The Hammer Dracula / 007 Connection
or To Live and Let Bite
If one were to ask what is Britain’s
greatest contribution to cinema, some might say the works of Laurence Olivier,
David Lean, or Alfred Hitchcock. However, whoever said that would be wrong.
Without a doubt, Britain’s greatest contribution is the James Bond franchise. Twenty-seven films (so far) is a monumental
library eclipsed only by that of Godzilla. Running a close second to James Bond
in terms of British contribution, it would have to be Hammer Films (Benny Hill
and Monty Python tie for third I guess).
It should be no surprise that the
two should have some cross-over in terms of talent, but when it comes to Hammer’s
Dracula franchise, there was a considerable amount of cross-over. In fact, every
single volume of the Dracula franchise had an actor that also appeared in a Bond
film.
The
Man Himself
The Dracula franchise consists of
nine installments, seven of which feature Christopher Lee as Count Dracula,
starting with the first installment, Horror of Dracula. Lee was best when he
was playing a villain like Count Dooku in the Star Wars movies or Saruman in
The Lord of the Rings. How fitting then,
that he should be a Bond villain. The Bond franchise had some great villains,
Dr. No, Auric Goldfinger, Ernst Blofeld just to name a few. But these were all
mad scientists or greedy billionaires. None of them possessed the virility or
charm of 007. None of them, that is, except Christopher Lee.
Lee played Francisco Scaramanga, the
main antagonist in the second Roger Moore film, The Man with the Golden Gun. Scarmanga
was the perfect foil for James Bond. He was suave, sexy and dangerous. Lee and
Moore were of a similar age (only five years difference) and both had tremendous
on screen presence. Also, Lee was the step-cousin of James Bond’s creator, Ian
Fleming which I guess made him extra perfect for the role.
After Horror of Dracula, the Bond
connection wasn’t as strong in the next few films, though it was still present.
Victor Brooks who played Hans in Brides of Dracula also played Blacking in
Goldfinger. John Maxim who played the coach driver in Dracula Prince of Darkness also appeared in Goldfinger as a gangster. In Dracula Has Risen fromthe Grave, Barry Andrews plays one of the many characters named Paul in the
franchise. He also had a small role as a crewman on the HMS Gragner in The Spy
Who Loved Me.
Taste the Blood of Dracula
The fifth Dracula installment gave
the 007 franchise one of its more recognizable faces. Geoffrey Keen plays William Hargood, a bored decadent
aristocrat who’s quest for stimulation leads to a Satanic ritual that summons Count
Dracula. In the Bond franchise he played Minister of Defence Frederick Grey in not
one, not two, but six Bond films! ;The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your
Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights.
It also gave us the first Hammer appearance
of one of their more striking starlets. Though Madeline Smith would be best known
for The Vampire Lovers, she appeared first as Dolly, a prostitute who gets
whisked away by Ralph Bates in Taste the Blood of Dracula. Madeline appeared in the first Roger Moore
Bond film, Live and Let Die as the girl whose dress gets unzipped with Bond’s
magnetic watch. Madeline would also appear in another Hammer production;
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The Dracula franchise needs to thank
the casting director of this film for its contribution to the talent pool. In
this film, Bond finds himself at a special clinic that treats allergies of some
of the most beautiful women in the world. Many of the beauties would late
appear in the Bond franchise.
Jenny
Hanley who played Sarah in Scars of Dracula played the Irish girl. Anouska
Hempel who also appeared in Scars of Dracula as Tania played the Australian
girl. Joanna Lumley who played Jessica Van Helsing in The Satanic Rites of Dracula
played the English girl. Julie Ege, the most statuesque of the Hammer starlets,
played the Scandinavian girl. Julie later played Vanessa in the last Hammer
Dracula film, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. Julie appeared in another
Hammer film, Creatures the World Forgot.
One last, less obvious and much less sexy, contribution was
that of voice actor David de Keyser. He was the voice of Dracula in Legend of
the Seven Golden Vampires and the voice of Tracey’s father, Marc-Ange Draco in
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. David had two other Hammer voice credits; Vengeance
of She and Vampire Circus.
Dracula 1972 A.D.
This film has several ties to the 007
franchise. Christopher Neame who plays Dracula’s henchman, Johnny Alucard, played
Fallon in License to Kill. Michael Kitchen, who played Greg, appeared as Bill
Tanner in two pf the Pierce Brosnan film; Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough.
Nothing against the fellows, but no
Hammer fan cares about them. The real connection is with Caroline Munro. She
played Laura, Dracula’s first victim. She also appeared as Naomi, the
henchwoman in The Spy Who Loved Me. On a side note, that is my favorite Bond
film and features my favorite Bond Girl (Barbara Bach) and my favorite Bond
villain (Jaws). If I had one complaint about that film it’s that Caroline wasn’t
in it long enough. Caroline also had an uncredited role as a Guard Girl in the
1967 Casino Royale. In addition to Dracula she appeared in another Hammer
vampire film, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter.
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
In addition to Jessica Lumley, Satanic Rites has three other bond connections. Valerie
Van Ost plays Jane, one of the Count’s victims and had a small part as a girl
at the roulette wheel in the 1967 version of Casino Royale. Richard Vernon
played Colonel Mathews in the Dracula movie and Colonel Smithers in Goldfinger
(I guess he was type cast as a colonel). Patrick Barr who played Lord Carradine
had a small part in Octopussy as a British Ambassador.
With all of
these Dracula /Bond connections, there is just one question: How did Peter
Cushing never appear in a Bond film?
No comments:
Post a Comment