"Countess Dracula" is a fictionalization--and ultimately, a trivialization--of one of history's true fiends, namely Elisabeth Bathory, the "Blood Countess" of Hungary. The Countess, who bathed in virgins' blood in an effort to maintain her youthful beauty, was responsible for the murders of some 650 young women and girls, many of whom were bitten to death. The premise of this movie is that the Countess's blood baths are successful, not simply in maintaining her beauty, but in restoring it.
This middling Hammer entry includes several good cast members, with lovely Polish actress Ingrid Pitt in the title role (even though that's not the character's name), and veteran character actor Nigel Green (who played a crusty Hercules in "Jason and the Argonauts") as her longtime lover and chief thug. Peter Jeffries, who played Inspector Trout in "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and the Sultan in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," is on hand as well, in a minor role. Regrettably, Sandor Eles as the youthful love interest is a total nebbish, complete with cheesy mustache. Since the whole arc of this story is a romance involving him and the Countess--who, her youth restored, is posing as her own daughter--his weakness is a liability indeed.
The historic ambience is well-researched: Hungary c. 1600, featuring correct clothing, architecture, music, etc. Gypsies, belly-dancers, and fortune-tellers are part of the picture, and there's frequent reference to the Turks, with whom Hungary and other countries of central and eastern Europe had been at nearly constant war for centuries. Even a passing reference to Hungarian "bull's blood," a red wine, is correct.
Unfortunately, the movie is underplotted. To serve the needs of a silly and unconvincing love story, the historic Countess's years-long spree of bloodshed and torture is shortened to a few days' duration, and the body count is reduced from hundreds to maybe a half dozen. The device of having the Countess's artificial youthfulness suddenly wear off at the most inconvenient times is a rather hoary gimmick; I would suggest that the real Countess's gradual descent into total madness was dramatic enough. Peter Sasdy's direction isn't bad overall, but at times is quite static. An attempt by the Countess's daughter, Ilona, to escape from a woodcutter's shed (where she's being held in order to cover up her mother's deception), is particularly clumsy.
Not a bad movie, given the strong leads and the good atmosphere. But not as good as it might have been. Still, worth a look, even though the definitive fictional movie about Countess Bathory has yet to be made.
This middling Hammer entry includes several good cast members, with lovely Polish actress Ingrid Pitt in the title role (even though that's not the character's name), and veteran character actor Nigel Green (who played a crusty Hercules in "Jason and the Argonauts") as her longtime lover and chief thug. Peter Jeffries, who played Inspector Trout in "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and the Sultan in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," is on hand as well, in a minor role. Regrettably, Sandor Eles as the youthful love interest is a total nebbish, complete with cheesy mustache. Since the whole arc of this story is a romance involving him and the Countess--who, her youth restored, is posing as her own daughter--his weakness is a liability indeed.
The historic ambience is well-researched: Hungary c. 1600, featuring correct clothing, architecture, music, etc. Gypsies, belly-dancers, and fortune-tellers are part of the picture, and there's frequent reference to the Turks, with whom Hungary and other countries of central and eastern Europe had been at nearly constant war for centuries. Even a passing reference to Hungarian "bull's blood," a red wine, is correct.
Unfortunately, the movie is underplotted. To serve the needs of a silly and unconvincing love story, the historic Countess's years-long spree of bloodshed and torture is shortened to a few days' duration, and the body count is reduced from hundreds to maybe a half dozen. The device of having the Countess's artificial youthfulness suddenly wear off at the most inconvenient times is a rather hoary gimmick; I would suggest that the real Countess's gradual descent into total madness was dramatic enough. Peter Sasdy's direction isn't bad overall, but at times is quite static. An attempt by the Countess's daughter, Ilona, to escape from a woodcutter's shed (where she's being held in order to cover up her mother's deception), is particularly clumsy.
Not a bad movie, given the strong leads and the good atmosphere. But not as good as it might have been. Still, worth a look, even though the definitive fictional movie about Countess Bathory has yet to be made.