''The Brides of Dracula'' is a 1960 British

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

produced by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

. Directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

, the film stars

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

, David Peel,

Freda Jackson Freda Maud Jackson (29 December 1907 – 20 October 1990) was an English stage actress who also worked in film and television. Early life and career Jackson was born in Nottingham in 1907. She made her stage debut on 1 January 1934 at the ...

Yvonne Monlaur Yvonne Monlaur (born Yvonne-Thérèse-Marie-Camille Bédat de Monlaur; 15 December 1939 – 18 April 2017) was a French film actress of the late 1950s and 1960s best known for her roles in the Hammer horror films. Early years Monlaur was born ...

Andrée Melly Andrée Melly (15 September 1932 – 31 January 2020) was an English actress. Career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, she performed at the Old Vic in ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and T.S. Eliot’s '' Murder in the Cathedral ...

, and

Martita Hunt Martita Edith Hunt (30 January 190013 June 1969) was an Argentine-born British theatre and film actress. She had a dominant stage presence and played a wide range of powerful characters. She is best remembered for her performance as Miss Havi ...

. The film is a sequel to the 1958 film ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' (also known as ''Horror of Dracula''), though the character of

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

does not appear in the film, and is instead mentioned only twice.

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

would reprise his role as Dracula in the next film in the Dracula series, '' Dracula: Prince of Darkness'' (1966). Filming began for ''The Brides of Dracula'' on 16 January 1960 at

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

. It was developed under the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

s ''Dracula 2'' and ''Disciple of Dracula''. The finished film premièred at the

Odeon Marble Arch The Odeon Marble Arch (known as the Regal from 1928 to 1945) was a cinema in London located opposite Marble Arch, at the top of Park Lane, with its main entrance on Edgware Road. It operated in various forms from 1928 to 2016, and is most famo ...

on 6 July 1960. It was distributed theatrically in 1960 on a

double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

The Leech Woman ''The Leech Woman'' is a 1960 black-and-white US horror film from Universal-International, produced by Joseph Gershenon, directed by Edward Dein, and starring Coleen Gray, Grant Williams, Gloria Talbott, and Phillip Terry. The film was actual ...

''.

Plot

Marianne Danielle, a young French schoolteacher en route to taking up a position in Transylvania, is abandoned at a village inn by her coach driver. Ignoring the warnings of the locals, she accepts the offer of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

ess Meinster to spend the night at her castle. The Baroness's handsome son, Baron Meinster, is said to be insane and kept confined. After sneaking into his quarters to meet him, she is shocked to find the Baron chained up to a wall. He says that his mother has usurped his rightful lands and pleads for Marianne's help. She agrees to steal the key to his chain from the Baroness' bedroom and free him. The Baron later kills his mother and drinks her blood. The Baroness' servant Greta, finds her mistress' corpse. Marianne flees into the night upon seeing this, while Greta blames the dead Baroness for having allowed the baron to be turned into a vampire by Dracula. She also chastises the Baroness for chaining the baron in his room and luring girls to feed him. Despite knowing the evil he intends for the village, Greta remains loyal to the Baron. Exhausted, Marianne is found by Doctor Van Helsing the following morning and does not remember all that has happened. He escorts her to the school where she is to be employed. When Van Helsing reaches the village inn, he finds there is a funeral in progress. A young girl has been found dead in the woods with wounds upon her throat. Father Stepnik, who had requested Van Helsing's presence, joins the doctor in his investigation, and the two try to dissuade the girl's father from burying her. Unfortunately, he does not listen, and she becomes a vampire. Stepnik and Van Helsing go to the cemetery that night, only to find Greta aiding the newly vampirised girl to rise from her grave. The men try to stop them, but Greta holds them off and allows the girl to flee. Van Helsing goes to the castle and discovers the Baroness, now risen as a vampire herself, and the Baron. After a brief scuffle, the Baron flees on a coach driven, abandoning his mother. Knowing that the transformation was the Baron's revenge on his mother for locking him up, Van Helsing takes pity on her and, after sunrise the next morning, kills her with a wooden stake. The Baron, meanwhile, visits Marianne and asks her to marry him. She accepts, much to the good-natured envy of her roommate Gina. Once Gina is alone, the Baron appears in her room and drains her of her blood. The next day, Van Helsing inspects Gina's body and orders that it be placed in a horse stable under constant vigilance. That night, Marianne assumes the role of guarding the corpse. She is with the stable keeper, Severin, who goes outside for a moment and is killed by a

vampire bat Vampire bats, species of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats found in Central and South America. Their food source is blood of other animals, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the ...

. Inside, the lid of the coffin is pushed open, and Gina rises, now a vampire. As she approaches Marianne, Gina reveals the whereabouts of the Baron, who is hiding at the old mill. Van Helsing appears and saves Marianne from being bitten by Gina, who flees. Reluctantly, Marianne tells Van Helsing what Gina told her. He goes to the old mill and finds the Baron's coffin. He is soon confronted by both of Meinster's brides and wards them off with his cross. Greta, still human,wrestles it away from him, only to trip and plummet from the rafters, dying in the fall. The Baron then arrives, subdues Van Helsing and bites him, inflicting him with vampirism before leaving. After waking up, Van Helsing heats a metal tool in a brazier, cauterises his wound and pours

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

on it to purify it. The wound disappears. Baron Meinster, meanwhile, abducts Marianne and brings her to the mill, intending to vampirise her in front of Van Helsing. As the Baron attempts to hypnotise her to make her compliant to his will, Van Helsing throws the holy water into his face, which sears him like acid. The Baron kicks over the brazier of hot coals, starting a fire. He runs outside as the brides make their escape. Van Helsing runs to the huge sails, which he moves to form the shadow of a gigantic cross over Baron Meinster, who is killed by his exposure to the symbol. Van Helsing comforts Marianne as the mill burns.

Cast

as Doctor Van Helsing *

as Marianne * David Peel as Baron Meinster *

as Baroness Meinster *

as Greta *

Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles i ...

as Doctor Tobler *

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

as Herr Lang *

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film '' Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for which she was nominated for a Gold ...

as Frau Lang *

as Gina * Victor Brooks as Hans * Fred Johnson as the priest *

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. Along with Michael Gough ...

as the coachman *

Norman Pierce Norman Pierce (5 September 1900 – 22 March 1968) was a British actor. He was born in Southport, Lancashire. He died in Helions Bumpstead, Essex, England on 22 March 1968 at the age of 67. He played pub landlords and barmen in a number of ...

as the landlord * Vera Cook as the landlord's wife *

Marie Devereux Marie Devereux (27 November 194030 December 2019) was a British model and film actress. She was born Patricia Sutcliffe on 27 November 1940 in Edmonton, London. Marie Devereux became a regular and very popular nude model in magazines during th ...

as the village girl * Michael Mulcaster (uncredited) as Latour * Harold Scott (uncredited) as Severin *

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

(uncredited) as Narrator

Production notes

After the success of ''Dracula'', Hammer commissioned

Jimmy Sangster James Henry Kinmel Sangster (2 December 1927 – 19 August 2011) was a British screenwriter and director, most famous for his work on the initial horror films made by the British company Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films, including ''The Cur ...

to write a sequel titled ''Disciple of Dracula'', about an acolyte of the vampire, with Count Dracula himself only making a cameo appearance. Sangster's script was rewritten by Peter Bryan to remove references to Dracula, while adding the character of Van Helsing. The screenplay was then further revised by Edward Percy. Reportedly, Sangster, director Terence Fisher and Cushing also were involved in the rewrites. Producer Anthony Hinds stated: "My own personal involvement in a film like ''Brides'' was always 100 percent, not because I felt it to be my duty but because I felt very strongly that the pictures were mine. No doubt Terry isherthought they were his and Jimmy Sangster thought they belonged to him. And Peter C. they were his." Most of the interior shots were done at

. The exterior shooting locations were in nearby

Black Park Black Park is a country park in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England to the north of the A412 road. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Council, formerly County Council. It has an area of , of which two separate areas totalling have been designated a ...

and

Oakley Court Oakley Court is a Victorian Gothic country house set in overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley in the civil parish of Bray in the English county of Berkshire. It was built in 1859 and is currently a hotel. It is a Grade II* listed bu ...

. The scene in which the locks drop from Gina's coffin was derived from

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

's story "

Count Magnus "Count Magnus" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, first published in 1904. It was included in his first collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot A traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominou ...

Release

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' of the UK wrote: "The genuinely eerie atmosphere of traditional Vampire folk-lore continues to elude the cinema. This latest sequel in Hammer's apparently endless series adds little to the Dracula legend other than a youthful, good-looking vampire, and nothing to the familiar Hammer format of inappropriate colour and ''décor,'' a vague pretence at period and a serious surface view of the proceedings."

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' dismissed the film as "but another repetition of the standard tale of the vampire ... There is nothing new or imaginative about it." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "technically well-made" but thought the script "adds little to the Dracula legend and follows formula horror gimmicks," and that "it would have been considerably more scary if it had been filmed in old-fashioned black and white." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' wrote that Martita Hunt and Freda Jackson were "excellent" in the film and the direction and photography were "first class," but that it was "not overly frightening." ''The Brides of Dracula'' holds a score of 78% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 18 reviews.

Home media

*A region 1 DVD edition of the film (in a two double-sided disc box set, along with seven other Hammer classics originally distributed by Universal International) was released on 6 September 2005. This set was re-released on Blu-ray on 13 September 2016. *A region 2 DVD edition of the film was released on 15 October 2007. *A region B Blu-ray/DVD Double Play was released on 26 August 2013. In this release, the original aspect ratio was overcropped from 1.66 to 2.0.

In other media

''The Brides of Dracula'' was adapted into a 15-page comics story by Steve Moore and John Stokes, which was published in two parts in ''

Halls of Horror ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolution' in Eng ...

'' issues #27–28, published in 1983 by

Quality Communications Quality Communications was a British publishing company founded by Dez Skinn that operated from 1982 to 2008. The company's most notable publications were the monthly comics anthology ''Warrior'', which featured early work by writer Alan Moore; ...

References

External links

* *
Review of movie
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Review of film
at Cinefantastique * *
''Brides of Dracula Wiki''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brides of Dracula, The 1960 films 1960 horror films British sequel films Hammer Film Productions horror films Dracula films Gothic horror films Films directed by Terence Fisher Films scored by Malcolm Williamson Films set in Transylvania Films shot at Bray Studios Universal Pictures films British vampire films Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster Dracula (Hammer film series) Films set in castles 1960s English-language films 1960s British films