Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (writer)
Bram Stoker (character)

Release Date:

7 June 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

They taste his blood and the horror begins!

Plot:

Three elderly distinguished gentlemen are searching for some excitement in their boring borgoueis lives...

Plot Keywords:

Good Versus Evil | Sequel | Vampire | Blood | Revenge

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Dracula
Geoffrey Keen	...	William Hargood
Gwen Watford	...	Martha Hargood
Linda Hayden	...	Alice Hargood
Peter Sallis	...	Samuel Paxton
Anthony Higgins	...	Paul Paxton (as Anthony Corlan)
Isla Blair	...	Lucy Paxton
John Carson	...	Jonathon Secker
Martin Jarvis	...	Jeremy Secker
Ralph Bates	...	Lord Courtley
Roy Kinnear	...	Weller
Michael Ripper	...	Inspector Cobb
Russell Hunter	...	Felix
Shirley Jaffe	...	Hargood's Maid
Keith Marsh	...	Father
Peter May	...	Son
Reginald Barratt	...	Vicar
Madeline Smith	...	Dolly (as Maddy Smith)
Lai Ling	...	Chinese girl (as Chai Ling)
Malaika Martin	...	Snake girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amber Blare	...	Bordello Girl (uncredited)
Vicky Gillespie	...	Bordello Girl (uncredited)
June Palmer	...	Redhead Prostitute (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Sasdy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anthony Hinds		writer (as John Elder)
Bram Stoker		character

Produced by
Aida Young	....	producer

Original Music by
James Bernard

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant

Film Editing by
Chris Barnes

Production Design by
Scott MacGregor

Makeup Department
Mary Bredin	....	hairdresser supervisor
Gerry Fletcher	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Christopher Sutton	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Derek Whitehurst	....	assistant director

Art Department
Arthur Banks	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Ron Barron	....	sound recordist
Keith Batten	....	boom operator
Roy Hyde	....	sound editor
Tony Lumkin	....	recording supervisor
Dennis Whitlock	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Brian Johnson	....	special effects (as Brian Johncock)

Stunts
Peter Brace	....	stunts (uncredited)
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brian Owen-Smith	....	wardrobe master

Music Department
Philip Martell	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Geraldine Lawton	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Warner-Pathé Distributors (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1981) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and brief violence. (2004 re-rating)

Runtime:

USA:91 min | UK:95 min (uncut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 (video rating) | Australia:M | USA:GP (certificate #22364) (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (2004) | Ireland:15

Filming Locations:

Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Some writers have claimed that Vincent Price was going to play a fourth member Of Geoffrey Keen's Thrill Seekers but budget cuts removed the character so his part was shared among John Carson, Peter Sallis and Keen.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the prologue Weller hears a series of earsplitting, bloodcurdling screams, which lead him to witness Dracula's demise. However, whilst impaled on the cross during Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, the Count makes little in the way of noise -- gasps rather than ear-piercing shrieks capable of pervading through the dead of night.

Quotes:

Jonathon Secker: You can and will. Now!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Wicker Man Enigma (2001) (V)

The vampire is not to blame

I believe this was the only Dracula movie with Christopher Lee I had never seen until recently. I probably didn't watch it before because the reviews were quite bad. But now, I actually liked this movie. It has 3 strong points in my opinion: a) Ralph Bates as the satanist who wants to bring Dracula back is remarkable. I mean, try to be convincing when you say: lend me some money, I want to buy Dracula's blood! b) The storyline is unusual. Dracula appears for the first time when half of the running time is over and doesn't do what he normally does (spread fear and terror etc.), but follows a secret revenge plan. Thus you won't know what to expect next as easily as in many other vampire films. c) Christopher Lee plays the vampire not just as the baddie out for your blood. He is not to blame for what's going on, since he is just a creature driven by its dark nature. The real bad guys in this movie are the "honourable" citizens who are bored with their wife, children, house and business - and thus look for evil pleasures. I better don't go into Freud too far, but it certainly is supposed to mean something if the children of these gentlemen not only try to kill the vampire, but are also involved in the killing of their fathers who forbid their love and suppressed them?