Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

[mrs_emma_peel]

Dracula – Prince of Darkness (1965)

ITV4 Wednesday 6th May 2009 10.35-12.30am



Spine-chilling horror … and a Dracula classic …



Four English travellers arrive at a tiny hamlet in the Carpathian Mountains and ignore warnings from the locals not to travel to Carlsbad, the domain of Count Dracula. A dark, driverless carriage arrives to take them to the sinister castle, but they discover too late that they have been lured there to provide the blood which will allow Dracula to rise from the grave once more …



Starring: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Philip Latham, Thorley Walters.

Director: Terence Fisher



Source: DigiGuide







It is ten years after Dracula was spectacularly slain by Van Helsing during the climax of the 1958 film (which is shown here as a pre-title sequence). Two English couples are vacationing in the Carpathians: the Kent brothers, Alan (Charles Tingwell) and Charles (Revenge of Frankenstein's Francis Matthews), along with their wives Helen (Barbara Shelley) and Diana (Suzan Farmer).



At an inn they encounter Father Sandor (Quatermass and the Pit's Andrew Keir), the burly, rifle-toting abbot of a monastery. He advises them not to dismiss offhand some of the local superstitions, pointedly warning them to stay away from a nearby castle. The monk's council only adds to the sense of uneasiness that has gripped Helen ever since arriving in the region.



Naturally, the foursome end up going to the very castle they were warned about. Abandoned on the road by their superstitious coachman, they're surprised when a driverless carriage appears in the road - a godsend. They embark on this new transport with Charles at the reigns, who quickly discovers that the horses will not respond to his control. At a brisk clip the horses takes them directly to the courtyard of the seemingly deserted castle. Determined to make the best of it, the party decides to spend the night despite the protests of an increasingly nervous Helen (Barbara Shelley) …



Source: eccentric-cinema.com



DigiGuide rating 3/5

Radio Times rating 4/5

[dremble wedge]

Oddly enough these are the two Lee Draculas I like the least, although I haven't seen them for absolutely ages. I shall rewatch them next week to see if I've changed my mind. Good arrows ITV 4!

[Lord Brett]

I'm with Dremble Wedge on this one. D-POD has and a great cast, but descends into dullness after a terrific opening sequence.



Scars of Dracula has its moments, but these are outweighed by the extreme cheapness of the production, witnessed by some embarrasingly obvious studio backcloths and the laughable bat attack scene with a joke-shop rubber bat being waggled on a string.



On the other hand, I find Dracula Has Risen From the Grave and especially Taste the Blood of Dracula are worth repeated viewings, while the formerly revilled Dracula AD 1972 has developed a certaim period charm.

[m35541]

I think DPoD is pretty good but that SoD is awful, mainly due to the same thing that others have said; the tattiness of the production and the dull script which proabbly could have done with about 15m hacked off the running time. When I originally saw SoD there were quite a lot of unintentional laughs from the audience - when i saw DPOD at the cinema there were few unintentional laughs.

[Dr. Schreck]

I like D- PoD a lot, I have to say, while I never cared for SoD: "She is unwell" - I wish Chris Lee had asked to remain silent in that one as well. =P



Btw, does Anoushka Hempel still run the Hempel Hotel in London?

[James Fox]

I've got a soft spot for "Scars of Dracula," because I remember seeing it as a kid on the old "Creature Feature" in Kansas City. The horror host even pointed out some of the film's flubs.



It's a far cry from my favorite Hammer Dracula film though (that would be "Brides of Dracula.")

[batman]

D-POD is my second fave Lee/Hammer 'Dracula' film (the first is the best IMHO) .... the second half of the film is a bit stodgy but the first half (lost in the woods, the creepy carriage, Klove et al) more than makes up for it.

[Dr. Schreck]

The first half has sort of Grand Guignol grimness which I happen to like a lot, and which works so well because everybody plays it so serious - that always was a strength at Hammer. And Philip Latham kills Charles Tingwell as casual as if he would do that job every day, which makes it really creepy.

[faginsgirl]

I must admit I have been impressed by the films that ITV4 have been putting on lately. Something for everyone



xx

[dremble wedge]

Caught up with Dracula - Prince of Darkness and was no more impressed than when I watched it years ago. The opening was good but despite sterling work from Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews and Andrew Keir my main problem with the film is Dracula. I still can't see the point of putting Christopher Lee in the role and giving him so little to do and absolutely nothing to say!



I shall revisit Scars soon...

[Sgt Sunshine]

Caught up with Dracula - Prince of Darkness and was no more impressed than when I watched it years ago. The opening was good but despite sterling work from Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews and Andrew Keir my main problem with the film is Dracula. I still can't see the point of putting Christopher Lee in the role and giving him so little to do and absolutely nothing to say!



I shall revisit Scars soon...

This was on the box set of Hammer Films I got recently, and one of the DVD extras to that film explains, that C. Lee hated the script so much he refused to say the lines, and just makes various noises throughout the film

I find, like many films, if you go into it with an open mind, and little expectation you are usually entertained to varying degrees (I'm easily pleased.....lucky me)

Next on my Hammer list is..............."The Reptile"

Cheers

Sgt S

[mrs_emma_peel]

Dracula – Prince of Darkness (1966)

ITV4 Tuesday 2nd November, 2010 … 11.15-1.05am

Film of the Day







Two couples dare travel through the Carpathian Mountains in this superior horror film ... one of the very best of the Hammer Dracula series. Director Terence Fisher brings out the innate sexuality in the story and Christopher Lee is absolutely awesome as the dreaded, smoothly evil … urbane Count … despite having no dialogue.



The gruesome sequence where Dracula is resurrected in a perverse religious ritual still retains its shock value. Voluptuous scream queen Barbara Shelley’s vampire conversion and violent demise is splendidly memorable and powerfully erotic.



The sumptuously statuesque 5ft 8½ins Barbara Shelley was dubbed the ‘First Leading Lady of British Horror’.

Emma



Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell

Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster … Director: Terence Fisher



Radio Times review … 4 stars/Mrs Emma Peel

[John Hamilton]

This was the first Hammer film I ever saw, at the tender age of 10. Loved it then, love it now for me it has everything that is good about Hammer

[batman]

Great film - the first Hammer film I ever saw and still a firm favourite.

[markrgv]

This was always my favourite Hammer film years ago (and poss. still is). I loved the spooky atmosphere of the slow build up at the castle - plus fell in love with Barbara Shelley. It's just a shame that Peter Cushing wasn't in it....

[Windthrop]

I love the ending on the ice - as memorable in its own way as the first Hammer Dracula !

[wellendcanons]

It's always nice to watch it live on TV. I am looking forward to receiving the Hammer boxset which should arrive soon. The only thing I'm slightly disappointed about is that Barbara Shelley and Suzan Farmer's audiocommentaries don't seem to be on this version. Still, there are plenty of other extra features to keep me happy.



wec

[wellendcanons]

Cheers for the trailer clip windthrop. You can feel the marvellous atmosphere of the film just by watching that. I too love the ending on ice.



wec

[John Hamilton]

Cheers for the trailer clip windthrop. You can feel the marvellous atmosphere of the film just by watching that. I too love the ending on ice.



wec

Always feel that you can't appreciate Prince of Darkness until you have seen the later Hammers partioularly Scars of Dracula which fails miserably to recreate the same ouevre

[Gerald Lovell]

The sequence on the ice was featured in a film annual I had as a child and is now lost (I think so anyway, haven't seen it for years) and it fascinated me. It was wonderful to finally see the film (on TV) years later and even more so when Francis Matthews'/Paul Shelley's home movie of the scene was included on a DVD release.