The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Vampire hunter Van Helsing returns to Transylvania to destroy handsome bloodsucker Baron Meinster, who has designs on beautiful young schoolteacher Marianne.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay), Peter Bryan (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. J. Van Helsing
Martita Hunt	...	Baroness Meinster
Yvonne Monlaur	...	Marianne Danielle
Freda Jackson	...	Greta
David Peel	...	Baron Meinster
Miles Malleson	...	Dr. Tobler
Henry Oscar	...	Herr Otto Lang
Mona Washbourne	...	Frau Helga Lang
Andree Melly	...	Gina
Victor Brooks	...	Hans, a Villager
Fred Johnson	...	The Cure, Father Stepnik
Michael Ripper	...	Coachman
Norman Pierce	...	Johann, Landlord
Vera Cook	...	Landlord's Wife
Marie Devereux	...	Village Girl (as Marie Deveruex)

Storyline

A young teacher on her way to a position in Transylvania helps a young man escape the shackles his mother has put on him. In so doing she innocently unleashes the horrors of the undead once again on the populace, including those at her school for ladies. Luckily for some, Dr Van Helsing is already on his way.

---

Plot Keywords:

van helsing | vampire | undead | music score features organ | rosary | 

---

Taglines:

The most evil Dracula of all!

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Hammer Films

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Noivas de Drácula

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions, Hotspur Film Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ending was to have originally had the vampires destroyed by a swarm of bats. This ending proved too expensive to stage and shoot. The concept of this ending was recycled three years later for the climax of Hammer's The Kiss of the Vampire.

---

Goofs

When the coachman pulls the log out of the road, the thin end of it wobbles (revealing it to be a rubber mock-up).

---

Quotes

Baroness Meinster: Who is it that is not afraid?
Dr. J. Van Helsing: Only God has no fear.
Baroness Meinster: Why have you come here?
Dr. J. Van Helsing: To find your son.
Baroness Meinster: Then you know who I am?
Dr. J. Van Helsing: I know who you were.

---

Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Dracula and His Disciples (1996)

User Reviews

Forever Fabulous!

This lush, hypnotic horror extravaganza from Hammer Studios improves steadily with age. The magnificent color design, the sets and the all-out performances of the superb cast makes this a classic right along with "Bride of Frankenstein." Each scene is filmed like a work of art, with purple and azure lighting in the backgrounds, marvelous set pieces and a knockout finale. One cannot say enough about the extraordinary cast. Two Shakespearian pros, Martita Hunt (the wizened Baroness Meinster) and her crazed maid, Freda Jackson (Greta)knock everyone else off the screen. Both also performed in the classic, "Great Expectations" and Martita had a stellar career in films. David Peele is stunning as the vampire. Beautiful, evil, arrogant, it's like watching Dorian Gray (which he performed on radio)at his peak. Yvonne Molnaur as the beautiful heroine is perfect. The vampire girls are all superb. I would put this superb classic at the top of any great horror films. You watch it today and see how modern horror films have degenerated. "Brides" was made by masters at their peak. Now, if we can only get this on DVD, maybe as a double feature with "Horror of Dracula." Bravo Martita, Freda and David Peele! If you never did anything else, you did yourself proud with this glimmering jewel of evil,incest and sex.