Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (writer)
Bram Stoker (character)

Release Date:

7 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

DRINK A PINT OF BLOOD A DAY

Plot:

Three elderly distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring borgoueis lives...

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Revenge | Ceremony | Fall From Height | Self Inflicted Wound

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Dracula
Geoffrey Keen	...	William Hargood
Gwen Watford	...	Martha Hargood
Linda Hayden	...	Alice Hargood
Peter Sallis	...	Samuel Paxton
Anthony Higgins	...	Paul Paxton (as Anthony Corlan)
Isla Blair	...	Lucy Paxton
John Carson	...	Jonathon Secker
Martin Jarvis	...	Jeremy Secker
Ralph Bates	...	Lord Courtley
Roy Kinnear	...	Weller
Michael Ripper	...	Inspector Cobb
Russell Hunter	...	Felix
Shirley Jaffe	...	Betty - Hargood's Maid
Keith Marsh	...	Father
Peter May	...	Son
Reginald Barratt	...	Vicar
Madeline Smith	...	Dolly (as Maddy Smith)
Lai Ling	...	Chinese girl (as Chai Ling)
Malaika Martin	...	Snake girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amber Blare	...	Bordello Girl (uncredited)
Vicky Gillespie	...	Bordello Girl (uncredited)
June Palmer	...	Redhead Prostitute (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Sasdy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anthony Hinds		writer (as John Elder)
Bram Stoker		character

Produced by
Aida Young	....	producer

Original Music by
James Bernard

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant

Film Editing by
Chris Barnes

Production Design by
Scott MacGregor

Makeup Department
Mary Bredin	....	hairdresser supervisor
Gerry Fletcher	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Christopher Sutton	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derek Whitehurst	....	assistant director
Nick Granby	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Lindsey Vickers	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Ron Barron	....	sound recordist
Keith Batten	....	boom operator
Roy Hyde	....	sound editor
Tony Lumkin	....	recording supervisor
Dennis Whitlock	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Brian Johnson	....	special effects (as Brian Johncock)
Bob Archer	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)
Terry Schubert	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)
Mike Tilley	....	special effects team (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Les Bowie	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Brace	....	stunts (uncredited)
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Neil Binney	....	camera operator
Bob Jordan	....	focus puller

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brian Owen-Smith	....	wardrobe master

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Geraldine Lawton	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Warner-Pathé Distributors (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and brief violence. (2004 re-rating)

Runtime:

USA:91 min | UK:95 min (uncut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:M | USA:GP (certificate #22364) (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (2004) | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Some writers have claimed that Vincent Price was going to play a fourth member Of Geoffrey Keen's Thrill Seekers but budget cuts removed the character so his part was shared among John Carson, Peter Sallis and Keen.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Lucy's front door has a Yale lock.

Quotes:

Jonathon Secker: You can and will. Now!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Memorable scenes

This was the only Dracula/Lee movie that I saw on the huge theater screen and it was pretty cool. My mom would never take me to these things so I had my dad drop me and my friend off, then pick us up later. It was a double feature along with Trog. The theater was not packed, but it had been playing for at least a week. Now some kids are going to rate this lower because they've all seen much bloodier and scarier stuff. No kidding, really????? When this came out it was very good in terms of gore and horror.

My most memorable scene was when the hardened dust broke in half and Dracula's face filled the screen with those red eyes. I just purchased the DVD and it includes some restored footage of the brothel T&A and during each victim's death they look up at the standing figure of Dracula. The first victim's shovel-gashed face was restored on the DVD, the second victim's bloody face and the third victim too. This version was never released in the US. It would have been rated R, instead it was GP (before they called it PG).

I think it's bull for another commenter to say it's obvious that Dracula was never intended to be in this. No, what is obvious is that a certain commenter read some of these movie facts before claiming they "knew all along." Yeah, they were going to have Bates as Dracula, thank god that fell through. Lee was talked into it again. They had to rewrite it to insert Dracula in there, and his presence was awesome though some of his lines were bad. Hmmm, Dracula can count to 3. I'll give this one 7 stars. The DVD quality is spectacular.