Count Dracula (1970) Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht (original title)

Director:

Jesús Franco

Writers:

Bram Stoker (novel) and
Jesús Franco
(more)

Release Date:

1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Dracula | Vampire | Gothic Horror | Low Budget Film

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Herbert Lom	...	Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
Klaus Kinski	...	R.M Renfield
Soledad Miranda	...	Lucy Westenra
Maria Rohm	...	Mina Murray
Fred Williams	...	Jonathan Harker
Paul Muller	...	Dr. John Seward (as Paul Müller)
Jack Taylor	...	Quincey Morris
Jesús Puente	...	Minister of Interior
José Martínez Blanco	...	Traveller / Dr. Seward (voice: Spanish version) (as J. Martinez Blanco)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Franco Castellani
Emma Cohen	...	Vampire woman (uncredited)
Jesús Franco	...	Van Helsing's servant (uncredited)
Colette Giacobine	...	Greta, housekeeper (uncredited)
Teresa Gimpera	...	Crying mother (uncredited)
Jeannine Mestre	...	Vampire woman (uncredited)
Moisés Augusto Rocha	...	Van Helsings Servant (uncredited)

Directed by
Jesús Franco

Writing credits
Bram Stoker		(novel "Dracula")
Dietmar Behnke		dialogue: German version
Milo G. Cuccia		italian version
Carlo Fadda		italian version
Augusto Finocchi
Jesús Franco
Erich Kröhnke		German version
Harry Alan Towers		(as Peter Welbeck)

Produced by
Arturo Marcos	....	executive producer
Harry Alan Towers	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruno Nicolai

Cinematography by
Manuel Merino
Luciano Trasatti

Film Editing by
Bruno Mattei
Derek Parsons

Production Design by
Karl Schneider

Set Decoration by
Jack Taylor		(as George O'Brown)

Makeup Department
Adela del Pino	....	hair stylist
Gerry Fletcher	....	makeup artist
José Luis Vázquez	....	assistant makeup artist
Ricardo Vázquez	....	makeup artist

Production Management
José Climent	....	production manager

Art Department
Francisco Gutiérrez	....	property master
Fernando Quejido	....	property master

Sound Department
Joachim Flamme	....	sound

Special Effects by
Sergio Pagoni	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Máximo López	....	still photographer
Alberto Proust	....	assistant camera
Javier Pérez Zofio	....	camera operator (as Javier P. Zofio)

Other crew
Ana María Esteva	....	direction secretary

Production Companies

• Corona Filmproduktion
• Filmar Compagnia Cinematografica (co-production)
• Fénix Cooperativa Cinematográfica (co-production)
• Towers of London (associate)

Distributors

• Gloria Filmverleih AG (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical) (special edition)
• Crystal Pictures Inc. (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• International Film Distributors (1974) (Canada) (theatrical)
• World Entertainment Corp. (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Dark Sky Films (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Arce Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Itálica Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Concorde Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Japan Cinema (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (197?) (USA) (TV)
• Pack-In-Video (1985) (Japan) (VHS)
• Toppic (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Peris Hermanos  wardrobe

Also Known As:

"Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht" - Spain (original title)
"Bram Stoker's Count Dracula" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

98 min | UK:97 min | Sweden:91 min

Country:

Spain | West Germany | Italy | Liechtenstein

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG | Norway:16 | Spain:13 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Corona Filmproduktion

Trivia:

Although the producer claims that Klaus Kinski was hoodwinked into playing Renfield when producers gave him a script with a fake title, director Jesús Franco says this was not true.

Goofs:

Continuity: Renfield is held in a padded cell, presumably to prevent him from injuring himself. However there are metal bars on the cell window.

Quotes:

Count Dracula:One of my race crossed the Danube a destroyed the Turkish host.Though sometimes beaten back he came again and again then at the end he came again for he alone could triumph.This was a Dracula indeed.

Movie Connections:

References Dracula (1931)

one of the best and most authentic versions ever made

this is an unjustly obscured, great horror film that does more justice to the novel than any of the Hammer versions but maintains their atmosphere perfectly and outdoes "the horror of dracula" by far. christopher lee looks just like the description of the Count in stoker's novel, and far from being 'funny' or 'cheap' as some of the other reviewers here have called it (did they watch the same movie, or what?), you don't doubt it's reality for a moment. the soundtrack is really eerie and appropriate to some of the truly horrifying scenes, such as the poor woman screaming outside the castle at dracula to give her baby back, and the surrealistic scene in which jonathan harker leaps out the castle's window. kinski is superb and utterly convincing (and i'm usually not all that impressed by him) as renfield, and it is really creepy to watch his behavior at times. (especially when he eats bugs and smears the friggin blood on the rubber walls. ick!) in fact, i could find very little wrong with this movie at all, and any true horror fan will revere it. not just a must watch, a must own.