Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970)

 Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970)

The fifth installment of Hammer Horror's Dracula franchise, saw Christopher Lee donning the cape for the fourth time in the series.   Lee supposedly was reluctant to return to the role again, and the script originally was written without Lee reprising the role he had made famous, instead it had the character of Lord Courtley taking his place.  However without Lee Hammer's US distributors had no interest in releasing the film, so Lee was convinced to return to the role of Dracula.  This film also was censored in its original theatrical run in the US so that it was given a GP (PG) rating, but for the DVD version the edits to the nudity and violence were restored.   This film doesn't get as much appreciation from the fans as some of the other Hammer Dracula films, but it is still a great film, and maybe deserves another look.

Taste The Blood Of Dracula was released in 1970, one of two Hammer Dracula films released that year, the other being The Scars Of Dracula.   The film was directed by Peter Sasdy with a screenplay by Anthony Hinds (aka John Elder).   The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions, and distributed by Warner-Pathe (UK) and Warner Bros Pictures (Internationally).  The film was met with mixed critical reception, some saying that Christopher Lee looks bored as Dracula, and others praising his performance.

Taste The Blood Of Dracula stars Christopher Lee reprising his role as Count Dracula, Linda Hayden plays Alice Hargood, Anthony Corlan plays her boyfriend/the hero of the film Paul Paxton, Gwen Watford plays her mother Martha Hargood, Geoffrey Keen plays her father William Hargood, Isla Blair plays her friend/Paul's sister Lucy Paxton, Peter Sallis plays Lucy's father Samuel Paxton, and Ralph Bates plays Lord Courtley.  The film has a wonderful cast, especially the strikingly beautiful Linda Hayden, who plays an innocent young woman, who becomes Dracula's servant, and she plays the roles so perfect, then Anthony Corlan as Paul the boyfriend who won't give up on finding his missing girlfriend, when Alice goes missing.  The film is about a group of rich men who are bored with their lives (including Alice's father), and they are convinced by Lord Courtley that if they resurrected Dracula that he would be given power, but they end up killing Lord Courtley, who is a servant of Dracula, so Dracula exacts his revenge on the bored men.  The concept of Dracula exacting his revenge has become a common theme for Hammer Dracula films (also the name Paul seems to come up A LOT in these films.   Christopher Lee is fantastic in again in the role of Dracula, that by this point he has become an expert at playing, he brings this evil cruelty to the character that works so effectively.

This is definitely a film worth watching, it both looks good, and has a compelling enough story to keep the viewer interested.  The film has a limited use of violence and gore, enough to be effective without crossing the lines into trashy, and the nudity in the film is kept limited and not gratuitous.  Over all it is a tasteful classic horror film, that borders on the line of tasteful and trashy.  The film is well acted, well written, and well shot.   The film is an effective gothic horror film, and one that if you have not yet seen it, I do highly recommend checking it out.  I might not say that it is a must see film, but it definitely belongs in every horror film collectors library.  If you are a fan of classic horror, especially of Hammer Horror films, don't pass up this classic if you find a copy of it.