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Count Dracula
[Dark Sky Films]
1970; color
Directed by Jess Franco
Starring: Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Soledad Miranda, Maria Rohm, Fred Williams, Paul Miller & Jack Taylor
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The more I see of Franco's work from the late '60 and early '70s, the more I'm convinced it's his most consistent period of quality filmmaking; his adaptation of Dracula is a prime example. Christopher Lee stars, revisiting a role he's most familiar with, but this time around he and Franco go by the book - the original Bram Stoker book that is - and, for the most part, all of the key elements that are lacking in so many other versions remain intact here. The movie not only marks the fourth Franco / Lee collaboration, it also stars other familiar faces such as Maria Rohm (Venus In Furs) as Mina; Klaus Kinski (who was a Franco "regular" of sorts for a period of time) as Renfield; and the ever-popular Soledad Miranda as Lucy. Franco seems to have reigned himself in with this one, playing it close to the vest as he tries to stick with the original story, and cutting back on things like his trademark unnecessary zoom. (Although certainly not abandoning it. There's also a surprising lack of toplessness in this version.) Lee gives one of the most underrated performances of his career, portraying the Count almost nobly, although still thoroughly evil, in a way that easily trumps his Hammer appearances. Miranda, as Lucy, only appears in the first half of the movie but she is the catalyst for much of the action—and of course, she looks fantastic. Rohm does a good job as Mina, although her performance is the most emotionally dry in the film. Kinski is brilliantly low-key as the institutionalized Renfield, giving a whole new edge to the part that had me thinking of Alice Cooper's "Ballad of Dwight Fry;" and Herbert Lom makes his only appearance in a Franco film with a fine portrayal of Dr. Van Helsing. (While he lacks the vengeful intensity Peter Cushing brought to the role, he puts his own touches on it that work equally well.) Even though it's clear the exteriors that are supposed to be London and the Carpathian Mountains aren't (I believe it's actually Barcelona and, I think, Seville) it doesn't really matter; I ain't deducting points for that technicality. Besides, nothing creates a mood for a Dracula pic like a freakin' 500 year old castle with fog blowing through it. Despite the occasional bits of hokiness, like the awful shadow of the bat in the window, Franco really put together a winner from top to bottom.
—the Kommandant
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