The Complete Hammer Dracula Film Series Retrospective 1958-1973 by Michael H. Price
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- Опубликовано: 4 фев 2025
- This is the complete Hammer Dracula series retrospective by horror author Michael H. Price. All nine films in the Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing series are covered here. 1. Horror of Dracula (1958) · 2. The Brides of Dracula (1960) · 3. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) · 4. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) · 5. Taste the Blood of Dracula 6. Scars of Dracula (1972) 7. Dracula AD 1972, 8. Satanic Rites of Dracula, 9. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974)
#hammerfilms #dracula #christopherlee #cinephile #petercushing
CORRECTIONS:
Peter Cushing's wife was in fact named Helen not Violet.
The Hands of Orlac is incorrectly listed as a Hammer production. It was distributed in the UK by Brittania Films and in the US by Continental Films.
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I had the good fortune and pleasure of meeting Christopher Lee in 1994. I spoke to him briefly and told him what an honour it was to meet him as he was signing merchandise. He replied in kind. A gentleman and he will always be my favourite vampire. Brilliant.
That's an amazing thing to have met him.
My friend met Vincent Price at a party and says the same thing about him. My trinity: Lee, Cushing, and Price❤❤❤
Did ye aye 😂
Pena que Lee não visitou Brasil 🇧🇷 😮😮😮😮😮😢😢😢😢
I worked at HMV in the early 90s. Christopher Lee did a signing and as well as signing a Dracula photo for me he took the time to chat to absolutely everyone who wanted to speak to him. The definition of a star and a true gentleman
That's amazing! He was a true star.
Lee and Cushing scared me to death on Saturday nights as a child in the 70’s. Man, I miss being scared.
Yes these movies were always on my little mini black and white tv in my room. Scared the crap out of me.
Best horror films bar NONE
Kamala might win!!
There, are you scared??
@@cinemaforce1 , remember them like yesterday, even now at 58 i remember watching the double bills that used to be on BBC2 if i'm not mistaken on the family's old 20in black n white tv and were on from roughly either 10pm -1am and 10.30pm and 1.30am and sneaking down to watch them while my mum was asleep lol. Great memories.
Christopher Lee, one of the greatest Dracula’s on screen of all time. R.I.P. Sir🌺
Amen
I grew up on Hammer. These films were scary and fun, and we saw Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, and Vincent Price hone their craft. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Yes!!!!
And they always had a big boobed female victim in a low wearing blouse that stirred my adolescent imagination, yes those were the days !!
Well done. Thanks for posting. Nothing like a Hammer film!!
You got that right!
I had a vinyl LP of the 7 golden vampires with Peter Cushing telling the story interspersed with audio from the film. I was only 12 when the film came out so couldn't watch it. Much better than watching the actual film (which I only saw about 3 years ago) that, let's say....didn't age well. Thanks for this video, I really enjoyed it.
That's amazing. I wonder if the vinyl is still out there somewhere....
Lee spielte 1976 noch einmal die Rolle des Grafen Dracula in der frz.Komödie Die Herren Dracula.😅😅
Christopher Lee, my no 1 actor...RIP....never got to meet him. I adored him ....esp as Dracula)❤
GOAT
have always loved these films, Lee and Cushing were a brilliant pairing!
They are amazing together.
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were and are the best 👌❤
They were amazing in every sense.
I grew up on Christopher Lee. The first horror film I saw at the cinema was Dracula AD 1972. It was an 'X' certificate, and you had to be sixteen to go in. My friend and I were both 14, and not only did we lie about our ages, but we jibbed off school for the day. Happy, carefree times.
I was absolutely devastated when he died. I really hoped that he'd come back - just like the count. R.I.P Sir Christopher; you really were the only true Dracula!
Love hearing stories like this!
Thats my favorite one!
Oh....the Rock Band! The hip scene of the psychedelic 60s in London!
And the SOUNDTRACK!
I bought that separately!
Thanks for sharing your story👍😀
Bela Lugosi really set the mold for the count and Mr Lee I'm sure got at least some cues from his interpretation. Not that Mr. Lee didn't do a fine job as well.
Christopher Lee was great in everything I ever saw him in, weather the Hammer films, James Bond, Lord of the Rings and even as Count Dooku in Star Wars! I think he was the most frightening Dracula of all!
'Scars of Dracula' is the first film I ever remember seeing in the cinema. I'm from 1966 so that made a fresh 4 year old. Against mom's protests, my Dad took us to the movies as he was a big Lee fan. I remember asking my mom if that was real blood, and she said "No. It's Kool Aid." It was years later that I could track which film it was in the Hammer series, but I had remembered the castle wall climbing so indelibly.
A Kool Aid comment was not on my bingo card . lol Love hearing stories of parents taking kids to horror movies!
I grew up on Hammer movies, Lee and Cushing were awsome, i enjoyed those movies today😊❤
The best
I grew up with Hammer, Fisher, Lee and Cushing. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were truly great actors, elevating the films they made. As I grew up I saw many of their films, Hammer and otherwise. I would be pleased to discover in real life both men were total class. Sorry, the last sentence meant as I grew up I was pleased as I learned both men were total class. Is that a bit clearer? When I got the comment I realized the sentence could be literally taken two ways. Clumsy me, lol. Sorry. Much love.
I think you would be quite pleased!
What a difference between the creature in The Curse Of Frankenstein and the vampire count in The Horror Of Dracula. You would never have guessed that they were both Christopher Lee!
He was so good in Frankenstein.
The scene with Dracula carrying away his bride after rendering her powerless and then glancing back at Harker on the floor, brought the thought to my mind, "Harker, I haven't finished with you -- and neither has my bride." "Dracula" (1958) was (is) brilliant. Many thanks, Cinema Force.
Thank you!!!!
@@cinemaforce1 My English and Romanian grandmothers also appreciated this Hammer film. You're welcome! 🐺🦇⚰
I was 9 or 10
Id stay up late.
Sneak into the living room to watch the late movies.
Id put a blanket over me and the tv, so the light of it wouldn't bounce off the wall and wake my mom. Dad slept heavier.
Id lay on the floor with my ear close to the tiny speaker of the tv.
These were my favorite movies.
I never knew at that time that one day there would be dvds! That one day Id own every Lee Dracula movie and could watch them whenever i want!
Haha i would hide under the couch cushions for extra protection.
Mr Lee's incredible voice captivated me with its depth and timbre. It came as litt,e surprise that in a pub, Jussi Bjorling offered to sponsor Lee in an operatic career. Unfortunately, because of the circumstances of his living accommodation and finances, Lee was unable to take up Bjorling's offer. Imagine that beautiful voice booming a great bass or baritone, who knows.
His voice lends this series and many others such a touch of class
Taste the Blood of Dracula was on TV several times between 1993 and 1995. It shows generational conflict at its best
Great point
Thank you so much. An informative body of work regarding Hammer's take on Stoker's creation in this presentation. It deserves to be on mainstream TV. Lots of minutiae that I hadn't heard of before. Great piece of Cinematic History telling, nevertheless. I still have my (original paperback, signed) copy of Tall, Dark and Gruesome somewhere as well !!
Thank you very much! Maybe Hammer is listening out there...
Excellent complete Hammer Dracula Film series!!
Thank you so much! Hammer time will be back soon!
I can't count how many times I've seen some of these !
I see what you did there...
Mike, I had to stop watching when you got to DRACULA AD 1972 and I realized I had only seen a few clips from it so I stopped your vid and put on DRACULA AD 1972 and had a blast! It kind of lost it's way and had a bit of TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA vibe which was good but I do wish they stayed with the classic horror music at the end with the Cushing/Lee showdown - that wonky 70s music dates the movie and yet the classical style of James Bernard is timeless, like classical music. Then I went back and started watching your video again and then realized I needed to see THE SATANIC RIGHTS OF DRACULA because I don't think I ever saw the entire movie! Thanks for a brilliant rundown of the Hammer Dracula movies. The first movie I ever saw on the big screen that I remember was at the drive-in in 1962 and it was Hammer's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and it terrified me beyond belief at the tender age of four! As an adult I got to have drinks with the late, great Herbert Lom at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills, California in 1990 and told him that he scared the "Yell" out of me - the scene where Heather Sears is sitting there in the theater and the phantom appears at the top of the stairs and starts toward her is burned into my brain - that hideous mask!!! Yikes! My Dad took me to the beautiful Fox theater in Detroit, Michigan in January of 1966 to see DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS and PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and those movies just freaked me out - I was a Hammer fan for life! I remember asking my dad if Charles Tingwell from DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS was Jack Lemmon and my dad simply said "No" but now that I think of it they could have been cousins because they do resemble one another. Thanks again Mike for covering my favorite studio for Horror (tied with Universal and in my opinion inseparable).
Well worth getting Dracula A.D. 1972 on video because in the digitisation process they lost the blue colour tint the original movie and video has, which was spot on for me.
@@harveyyoung3423 Ha! I went to retrieve my DVD I bought back around 2005 or so and it was still sealed! How cool to open it and view it - it looked fantastic!
Wow! Glad you enjoyed the essays. Love hearing all these stories about going to see these at the movies. I seem to remember Plague and one of the Draculas were filmed back to back so they could use the same sets.
So the VHS has a blue tint to it?
@@cinemaforce1 Yes, and I guess at the end of the day it didn't really save the studio all that much money so they stopped doing that after the "Rasputin/Reptile" double feature.
Enjoyable retrospective, thank you. I really liked AD 72 and Satanic Rites, just found them very enjoyable to watch. Cushing & Lee always so good together.
Thank you for watching I agree the 70's Draculas had an edge to them
Dracula AD 1972 has one huge note of interest to me - Caroline Munro is in it!
Say no more!
She was also in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter.
Thank you. I enjoyed this very much.
You're very welcome
A very good documentary, very well put togethet. I enjoyed it very much. I grew up watching Hammer Films, and I enjoy learning about what goes on behind the scenes.
Thank you so much! Hammer Time will return...
I find it sad that, although I love the Hammer films, Peter Cushing didn't do more serious roles. To my mind, he was one of our greatest actors of the 20th. Century.
You have to dig down deeper down in his earlier career
I'd love to see Dracula Has Risen From The Grave again. I've only seen it once and it's not been on for years!
It holds up!
I find Dracula Has Risen From The Grave to be the most enjoyable and best looking Hammer Dracula film of them all, with the best ensemble characters.
Its quite good!
Christopher Lee the best Dracula
He was perfect casting
Brilliant work ... very enjoyable documentary...
Glad you enjoyed it
To me...anything Hammer was wonderful...and much looked forward to. I will even today never miss one if I see one coming on.
They produced so much too. SO much to explore
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave was my first intro to Lee and Cushing in a movie theater. Just kept adding more love to what i already had for Lugosi, Karloff, and Chaney. On a different note, the shot of Lee at 2:36 has him looking completely crazy out of his mind.
Amazing memory! We hope these videos will make younger audiences discover these actors.
Excellent video essay. I had a phase of vampire films and Peter Cushing’s version of Van Helsing for when I was a preteen. This is great stuff.
Thank you so much for watching!
Oh my gosh I love these movies! I get them all out and watch them every year! Favorites: Dracula, Dracula Prince of Darkness and Dracula has Risen from the Grave. I was lucky enough to see Dracula A. D. 1972 when it first came out and I saw it with the HorrorRitual and have the Dracula society card and the button that says "I've been to a HorrorRitual with Dracula"! A fun time!!!
Sad that this world 🌎 will never know the likes of this man again.
Rest In Power 🙏
Sir Christopher Lee.
Thankfully he did so much work that he will never ever be gone.
Rest in peace.
Power only leads to unrest.
No one played Dracula like Christopher Lee. I mean no one. The Horror of Dracula is the only Dracula movie that scared me.
He's just too good in the role. We were lucky.
A big reason I became a horror fan was seeing Hammer for the first time at 7 years old. My introduction to Hammer and Lee was Prince of Darkness. I love Universal, but Hammer just took everything up a notch
Hammer is the best!
top BRILLIANT post.a big thank you,and good wishes from ye olde England
Glad you enjoyed it
In 1962 The Horror of Dracula finally got to our theatres for a Saturday matinee. I was 9 years old, my sister 12. Christopher Lee scared the bejesus out of me. I slept with a rosary for a week. lol I've always loved Hammer films and my favorite Hammer actors will always be Lee and Cushing. :o)
Same here!
Brilliant documentary Mike will subscribe and share in the uk
Thank you!
Thank you! 😘
You're welcome 😊
I hope you do a Hammer Films Frankenstein Documentary. Thanks Mike.
Quatermass is the next victim...
I grew up watching the Hammer movies with my parents. The late Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are among my cinematic heroes. Dracula 1958 to the Satanic Rites of Dracula which I consider a masterpiece. I like Brides of Dracula too. My least favourite of the Dracula movies was Taste the Blood of Dracula, that being said I watch them every October. Including the Curse of the Werewolf, the Mummy, the Frankenstein movies and the erotic Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil, Lust forva Vampire, Countess Dracula. To the exotic 7 Golden Vampires.
So cool. We hope to cover some of these soon
Absolutely incredible sir
Very much enjoyed this.
Thank you very much! Frankenstein coming this Halloween!
Soy un fanático de la Hammer... Dracula, Frankenstein y todo lo produjo esta mítica productora, gracias al bluray, las veo y las reveló, sin cansarme, saludos
Hammer rules!
Mike, we’ve been watching Hammer right along since 1999..the world didn’t forget anything..
Superb video
Thank you so much 😀
Hi Cinema Force. I highly enjoy your retrospectives. I just want to make note of a slip at the 31:14 mark. The three men on screen that are mentioned as hypocrites are: Peter Sallis, John Carson and Geoffrey Keen. Anthony Corlan, (who later changed his name to Anthony Higgins) plays Paul Paxton, Samuel Paxton’s son, (played by Peter Sallis.) Anthony Corlan, (Paul) is the hero of the film.
Thanks for that! I'll try to fix it in the corrections section in the description.
Real treat. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
I can remember watching these movies on the local late shows on TV when I was a kid and having terrible nightmares. Good times being a kid in the 70's.
Amen to that!
Well done Mike. You should be proud. Great production
thank you! ill let him know
Mighty kind of you to say so... Thanx...
The loneliness of evil. I have to make a note to remember that. It's thought provoking!!
Right?
Lee and Cushing was in Horror Express which was my favorite also❤😊
Its really great too
Truly were magical times as a kid watching Risen when ITV showed it in the early 70’s on most holidays. Scared me a lot.
Yeah Dracula AD freaked me out over at a friends house...
I grew up watching these films, Cushing and Lee were amazing actors!
The best!
I actually liked "Scars of Dracula". It gave Lee actual dialogue, things to do and interaction with other characters.
It was a big step up from his simple counting in "Taste the Blood of Dracula".
Scars is a fun time and yes Oscar the Grouch could have played that part in Taste. He has the experience of counting down pat.
great retrospective very good movies
Thank you!
Love these movies.
How can you not!
WELL DONE!
Thank you so much!
Christopher Lee was also in a good Italian film, "Count Dracula", in 1970. This film is also much more faithful to the original novel. In 1976, he was in a French comedy, "Dracula and Son", that's quite good.
I have it and need to watch it.
@@cinemaforce1 They made a kind of documentary or experimental feature with footage from the Italian film called "Cuadecuc, Vampir", too, with lots of interesting scenes. The French film works on several levels, it's more than just comedy.
Count Dracula was a Spanish film not Italian.
Lee also had a Cameo as Dracula in the Comedy Salt & Pepper-One More Time.
Your voice bears a striking resemblance to the narrator of David Lynch's Dune. Great content btw
I remember vividly experiencing "Brides Of Dracula" as a child, and the thrill of watching that girl emerge from her grave- not to mention Van Helsing demonstrate how to cure oneself of vampirism- were absolutely seared into my imagination. Cushing remains *the* Van Helsing (even Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier couldn't match his quiet charisma). Oh, and most controversial of all: while Lee made an excellent Dracula....for me, David Peel as Baron Meinster was even better. He's absolutely terrifying, almost as resourceful as Van Helsing, unremittingly evil (he bites his own mother!), and his first appearance with fangs bared is a truly startling image. Honestly, he was so good in that movie, I didn't miss Lee for a second. I'm surprised "Brides" didn't perform better at the box office, but I treasure this film that (for me) stands head, punctured neck and shoulders above all the other Hammer vampire movies.
I love Brides as well. And yes Peel was no Lee but he brought an odd creepinesss to the affair. It would have been fun to do a series of Vampire movies with a new Count in every entry.
@@cinemaforce1 There was a book about horror films several years ago in which the author saw a gay subtext being hinted at in "Brides Of Dracula." Specifically, with Meinster's prettiness and that swirling hairstyle he felt they were suggesting that the Baron was also one of Dracula's "brides." The author also said that the enthusiasm Van Helsing seemed to display when he was pounding stakes into the vampires made him look just as much like a monster as they did. I don't agree, but it's an interesting take.
There are other Hammer "Vampire" movies. These are just the Dracula based ones. I would say 5 or 6 more Vampire films besides these worth checking out.
Oh yes, there are several more. We debated that for a while. I think someday we will revisit those we missed so stay tuned!
That would be amazing. Fantastic work with this. Cheers.@@cinemaforce1
Interesting/informative/entertaining. Bela lugosi still my favorite Dracula character actor🤗. Enjoy viewing 👀 Hollywood's dental implants of all the Dracula fangs-!!!😳. Perhaps I'll view 👀 a few of these Dracula productions-???🤔.
Who doesn’t love Dracula?
Van Helsing.
Legends of Darkness and Horror, Lee and Cushing! 😱😱😱
true legends
Always love vampire movies thanks for this
you are so welcome!
I have always wondered why Stoker's novel could never be depicted the closest to the original text. The novel is fantastic and all film productions resulted in neglecting valuable elements to create a very beautiful piece of art.
Much like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein by the time it was adapted it had been distilled by so many filters that only the core elements remained.
Brides is my absolute favourite Dracula, despite there being no Dracula involved. David Peel was a sort of proto Lestat...
My under age 16 year old mates and I snuck in the cinema to see the first Hammer Dracula. We came away wanting to be vampires. Being allowed to sleep all day and be
surrounded by gorgeous women in diaphonous nighties who would do anything you said was a teenagers idea of paradise. And Peter Cushing ruined it.
And he went on to destroy an entire planet! Ian Dee.
lol
This is so cool, THE DEFINITIVE COUNT DRACULA,SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE.🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟
He was a man of many talents! Actor, devoted friend and father ; but also worked during WW II in the " Ministry of Un-gentlemanly Warfare " [ Sort of like MI6 , before it's conception ] ; he was multi -lingual ] and some of what he performed in that service is stil listed under the " National Secrets Act ! " Truly extraordinary!
He was an original
Love these guys 👍👍👍 made they REST EASY 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 WE ALL MISS THEM🥺 THEY USED TO SCARE THE HELL OUT OF ME 😱😦😲😰 AND I LOVED IT 👍👍❤️💕❣️💞
Legends
He was my favourite Dracula of all time.
mr lee was a great count dracula and a very good fu manchu
i dont ever tire of lee"s
performance in either role also good in horror hotel , and he was even a good 007' villain his cousin Fleming would have been proud
They should have had a Bond in a Dracula movie.
if you take in ho ho7"s bedroom shenanigans he is a bit of a vampire
Very good!
Without doubt for me Christopher Lee was & always will be the best Dracula. I'm sure Bram Stokers vision of Dracula would have depicted a being who looked & acted like the great Christopher Lee
There is a new documentary on Lee coming out soon.
@@cinemaforce1 Thank you for the informative
1. Horror of Dracula (1958) ·
2. The Brides of Dracula (1960) ·
3. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) ·
4. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) ·
5. Taste the Blood of Dracula
6. Scars of Dracula (1972)
7. Dracula AD 1972,
8. Satanic Rites of Dracula,
9. Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974)
thank you very much Sir
I love The Brides of Dracula , especially the parts played by Freda Jackson ( house servant )and Martita Hunt ( baroness).--And of course, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, a man who can more than hold his own against the undead.
Brides is amazing and creepy AF
And David Peel was a great vampire with a witty sense of humor !! Especially when he praises the director on how well he kept up the grounds of the Lang school "AT SOO LOW A RENT !"
There is only one Hammer Vampire! Sir Christoper Lee. R.I.P
Amen
Hammer films are some of my favourite films
AD1972 and Rites have become my favourites of the series as time has gone by.
And once upon a time I hated them.
Dracula AD has some kind of hold on me as well. I think its the vibe of the film. The certain doom of it and the cocktail of the old with the new seems like something terrible is taking place. Its def a vibe.
@@cinemaforce1 absolutely, and Satanic Rites, despite its lacklustre finale has a kind of doomy melancholy that I’ve grown to love.
AD is my favorite. Rites I thought wasn't too good, but I still enjoyed it...and will probably rewatch it again.
The first one I watched many years ago was 'Taste the blood of Dracula'.
Yeah I think my first one was the satanic rites
Lee and cushing a force to be reckoned with !
Indeed!
Hammer, Lee and Cushing...need I say more.
You have a very nice to listen to voice!
Those are some pretty awesome posters....one more ebay obsession now that will break me finan😂😢❤
Some are good and some are not so good...lol
New subscriber!
Thanks for subbing!
Personally, I think Dracula AD 1972 is the most underrated Hammer Dracula. Not one of the greats but still fun! ☺️
I love Dracula 72. it has a sick mood to it
First horror film I ever saw. I was eleven and my parents said it was high time I watched a horror film. I went to bed with a crucifix and a Bible for a month!!! Got hooked though and I love vampire films even now.
Sir Christopher Lee a master of horror rip 🙏🏻
a master indeed
Really injoyed this but you mentioned the hands of orlac being a hammer film ?
Yes, we didn't catch that until it was too late. Thanks or watching though!
Lee and Cushing. Legendary.
I wasn't aware there was a rated X Hammer film.
X Certificate in Britain means a Movie is for Adults Only, And It's usually associated with films that have excessive or graphic violence.
It has no relation to films that depict Content of an Adult Nature.
"Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" is the best of the series as it combines Hammer aesthetics, Christopher Lee's presence and actually a message.
"Prince of Darkness" has the fabulous - not fascist - Father Sandor but has other too dull a story.
The first Hammer Dracula always disappointed me because Lee's speaking sounded so rushed.
Hammer films pit hands over my eyes and perk thru as a kid still great horror films classics from going to the movies with family in early 60s Christopher Lee Peter Cushing Dracular Frankenstein
Christopher Lee, The Best Drácula ever😮😮😮
He really was!
Hammer films r the best
Yes!