Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Three distinguished English gentlemen accidentally resurrect Count Dracula, killing a disciple of his in process. The Count seeks to avenge his dead servant, by making the trio die in the hands of their own children.

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder), Bram Stoker (based on the character created by)

Stars:

Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Cobb
Russell Hunter	...	Felix
Shirley Jaffe	...	Hargood's Maid
Keith Marsh	...	Father

Storyline

Three middle-aged distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring bourgeois lives and get in contact with one of Count Dracula's servants, Lord Courtley. In a nightly ceremony, they restore the count to life. However, the three men killed Courtley and, in revenge, the count ensures that the gentlemen are killed one by one by their own children.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | servant | father disapproves of daughter's boyfriend | horse riding | ritual | 

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Taglines:

DRINK A PINT OF BLOOD A DAY

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and brief violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Les Bowie was asked to do the special effects, but was busy.

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Goofs

When Hargood has forbidden Alice to go out and sends her to her room, he goes back to his newspaper and reads it upside down. (about 09:30 after beginning)

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Quotes

William Hargood: [to Alice] I haven't beaten you since you were a little girl.

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Alternate Versions

The UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to edit blood spurts from the staking of Paxton, a closeup of Dracula's bloodstained teeth and a brief shot of a brothel customer with a topless woman. The 1989 Warner video release featured the heavily edited U.S cinema print which runs around 4 minutes shorter and is missing shots of Dracula's blood becoming powder during the opening scene, the violent beating to death of Courtley, and a snake charmer's dance in the brothel. The 2004 DVD is the original UK cinema version, minus the BBFC cuts which may no longer survive.

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Connections

Referenced in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Chapter One: October Country (2018)

User Reviews

The sexy followup to Dracula HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE

This is a very unusual Hammer horror film in that it picks up exactly where the last one left off--providing some nice continuity. It seems that after Drac was impaled in the last film, his body disintegrated and all that was left was his powdered blood. A REALLY STUPID passerby decided to scoop up the blood and later sells it--followed by the not unexpected resurrection of Dracula once again!! Despite this weird reincarnation, the movie does offer some nice innovations and some that weren't all that necessary. Dracula was revived by a Devil worshiper and three perverts. Just before Dracula revives, the three perverts get cold feet and kick the Devil worshiper to death. In an odd display of loyalty, Dracula decides to take revenge on the three man and their families because a sweet old Devil lover was needlessly killed! In most Dracula films his sidekicks are killed at the slightest whim by the vampire without a second thought. I really suspected that Christopher Lee's character was just looking for an excuse to shed some more innocent blood--and how he had them killed was pretty cool and unusual. However, were also some bad changes. Since the film came out in 1970 and the morals of the world were changing, the producer decided to "sex up the series" by adding a brothel scene and throwing in some gratuitous nudity. The entire scene could have remained and been just as effective without the boobies, but because of this some parents might want to think twice about allowing junior to watch this film. Of course, with all the killing and bleeding, this isn't exactly a kids' film anyway!! Overall, a very watchable addition to the franchise and a nice followup to "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave".

A couple final notes--when a dead woman is removed from the lake, the man who retrieved the body accidentally tripped a bit--and you can see the "dead lady" move her arm instinctively in response!! I'm amazed they didn't catch this or re-shoot the scene. Also, one of the three men marked for revenge is played by Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace from "Wallace and Grommit"). It's interesting to see this man play a rather slimy part.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

7 June 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Taste the Blood of Dracula

Filming Locations:

Tykes Water Lake, Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1