The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Peter Bryan (screenplay)
Edward Percy (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He Turned Innocent Beauty Into Unspeakable Horror.

Plot:

Vampire hunter Van Helsing returns to Transylvania to destroy handsome bloodsucker Baron Meinster, who has designs on beautiful young schoolteacher Marianne.

Plot Keywords:

Van Helsing | Vampire | Undead | Windmill | Coffin

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Peter Cushing	...	Dr. J. Van Helsing
Martita Hunt	...	Baroness Meinster
Yvonne Monlaur	...	Marianne Danielle
Freda Jackson	...	Greta
David Peel	...	Baron Meinster
Miles Malleson	...	Dr. Tobler
Henry Oscar	...	Herr Otto Lang
Mona Washbourne	...	Frau Helga Lang
Andree Melly	...	Gina
Victor Brooks	...	Hans, a Villager
Fred Johnson	...	The Cure, Father Stepnik
Michael Ripper	...	Coachman
Norman Pierce	...	Johann, Landlord
Vera Cook	...	Landlord's Wife
Marie Devereux	...	Village Girl (as Marie Deveruex)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1960) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1960) | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

The ending was to have originally had the vampires destroyed by a swarm of bats. This ending proved too expensive to stage and shoot. The concept of this ending was recycled three years later for the climax of Hammer's The Kiss of the Vampire (1963).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In many scenes involving Baron Meinster in bat form, the strings holding up the prop bat are clearly visible.

Quotes:

Gina: [resurrected as a vampire] Marianne... my darling Marianne... you haven't forgotten your little Gina? Put you arms around me, please, I want to kiss you, Marianne. Please be kind to me. Say that you forgive me for letting *him* love me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bloodsucking Cinema (2007) (TV)

One of Hammer's Best!

Dracula is dead, and one of his disciples carries on his wicked ways in Eastern Europe. This time around it is the young Baron Meinster(played with credibility by David Peel). A young woman is invited to the Castle Meinster and unleashes the Baron from his shackles to allow him to slake his thirst through the living. This film lacks the star power of Christopher Lee in Hammer's second vampire outing, yet does not suffer greatly due to the wonderful performance of Peter Cushing reprising his role as Dr. Van Helsing and the incredible direction of Terrence Fisher. Fisher's ability to tell a story through film is not to be overlooked, nor is his use of subtle and bright colours to create wonderfully atmospheric sets and scenic centerpieces. Some of the scenes in this film are some of the best to ever come by way of Hammer, including the scene where a servant taps on a buried coffin to show a fledgling vampire the way, the incident with Van Helsing and his wound, and the windmill finale. The cast is very good with particular honors going to Cushing, Martita Hunt as the vampire's sympathetic mother, and Freda Jackson as the demented, crazed servant-nurse. Cushing is as ever implacable from his crusade to save the world from vampirism. Just a wonderful tale!