Sunday, March 29, 2020

Countess Dracula




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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