Dracula's Long-Awaited Reprise
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Dracula --- Prince Of Darkness Stakes Out 1966
posted by John McElwee at 7:30 PM
Friday, July 12, 2013
Dracula --- Prince Of Darkness Stakes Out 1966
1 Comments:
The word on this one was that the dialogue given Dracula in the screenplay was so bad Christopher Lee refused to say the lines. This silent Dracula, I agree, provides for a much more forceful performance.
The power of running water is part of the vampire lore contained in Bram Stoker's novel from which we got dollops in each of Hammer's films.
I had seen HORROR OF DRACULA but the inclusion of that film's climax in PRINCE OF DARKNESS did and does give the film on heckuva fine opening which, unfortunately, the rest of the film does not measure up to.
Still, it was a big treat to see back on screen as Dracula and it continued to be a treat to see him in the rest of Hammer's DRACULA series. Too bad they would not cough up the extra bucks to get him to star in THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES as the man they did use projected nothing of what Lee's presence brought to the part.
Between Lugosi and Lee, however, I will always go for Bela. Again, it is unfortunate that Universal, like Hammer, never seemed to know how to make the best use of its horror stars. One thing though, the Universal pictures (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE BLACK CAT, MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, THE RAVEN, THE OLD DARK HOUSE, and the forties pictures which largely owe their origin to Curt Siodmak) are, for myself, better written films.
Notwithstanding that, for a long time the emergence of each new entry in the Hammer catalog was something to get excited about even if the pictures fell a little bit short of expectation. I had found the paperback of Guy Endore's A WEREWOLF OF PARIS and read it before seeing THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF. The book is such an exceptional work. The film does not measure up to it.
The best written of the Hammers are the Quatermass films all of which came from Nigel Kneale's superlative teleplays.
I, also, began to dread the re-appearance of Michael Ripper in his many character roles. He is my least favorite Hammer actor.
I learned long ago that success in the theater comes from surpassing the audience's expectations. Simply living up to them is not good enough. In DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS our expectations were huge because THE HORROR OF DRACULA was such a tour de force. They were not met nor would they be again by Hammer with the exception of their final Quatermass film (almost as good in its way as Kubrick's 2001) and THE VAMPIRE LOVERS which has so much of Sheridan Le Fanu in it that I, personally, was thrilled by it as by no other Hammer. Others agreed with me at the time as the film was a huge hit.
I recall that someone noted, during the making of THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, that people in that period did not wear underwear. That, not exploitation, led the decision for film's powerful use of nudity. Unfortunately, it also led the studio brass to exploit tits and asses in future Hammers which was the undoing of Hammer. I hated TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER when I first saw it (the print was gawdawful). Now it is viewed by myself as one of their best. Still, I have all the Hammers I can get my hands on on the shelf. Too bad I can't seem to get others to want to see them.
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