Countess Dracula (1971)

In 17th-century Hungary, elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi.

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Jeremy Paul (screenplay), Alexander Paal (story)

Stars:

Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Elès

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingrid Pitt	...	Countess Elisabeth
Nigel Green	...	Captain Dobi
Sandor Elès	...	Imre Toth
Maurice Denham	...	Master Fabio
Patience Collier	...	Julie
Peter Jeffrey	...	Captain Balogh
Lesley-Anne Down	...	Ilona
Leon Lissek	...	Sergeant of Bailiffs
Jessie Evans	...	Rosa
Andrea Lawrence	...	Ziza
Susan Brodrick	...	Teri
Ian Trigger	...	Clown
Nike Arrighi	...	Gypsy Girl
Peter May	...	Janco
John Moore	...	Priest

Storyline

In medieval Europe aging Countess Elisabeth rules harshly with the help of lover Captain Dobi. Finding that washing in the blood of young girls makes her young again she gets Dobi to start abducting likely candidates. The Countess - pretending to be her own daughter - starts dallying with a younger man, much to Dobi's annoyance. The disappearances cause mounting terror locally, and when she finds out that only the blood of a virgin does the job, Dobi is sent out again with a more difficult task.

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Plot Keywords:

blood on breasts | female frontal nudity | buttocks | bare breasts | 16th century | 

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Taglines:

The more she drinks, the prettier she gets. The prettier she gets, the thirstier she gets.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the life of Countess Erzebet Bathory. Although her name is not used in the film, in several scenes there is a motif visible on the stonework of the sets depicting a dragon coiled around three teeth. This is the actual Bathory family crest.

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Goofs

When the young boys in the forest discover the body of the girl, they run way and holler for help. In the next shot, the girl is breathing.

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Quotes

Captain Dobi: And what will your daughter say? She arrives tomorrow and she'll find you as young as she is.

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Alternate Versions

Although cinema cuts were requested by the BBFC (and the film remains listed as cut on their website) the edits were never made following an appeal by Hammer to chief censor Stephen Murphy.

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Connections

Referenced in Bride of Monster Mania (2000)

User Reviews

Virgin Blood: for all your party events! Now with new and improved formula!

This is a Hammer film production and the name Dracula is mentioned in the title, yet shouldn't raise any hopes to see Christoper Lee dressed up in women's clothing, as this is not another entry in the long-running Dracula-series! The screenplay of this movie is based on the life of Countess Elisabeth Bathory, who lived in Hungary during the 16th century, and became almost as (in)famous as Vlad Dracula because of her bizarre rituals to sustain a youthful appearance. The merciless countess bathed in the blood of slain virgins and supposedly was responsible for the death of more than 300 young girls. Naturally, this makes her an ideal villain and who other than the eminent Hammer Studios were more eligible to turn this legend into a compelling Gothic horror movie? Director Peter Sasdy and writer Alexander Paal added a lot of popular story lines, like a truckload of sexual intrigues and a neat display of corruption, but they also managed to sustain the morbidity of Bathory's persona. Ingrid Pitt, perhaps the most ravishing Hammer actress ever (see "The Vampire Lovers" for more evidence), is truly magnificent as the repellent countess who would even sacrifice her own daughter in order to maintain her virility. She has the loyal Captain Dobi and a bunch of household staff to obey her commands implicitly and a newly arrived stud to fall in love with. Regretfully, the film lacks balanced pacing and the set pieces too often look like discarded attributes from other Hammer films. There's a satisfying amount of bloodshed and sleaze and the abrupt ending comes as a genuine shock. "Countess Dracula" is perhaps not the most sensational horror movie of the early 70's, but it provides a welcome change in substance and it's definitely worth tracking down by all the fans of Gothic goodness.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

11 October 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Countess Dracula

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation, Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1