The Romance of Dracula; a personal Journey of the Count on celluloid

by Butler, Charles E.

  Van Helsing's word in this movie, like Dracula's, is law. In the same year, Davenport had appeared on television as Henry Wotton to Shane Briant's Dorian in Glenn Jordan's The Picture of Dorian Gray and, at the time of writing, 82 year old Mr Davenport is still active in both theatre and television.

  Simon Ward may get star billing over Davenport, but his portrayal of the insipid Arthur Holmwood serves the story as a man who has to break apart two fighting school chums at regular intervals. This doesn't mean to state that he is bad in the role. Like Stoker's own characters - Holmwood, Harker and the absent Quincey Morris - Arthur is destined to become little more than a footnote and he has more to do in this film than Michael Gough was handed at Hammer.

  He watches over an ever-changing Lucy and is rescued by Van Helsing when she returns from the grave to seduce him. He also becomes embroiled in a savage set to with a large dog, which he dispatches with three well-aimed shots from his .22 pistol. In the exciting final sequence, he saves the professor from the clutches of the undead Jonathon Harker, who had been forgotten by the viewers and left to rot in the cellars of Castle Dracula.

  Since taking the starring role in the BBC adaptation, Young Winston, in the early 1970s, Ward rarely found himself unemployed appearing in Hammer's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) and the British comedy The Monster Club (1980).

  Jonathon Harker is played by Murray Abraham, a little known face among people who don't watch horror movies. He gives a good account of himself in this film. Harker is a deceptively difficult role. We feel his consternation when Dracula refuses to answer his questions and simply blanks him out. We also see Stoker's description of happiness at finding something to read in English in the library. Abraham, like John Van Eyssen before him, is vampirised by Dracula's savage brides and left to rot in the dank catacombs of the Castle. He has an exciting - and unexpected - death sequence at the end of the movie. He falls into a pit primed with wooden stakes, just as the Count himself did in The Return of Dracula (1958). But it doesn't end there for Murray Abraham.

  The following year, he would star as the perpetually tormented traveller bled nightly by vampiric temptresses Anulka Dziubinska and Marianne Morris in Joseph Larraz's broodingly titillating, Vampyres (1974).

  Only Bosco Hogan, Hardy Krüger Jr. and Rafe Spall would continue to succeed in breathing believable life into the role of Jonathon Harker.

  Lucy Westenra, Dracula's first victim, isn't played as a flirtatious tease in this film, but Fiona Lewis does add an extra dimension of lust to her character. Long smooches with Palance's Byronic anti-hero in flashbacks do set the pulse racing, as does her willingness to his advances later on. The bloodletting may be downplayed due to television restrictions, but Lewis makes sure that viewers get their money's worth in other areas.

  The image of her broken corpse beneath a large oak tree, tears drying down her cheeks, is not too easily forgotten. When that stake is finally hammered home, we pray that she stays put. She had been seen in the earlier vampire movie Dance of the Vampires (1967).

  Again, her scenes with Alfie Bass sit uncomfortably in this jocular parody, when she is vampirised and dragged into a tomb by Bass's lecherous landlord to indulge in a little night time necrophilia.

  Rounding out the economical cast are Mina Murray and Mrs Westenra. Mina is played by a level-headed Penelope Horner and acts as the recipient of off-screen news, i.e. the arrival of the Demeter.

  More of a background character than in subsequent versions, she does get to drink the Count's blood and burn her hand on the crucifix around a servant's neck. She also links brains with Dracula when hypnotized by Van Helsing, but is mainly left abandoned for most of the action, safe-guarding Mrs Westenra from the ravages of the sheepdog that attacks Arthur. Unlike most versions, we never see the burn marks of the cross disappear at the Count's final death scene.

  But this time, the gossiping Mrs Westenra doesn't succumb to the heart attack forced upon her by Bram Stoker.

  One of the more faithful American versions of Dracula with a strong central performance by the always dependable Palance, this boasts a script that preserves the novel’s highlights well, while alluding to the facts that Dracula is Vlad the Impaler for the first time, and is always worth a second or third viewing.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Louis Jourdan

  COUNT DRACULA (1977: BBC-TV, UK)

  Director: Philip Saville

  Synopsis

  The film begins with Jonathon Harker saying goodbye to his fiancée, Mina Westenra. Looking on are her sister, Lucy, and their mother, Mrs Westenra. Credits begin showing a stained glass portrait of Vlad Tsepesh dining amongst his impaled victims. Then a coffin with the name;

  Count Dracula, subtitled:

  A gothic romance based on the novel By Bram Stoker.

  A girl lies in a coffin and opens her eyes, glaring malevolently into the camera.

  A train journey is hinted at, followed by Harker in a caleche with three other passengers, crossing a strange country. Harker questions the passengers and learns that the peasants have given him the sign of the evil eye. The passengers mention talk of the evils of St George's Day.

  By the roadside, a young woman prays fervently. Harker speaks of his rendezvous with a Count Dracula and the gypsy woman becomes agitated. A time check - 6.30pm - and the coach is forced to race against the setting sun as a wolf howls in the distance.

  The gypsy woman gives Harker a crucifix as the Borgo Pass is reached.

  A lengthy scene follows as Harker is left stranded at the windswept Pass by his fellow travellers. Noises of the night are heard as another coach - coal black - comes to meet him.

  The driver, muffled with a scarf and wide brimmed hat, bows his greeting, though no words are exchanged. He gives Harker a coat and a small bottle of wine.

  The coach sets off on the journey to the Castle, alighting in the courtyard. Harker is left alone as he drags his trunk to a main door still accompanied by heavy winds and wolf howls on the soundtrack.

  Dracula makes Harker welcome, showing immense physical strength by carrying Harker's obviously weighted trunk into the Castle, explaining all the while, that he is bereft of servants at such a late hour. Inside, Harker is offered a meal of paprika chicken as the Count excuses himself that he has dined already. Speaking of the gold plates, Dracula explains that to a Boyar they represent his time on Earth, his histories and that their monetary value means very little.

  Talk of Carfax - the house that Dracula agrees to purchase in England - and a letter from Mr Hawkins, states that Harker is to obey the Count’s commands. The Count leaves Harker at dawn as he mentions that he respect the Castle and not try to venture into locked rooms. In bed, Harker wears the crucifix given to him by the gypsy woman.

  The Count has already proved himself to be a genial, intelligent man and Jonathon has only been slightly miffed by the hairs on the palms of his host's hands. While shaving the next day, he notices that the Count also casts no reflection in a mirror.

  Taking the mirror, Dracula drops it out of the window into the courtyard below. He notices that Harker has cut himself and reacts by showing fangs. His behaviour settles when he catches sight of the cross around Harker's throat.

  In the library, the Count informs Harker that he wishes to learn English perfectly, and that Harker must correct the slightest mistakes in his speech. Handing Harker paper of the thinnest quality, he instructs him to write letters home, stating that he will stay with the Count for a month. Leaving him alone, he warns Harker not to fall asleep in the library.

  Unease builds as Harker discovers that Dracula has circled Whitby on a map. Panic sets in when he discovers more locked doors. Opening a window, Harker sees Dracula emerge from a window below and begin to climb down the wall like a giant lizard. Crying, he throws himself on the bed asking, "Am I going mad?"

  Back in London, Mina receives Jonathon's very formal letters stating his month’s sojourn with the Count and there is talk of their forthcomin
g trip to Whitby. At Whitby, Lucy confesses that she has had two proposals of marriage from Dr John Seward and Quincey P. Holmwood.

  Mina fears for Jonathon's safety by crying herself to sleep. Fade in to Jonathon at the Castle, now with a chin full of stubble, writing letters home in shorthand. He sees the Count crawl down the wall again. We are then transported as if to a dream. Three women are suddenly surrounding Jonathon and begin playfully teasing him. We hear Mina's voice on the soundtrack and see Mina herself brushing her hair and watching the unfolding tableaux.

  Another jump and we see the women moving towards a languid Jonathon. They speak:

  "You have the right; he is young and strong", as they move in closer.

  A video effect announces Dracula's arrival. He orders the girls back and rebukes them in a manner of affectation.

  "You never love," they declare. "Are we to have nothing tonight?"

  Dracula points to a large red bag. The girls fall on it giggling in anticipation. A cut to Jonathon. The girls hold a small child aloft. A fire flares on screen and they now appear red-eyed and fanged, with blood on their lips.

  They have fed on the child.

  Harker wakes with a start back in his rooms and hears gypsies singing in the courtyard. On inspection, he sees that they are making a number of large boxes. He throws his shorthand letter and coins into the courtyard and makes posting signals. The gypsies wave their understanding and depart.

  When Dracula enters, Harker belligerently explains his fears that they are alone in the Castle, as he hasn't seen another soul for three weeks. Dracula, patronising as ever, tells him that he is free to leave at anytime. Harker packs his trunk but is held at the door by a large dog.

  "Trust is essential," informs the Count as he hands back his letters home, given to him by the gypsies.

  A wall plaque tells us that our scene has changed to:

  Purfleet Asylum in Whitby, owned by Dr John Seward.

  We are introduced to Renfield, as he balances on a chair trying to catch a buzzing fly. Failing, he raises the chair and smashes it onto the floor. After another try, he is successful and deposits his catch in a jar on the window ledge. We notice that he already has two or three jars filled with flies. He keeps notes in a ledger of sorts and informs Dr Seward that he shall be compensated for using his food to attract the flies instead of eating it himself.

  Back at the Castle, Jonathon is becoming more and more frustrated at finding doors and windows locked. He begins a precipitous climb down the wall, but falls and luckily grabs onto a small ledge below his window. Climbing in, he finds what appears to be a cellar, stocked with faded gold treasures and the large boxes fashioned by the gypsies.

  Four of the boxes are occupied: it appears that they are coffins. He sees the girls, bloated and satisfied, glaring out of their resting places, with blood on their lips. In another box, he finds Dracula himself in a similar manner. He attacks Dracula with a shovel but seems to make no impact as the Count simply smiles and closes his eyes to sleep. Harker bolts.

  Mina and Lucy are idling away their time in Whitby churchyard. Along comes old salt, Mr Swales, who entertains the girls by revealing truths concerning the writings on the tombstones. He relates the tale of George Cannon, a hunchback who committed suicide to be free of his domineering mother.

  The clouds move in and Mina and Lucy watch the gathering storm from their bedroom window. They see a ship as it comes crashing into the rocks. On closer inspection, we see that all the crew appear to be dead with the captain himself lashed to the wheel.

  The only solitary survivor seems to be a large dog or wolf that sits out the storm as the ship itself veers towards Whitby harbour. Another scene shows Swales dead under the bench where Mina and Lucy rested, his throat torn out.

  The next scene, at breakfast, confirms that the ship was called the Demeter, its only cargo being a number of boxes filled with mould. Lucy reads the story from the Log Gazette, relishing each new horror.

  In bed, Lucy begins to have hot flushes. We see a fruit bat crawling over her bedclothes, but Lucy has disappeared. Mina searches for her and finds that she has ventured outdoors. She sees her climbing the Whitby steps in a daze and entering the churchyard. Mina follows.

  A bat is seen fluttering and then we notice Lucy being ravaged over a tomb by Dracula. Mina calls her name and the Count disappears. Mina pins a shawl around Lucy's neck and escorts the disoriented girl back home. Nearby, we see Dracula, arms aloft in triumph, as an eerie mist encircles him. Back in the bedroom, Mina unfastens the shawl around Lucy and berates herself for making the marks that she finds on her sister's throat.

  Quincey P. Holmwood makes his promised visit, but is introduced to a pale imitation of Lucy. Barely eating, she excuses herself from the table and goes to bed. She shows teeth that are beginning to grow peculiarly long and sharp. On the promenade, Quincey puts Mina's mind at rest by saying that he will use contacts in the American Consulate at Budapest to locate Jonathon's whereabouts. Meanwhile, amongst red roses and video effects, Lucy is being visited by Dracula, splayed across her and the bed like a gigantic leech and feeding on her blood. Lucy dances in ecstasy in her mind’s eye.

  Mina finds her slumped across the bed trying to catch her breath. Lucy explains a strange dream that she had and falls asleep. Dr Seward, tea cup in hand, watches with interest as the Count's boxes are loaded into the Carfax building opposite the Asylum. Had he watched further, he would have seen a hand, with a very hirsute palm, emerge from one of the boxes, pulling the lid into place to shield the occupant from the rays of the sun and prying eyes.

  Renfield openly begs Seward for a kitten and we see that he has fashioned a number of cages stocked with small birds. He lovingly feeds his flies to his avian friends.

  Meanwhile, Mina is handed good news. Mr Hawkins has located Jonathon in a hospital at Budapest, with the aid of the American Consulate. He also agrees to pay the passage so that Mina can bring him home.

  Dr Seward fears for Lucy and states that he would like a second opinion. He intends to recruit the services of his old friend in Amsterdam, a Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

  Lucy stares out of her bedroom window, where we see a top-hatted Count Dracula in the garden, making yet another midnight visit.

  End of Part One.

  Part Two

  Van Helsing is introduced as he makes his initial examination of Lucy. He asks her to remove the choker around her neck and notices the small puncture wounds. Lucy admits to sleepwalking and experiencing frightening dreams. Inspecting her teeth, Van Helsing closes his examination. Later, Lucy waits in expectation as a bat flutters outside her window.

  Quincey arrives in time to administer a blood transfusion. Through a blurred haze, Lucy sees the three men, Seward, Holmwood and Van Helsing as they are joined by the Count himself.

  Alone in his cell, Renfield is awakened by the voice of Dracula. The Count stands outside his barred window and offers the lunatic lives of flies and moths. When the orderly, Bowles, enters the cell, he is attacked by Renfield and suffers cuts to his arm. The blood that drips to the floor is lapped up by Renfield.

  Van Helsing informs Seward and Quincey that there is a monster "in our midst", and instructs them to smear garlic into every crevice in Lucy's bedroom. When questioned, he shows an unusual outburst of rage at the effrontery. The operation finished, Lucy begs Dr Seward not to leave her. He does.

  Later, the bat returns and this time beats at the glass angrily because it is unable to gain entrance. There is a crash of a window and a wolf stands in the bedroom snarling viciously. Mrs Westenra suffers a heart attack on the spot. Lucy bares her throat as Dracula enters.

  In dialogue, we are then told that Lucy was too ill to attend her mother's funeral. Van Helsing notices that the throat wounds have all but disappeared and informs the rest of the household that she is dying. We then see that Lucy casts no reflection. Turning nasty in her bed, Lucy entices Quincey Holmwood to kiss her. Van Helsing pulls him away from her emb
race and Lucy expires.

  Van Helsing states that it is just the beginning.

  Jonathon and Mina are seen returning home in a carriage. Dialogue informs us that they have married in Carpathia. When Jonathon glances at the driver, he sees that it is none other than Dracula himself. Before he has time to say anything, the Count cracks the whip to gear the horses and is gone. Mina is greeted by a wreath on her front door advertising her recent losses, her mother and Lucy.