Hammer unleashed their version of Bram Stoker's literary masterpiece Dracula to the British public in 1958, some were holding their breath others feared they were taking their last one. For American distribution the film was re-titled Horror of Dracula to reduce audience confusion with Tod Browning's 1931 Universal entry. The spectral Dracula of Bela Lugosi was replaced by a quite charming version played by (Sir) Christopher Lee.
Professor Van Helsing, Dracula's arch nemesis, was little more than a supporting character in the 1931 film but Hammer made him an opposing and central character to contest the count. Van Helsing was played by another Hammer icon Peter Cushing. The war between good and evil was truly on, Hammer style.
Patriarch versus Patriarch
Essentially Hammer's Dracula is a tale of two strong male egotistical contesting characters. Lee's Dracula is a domineering patriarch with many brides and a lust for more stopping at nothing to quench his blood based carnal desires. He is bold, masterful and intimidating oozing sexual charm like Stoker's written character. Cushing's Van Helsing is a staunch patriarchal father figure, asexual and committed solely to the cause of Dracula's destruction through his knowledge and understanding of the methods and history of the vampire.
Hammer's Dracula brought blood letting and violence to the screen which for 1958 standards were revolutionary. The core narrative and plot that allowed the film which ran at under 90 minutes to succeed were the confrontations witnessed onscreen between the metaphorically sterile but wholesome Van Helsing against the virile and corrupt Count Dracula.
Bloody Hell
The final battle between the braggadocio Lee and nerveless Cushing leads to Dracula finally withering away to dust burnt out by the sun. The knowledge shown of the vampire by Hammer's Van Helsing and the methods for destruction of the evil one indicated how Hammer attempted to pay homage in parts to Stoker's original novel.
On Dracula's release the violence did take centre stage for most critics and some simply could not handle what was on offer nor wanted to touch. Audiences on the other hand loved this Gothic fair in bright fanciful colour especially Hammer's target audience of late teens to twenty something males, they wanted more and their box office pounds guaranteed it. The Prince of Darkness simply had to rise again!
Dracula - Prince of Darkness
Dracula would rise again in the 1966 film Dracula: Prince of Darkness, although Cushing had appeared again as Van Helsing in The Brides of Dracula (1960) audiences had to wait 8 long years for Lee to don the dapper Count's cape once more. This was in the main due to the long running historical fact that Lee did not want to be typecast, many people were glad that he finally conceded.
Prince of Darkness is famous for being Lee's return to form as the Count but for many fans it is a slight anti-climax as Lee has zero dialogue during the runtime. The narrative surrounds the traveling group of two couples holidaying through Dracula country. They are warned off by a local monk to steer clear of the area as the locals are still hypnotized by the Count's wrath.
Rise Again
After not heeding the warnings of the monk the two couples end up at Dracula's castle for dinner and bed being looked after by Dracula's disciple. One of male travelers is sacrificed to resurrect Dracula midway through the film allowing for a dramatic if mute return to the screen for Lee's charismatic count. After hunting down one of the female travelers Dracula chases her to the Monk's monastery but when taking her back to his castle he meets his doom by the pure power of clear running water and he drowns to his demise.
Dracula does rise again
The two films compare and contrast in certain areas. The greatest comparison between the two is obviously Christopher Lee as the iconic Count and also the continuation of impressive gothic technical colour and blood letting.
The contrast from Dracula to Dracula: Prince of Darkness is the reduction in the central characters and the patriarchal battle of good versus evil. In Dracula the vampire facing his arch nemesis and their battle to the end are the narrative. In Dracula - Prince of Darkness the introduction of the Monk and the rise and fall of Dracula are less central to the rambling, romance and reunion of the young lovers.
David Hannah - My name is David Hannah, I'm a massive film fan and have a great interest in modern history and current events. The one thing I have ...
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