The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay) &
Peter Bryan (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He Turned Innocent Beauty Into Unspeakable Horror.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Van Helsing | Vampire | Undead | Music Score Features Organ | Rosary

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susan Castle	...	Elsa, School Maid (uncredited)
Michael Mulcaster	...	Latour, The Man in Black (uncredited)
Harry Pringle	...	Karl (uncredited)
Harold Scott	...	Severin (uncredited)
Stephanie Watts	...	Foxy Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Terence Fisher

Writing credits
Jimmy Sangster		(screenplay) &
Peter Bryan		(screenplay) &
Edward Percy		(screenplay)
Anthony Hinds		uncredited

Produced by
Michael Carreras	....	executive producer
Anthony Hinds	....	producer
Anthony Nelson Keys	....	associate producer (as Anthony Nelson-Keys)

Original Music by
Malcolm Williamson

Cinematography by
Jack Asher

Film Editing by
Alfred Cox

Casting by
Dorothy Holloway

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Art Direction by
Thomas Goswell		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hair stylist (as Freda Steiger)

Production Management
Don Weeks	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Peverall	....	assistant director
Hugh Harlow	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Eric Hillier	....	props buyer (uncredited)
Don Mingaye	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tom Money	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jim Groom	....	sound editor (as James Groom)
Jock May	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects

Stunts
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris	....	camera operator
Steve Birtles	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Tom Edwards	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
James Needs	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
John Hollingsworth	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Tilly Day	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions
• Hotspur Film Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1960) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Talma Filmes (1960) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• MCA Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• LW Editora (2008) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Filmverleih (1960) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal International Pictures (UI) (196?) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Koch Media (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1960) | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Norway:16 (1960) | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1960) | Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

The prop department put a lot of effort into making a realistic model bat. It got lost and had to be replaced on short notice. This explains the rather unconvincing look of the model that got actually used in the movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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:

Narrator:Transylvania, land of dark forests, dread mountains and black, unfathomed lakes. Still the home of magic and devilry as the nineteenth century draws to it's close. Count Dracula, monarch of all vampires, is dead, but his disciples live on, to spread the cult and corrupt the world.

Movie Connections:

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

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.