Countess
Dracula
1971
Director-Peter Sasdy
Cast- Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Lesley-Anne Down, Sandor
Elès, Maurice Denham, Patience Collier, Andria Lawrence, Susan Brodrick, Nike
Arrighi, Leon Lissek
This is a
retelling (and maybe the best cinematic adaptation) of the Elizabeth Bathroy
legend. If you’re not familiar, Countess Elizabeth Báthory was a 16th
century Hungarian noblewoman. She was accused of the murder of hundreds of
young girls. Along with murder, she was accused of torture and cannibalism. The
most tantalizing of all of the claims was that she bathed in the blood of young
girls to maintain her youth. That claim has become the most memorable part of
her legacy and provides the basis for this film.
Ingrid
Pitt plays an aging, recently widowed Countess. She has carried on a lifelong
affair with her husband’s captain of arms, Dobi (played by the virile Nigel
Green who played Hercules in Jason and the Argonauts). Lieutenant Imre, the son
her father’s old friend, has arrived to pay his respects and the Countess becomes
infatuated with him. Her daughter, Illona (played by a very young Lesley-Anne
Down) is also making her way home after being sent off as a child.
The
Countess is a cruel and petty woman and is abusive toward her servants. By
accident, after beating a servant girl and getting some of the blood on her,
she discovers that it has rejuvenating properties. She follows this logic to
its conclusion and murders the girl to get more of the blood. This has the
effect of totally transforming her, making her young again. She then hatches a
diabolical scheme. She sends highwaymen
out to waylay and kidnap her daughter before she arrives at the castle.
Elizabeth then goes about masquerading as the recently arrived Illona, and
since no one has seen Illona since she was a child, they are none the wiser.
“Illona”
tells everyone that her mother is sick and staying in her room. Captain Dobi,
who has been loyal to the Countess for years, is looking forward to being with
her now that her husband is dead. Much to his chagrin, he finds himself
cuckolded. The now youthful Countess (in the guise of Illona) starts to carry
on an affair with the much younger Imre.
However,
unexpectedly she reverts back to her older self, except much older and
hideous. She then has to murder a new
girl. What proceeds is a cycle of addiction where she must maintain a fresh
supply of blood in order to stay young, fearing that she will turn even more
hideous when it wears off.
This is
one of Hammer’s best looking productions. It has a bit of a salacious
reputation thanks to one famous image of Ingrid Pitt standing naked splattered
with blood. I think its reputation has more to do with its connection to
another Ingrid Pitt film, The Vampire Lovers. That film, also made by Hammer
the year before, has also sorts of graphic nudity. Countess Dracula, while
featuring nudity, doesn’t have any more than what was common for films of that
era.
A lot of
work was spent on the look of the film. The costumes are very good, especially
Captain Dobi’s uniform. Most of these “historical” Hammer films took place in
fictional settings during an ambiguous time. It does seem like effort was made
to make this film look more authentic.
Beyond
the look of the film there are also good performances. Nigel Green, as the
ignored Captain Dobi, is very believable and the closest thing that we have to
a sympathetic character in the film. He
goes about helping the Countess with her crimes. He is perfectly content to
have her as an old woman and keeps hoping she will come to her senses, all the
while his jealousy builds as she cavorts with his younger rival.
Of
course, the centerpiece here is Ingrid Pitt. This film was made during the
height of her career. A few years earlier, in 1968, she starred in a supporting
role in the excellent Where Eagles Dare and had another supporting role in the also
excellent The Wicker Man in 1973. But Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula put
Ingrid center stage. Of the two, Vampire Lovers showcased her tremendous beauty
while Countess Dracula allowed her to show off her acting.
The
early 70’s was a great period for Hammer films. The company’s tried and true
formulas had started to lose their potency and Hammer became more experimental.
Countess Dracula is a product of that. Watch it to see one of the horror genre’s most
memorable starlets at her best.
Fun fact- Be on the lookout for Nike Arrighi. She was
Tannith in the occult thriller, The Devil Rides Out. She has a smaller role
here as one of the Countesses victim’s. She plays a dusky, scantily clad gypsy.
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