after a lot of ballyhoo and promotion in Warren's publications, the film never managed to get off the ground.

Barbara Leigh was undoubtedly excited about playing the part; and devastated when she never got to fulfill the dream of playing Vampy in a movie. Others had worn the costume before her at conventions, but Leigh is the first model to appear on the magazine cover, and the one most popularly associated with the characters cinematic possibilities. Between 1977 and 1979, Leigh appeared on eight VAMPIRELLA comic magazine covers.

"It's very difficult to figure out what went wrong. I spent so much time, energy and money, and ended up with nothing to show for it." -- Michael Carreras in 1992. Fangoria magazine #110, p57 


The plot of Hammer's VAMPIRELLA was a re-telling of the Vampirella origin story. A basic summation of Wicking's script saw the Drakulonian lovely end up on Earth after her planet is destroyed by aliens. Suffering temporary Amnesia, Vampy becomes part of a nightclub act of a drunken magician named Pendragon. She later meets up with members of a secret agent organization called SODS (Space Operatives for Defense and Security) to foil an alien invasion of Earth by the same race of creatures that destroyed her home planet of Drakulon. The ending featured a bizarre coda wherein Vampirella and Pendragon are walking along the beach when a horse and buggy(?) pulls up beside them and a hunchbacked coachman offers them a ride to a castle (in Bermuda?!). Inside the carriage lies a coffin that houses Count Dracula himself!

As scripted, the proposed VAMPIRELLA Hammer movie sounded disastrous on paper with its mishmash of genre conventions and absurd camp potential. Hammer had previously tried melding quirky elements in such movies as CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER (1972), and the results were anemic to say the least. Furthermore, there was seemingly little interest at the time in making the picture outside of Hammer Films and Warren Publishing; yet the film attracted a good deal of publicity that all added up to nothing. 

Reportedly, the prospect of such a risque picture shooting in Bermuda upset a lot of its residents that led to protests against the production shooting there -- if and when that would begin.

After some of the majors passed on it, American International was interested, but that deal fell through over casting choices. Warren himself eventually abandoned the project when Hammer couldn't fulfill certain aspects of their agreement and the film was cancelled. 



Despite never actually owning the rights to the character, Carreras was obviously anxious to try and get VAMPIRELLA made. According to Carreras in a 1992 Fangoria interview, he had made a deal in principle with an American network that was prepared to finance two pilot movies after the theatrical feature was completed. Mind you, this was around the time Spiderman swung into action in his own TV series beginning in 1977.

Even with all this attention and controversy, it's surprising this popular comic character couldn't secure much interest, or even the financing required to get the ball rolling. It's also saddening that those who were actually involved couldn't come to agreement over the property. With a couple other potential pictures falling apart around him, the collapse of the VAMPIRELLA project cost Carreras and Hammer a lot of money; so much so it was a defining factor in the company going bankrupt. 

In 1996 a VAMPIRELLA movie finally got made, but as an awful Made for Video movie via Roger Corman's Concorde-New Horizons company and the Showtime Network. A miscast Talisa Soto played the title role and didn't even fill out the mightily shabby costume, so to speak. Directed by Jim Wynorski, Vampy's first, and so far last movie remains an unmitigated disaster.

It's debatable just how well the 70s film would have been received had it been made. It's also questionable that it would have revitalized Hammer's place in the market while injecting new blood into their by then tired formula. With an enormous camp factor, it possibly would have ended up looking like something akin to Luigi Cozzi's STARCRASH from 1978 (which did star Caroline Munro). 

By 1977 the tomb was more or less sealed on Vampirella's big screen adventure. STAR WARS (1977) was released and the market was yet again changed by this large scale science fiction spectacular. One can speculate whether or not Hammer would have been able to compete with (much less match) the Lucas juggernaut; or even bring wider, more mainstream attention to the decidedly more adult Vampirella character. However, the height of STAR WARS mania could have been the best time to bring VAMPIRELLA to theaters, even if it was a low budget, adult oriented, R rated effort. All these years later, it's intriguing to wonder what Hammer would have done with the property had they been able to make a movie out of it. But then, some things are better off laid to rest.

For more on Vampirella, there's a superb site on the character HERE.

***Vampirella ads, Hammer ads, and Monster Con Vampirella pics with captions from Famous Monsters #123, #124, #127***