Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (writer)

Release Date:

6 February 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Horror

Tagline:

You just can't keep a good man down!

Plot:

When his castle is exorcised, Dracula plots his revenge against the Monsignor who performed the rites...

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Hanged Girl | Coffin | Pub | Priest

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Dracula
Rupert Davies	...	Monsignor Ernest Mueller
Veronica Carlson	...	Maria Mueller
Barbara Ewing	...	Zena
Barry Andrews	...	Paul
Ewan Hooper	...	Priest
Marion Mathie	...	Anna Mueller
Michael Ripper	...	Max
John D. Collins	...	Student
George A. Cooper	...	Landlord
Christopher Cunningham	...	Farmer (as Chris Cunningham)
Norman Bacon	...	Mute Boy

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) (2004) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (video rating) (1993) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Germany:16 (DVD release) | West Germany:16 (VHS rating) | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:G (certificate #21909) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher was due to direct this until he was forced to bow out following an automobile accident, leaving cameraman Freddie Francis at the helm.

Goofs:

Plot holes: This movie supposedly takes place one year after "Dracula - Prince Of Darkness". In "Horror Of Dracula", the story takes place, according to Jonathan Harker's diary, somewhere around 1887. In "Dracula - Prince Of Darkness", Father Sandor claims that it is about 10 years since Dracula's destruction, i.e. about 1897. Thus, "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" should take place in 1898 if a year has passed. However, the inscription-plate on the coffin which the priest steals for Dracula gives the dates of Gisela Heinz's life as 1885-1905 - several years *after* the apparent setting. Consistency can only be maintained if we assume that in "Prince of Darkness", Father Sandor was speaking loosely, and meant *over* ten years had passed.

Quotes:

Dracula: There is a girl...
Zena: What girl?
Dracula: The niece of the monsignor.
Zena: [with disgust] Maria?
Dracula: Bring her to me.
Zena: But what do you want her for? You've got me!
Dracula: [slaps her in the face] Bring her to me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Supernatural: Monster Movie (#4.5)" (2008)

the ultimate amalgamation of Hammer Film's conventions

If a quintessential example of a Hammer Studio's exercise in Gothic Horror exists, it is probably this film. Not because it is a flawless piece of film-making, far from it. Rather because this film manages to squeeze just about all of Hammer's horror-show templates into it's 92 minute running time.

Here we have the unmistakeably distinctive set design and music score by Hammer mainstays Benard Robinson and James Benard; romantic leads transposing post Summer-of-Love sexual mores (and hairstyles!) to the film's indeterminate post Victorian location; two pub locales, one peopled with wary, hostile, superstitious East-Ender types, the other rollicking with high-spirited youthful inebriates; a pious religious figure (and a much less pious one); a cameo by Michael Ripper; day-for-night location shots; attractive women in low-cut bodices and nightgowns; yet another outlandish method of using trickling blood to revive the antagonist; an eventful screenplay that doesn't measure up to critical evaluation --- whew! I could go on and on.

But please understand, I do not necessarily regard all of the above negatively, just realistically. "D.H.R.F.T.G." is a fun watch if you leave your thinking cap off. Several of the most memorable set-pieces in the Hammer canon are here; the discovery of the girl in the belfry, the attempted staking of Dracula, the Count's seduction of Veronica Carlson, and his over-the-top demise (I won't reveal it here). These scenes lingered for decades in my mind after I saw the film in the early seventies. I was joyful to find the videotape in the '90's and yes, I now happily own the DVD.

One of the harshest critics of this film, incidentally, was it's star. Christopher Lee, who entered the project enduring serious back pain (stuntman Eddie Powell handled the more strenuous action), disliked the script intensely, especially the attempted staking of the Count. His performance, however, betrays none of his vexation; this is one of his best outings as Dracula. Director Freddie Francis coaxes serviceable performances from the rest of the cast. Rupert Davies and Barbara Ewing stand out, as a noble cleric and lusty barmaid respectively.

At the end of the day, I really like this movie, despite it's shortcomings. Heck, I feel like putting on right now. So should you.