Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974)

A master swordsman and former soldier and his hunchbacked assistant hunt vampires.

Director:

Brian Clemens

Writer:

Brian Clemens

Stars:

Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Horst Janson	...	Kronos
John Carson	...	Dr. Marcus
Shane Briant	...	Paul Durward
Caroline Munro	...	Carla
John Cater	...	Grost
Lois Daine	...	Sara Durward
Ian Hendry	...	Kerro
Wanda Ventham	...	Lady Durward
William Hobbs	...	Hagen
Brian Tully	...	George Sorell
Robert James	...	Pointer
Perry Soblosky	...	Barlow
Paul Greenwood	...	Giles
Lisa Collings	...	Vanda Sorell
John Hollis	...	Barman

Storyline

Vampire hunter and expert swordsman Kronos finds himself in a small village where several of the local young women have been found in an advanced state of age, their youth drained from them by a vampire's kiss. Kronos' search leads him to the Durward estate where he is met by the effete children of the apparently aged and sick Lady Durward.

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Plot Keywords:

chekhov's gun | skeleton | death of husband | scream | screaming woman | 

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Taglines:

The Only Man Alive Feared by the Walking Dead!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kronos

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£160,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Horst Janson's German accent was deemed too thick to be properly understood, so Julian Holloway was brought in to loop his entire performance.

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Goofs

Grost suggests that the vampire may be using 'mesmerism' or 'hypnotism' to subdue its victims, but neither term was in use until the early 19th century.

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Quotes

Hieronymous Grost: You see, doctor, there are as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey. Their methods and their motive for attack can vary in a hundred different ways.
Captain Kronos: As are the methods of their destruction!

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Connections

Featured in The World of Hammer: Vamp (1994)

User Reviews

One of Hammer's best.

"Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter" is far and away one of the most interesting productions to ever come from Hammer Films. It's the result of a collaboration between Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell, two veterans of 'The Avengers' who'd previously made the eerie terror-in-the-daylight thriller "And Soon the Darkness". The twists it puts into vampire lore, as well as the genre crossing (the film is a combination of period horror and swashbuckler), make all the difference. The title character, played by German actor Horst Janson (who's dubbed by Julian Holloway), is a debonair vampire hunter & killer who travels with his loyal companion, Professor Grost (John Cater). They're summoned by a doctor named Marcus (John Carson), who's found that the beautiful young women in his area have been turned into old crones - they've been drained of their youth, as opposed to being drained of blood, by the local vampire. Writer / director / co-producer Clemens injects some amusing touches into his screenplay, not the least of which is the method of burying dead toads near trees to determine the path their nemesis is taking (when passing near the graves, the vampire's presence will bring the toads back to life). Caroline Munro, in all of her sexy glory, adds to the appeal as Carla, whom Kronos and Grost rescue from a pillory. The acting is sound all the way down the line, including Shane Briant and Lois Daine as the proper, well-to-do Durward siblings, and Ian Hendry as trouble making tavern customer Kerro. The atmosphere is strong, the period feel impressive, the thunderous music by Laurie Johnson a rousing accompaniment, and overall this sizes up as a great deal of fun. While the mystery is not a particularly hard one to solve, Clemens and Fennell are still to be commended for their presentation. They make this a grand entertainment. It really is a shame that the film wasn't more successful as the idea of creating a franchise character a la Van Helsing out of Kronos could have been a delight, as he went about seeking out and vanquishing evil. There's enough action here, a nicely suspenseful sequence before the big finale, and an appreciable glimpse of Munro's exquisite body, to make this well worth watching for fans of period adventures. Eight out of 10.