''Count Dracula's Great Love'' (Spanish: ''El gran amor del conde Drácula'') is a 1972 Spanish film directed by

Javier Aguirre Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager who is currently in charge of Spanish team RCD Mallorca. Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 Wo ...

, and starring Paul Naschy as Count Dracula. The film also features Rosanna Yanni, Haydee Politoff (whom Naschy did not like working with), Mirta Miller and Ingrid Garbo. The film was shot in 1972, but took about a year to be released anywhere. It first premiered in April 1973 at the Paris Festival of Fantastic Films, along with Naschy's ''Hunchback of the Morgue'', and then was released in Spain on May 12, 1973. It was released to U.S. theaters in March 1974 as ''Dracula's Great Love'' (on a double bill with ''The Vampires' Night Orgy''), then re-released later in 1979 by Motion Picture Marketing under the title ''Cemetery Girls'' (the poster emphasizing the film's adult content and indicating nothing of its star Paul Naschy or Spanish origin). Contrary to some sources, this film was never released under the titles ''Vampire Playgirls'' or ''Graveyard Tramps''; these were other films retitled by MPM which were often paired with ''Cemetery Girls'' in drive-ins. The film was released (heavily edited) in the U.K. on August 8, 1974 as ''Dracula's Virgin Lovers'', double-billed with ''Venom'' (aka ''The Legend of Spider Forest''). The running time in England was cut from 83 minutes to only 66 minutes. The film was released in Italy as ''The Diabolical Loves of Nosferatu'', in Thailand as ''Virgin Lovers'', and in Mexico as ''The Orgy of Dracula''. The film has been released uncut on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, and can finally be seen in its original, uncensored form after all these years.

Plot

''Count Dracula's Great Love'' opens outside a creepy old

sanitorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

as two delivery men arrive with a large, heavy man-shaped crate. The owner, Doctor Wendell Marlowe (Paul Naschy), has just purchased the sanitorium, but has not yet moved in. Realizing that these rich castle-owning types have money and jewels just lying around, they decide to wander about and see if there is anything they can steal. One is struck in the head with an ax and the other gets his throat ripped out by a man in a black cape with velvet lining. Meanwhile, a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

loaded with four beautiful young women - Karen ( Haydee Politoff), Senta (

Rosanna Yanni Marta Susana Yanni Paxot (born February 27, 1938), best known as Rosanna Yanni or Rossana Yanni, is an Argentine film actress. She debuted in her home town, working in revues as a chorus girl. After working two years as a fashion model in Italy, ...

), Marlene (Ingrid Garbo), and Elke (

Mirta Miller Mirta Miller (born 16 August 1948) is an Argentine film actress. She has appeared in more than 65 films since 1961. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Selected filmography * ''No Exit'' (1962) * '' Una chica casi decente'' (1971) * '' Dr ...

) and their friend Imre Polvi (Vic Winner), a strapping young male, loses a carriage wheel while traveling through the infamous Borgo Pass. When the stagecoach driver is killed in a freak accident, the five passengers seek shelter from an oncoming storm in the nearby sanitorium, where they are welcomed by Doctor Marlowe. Their host invites them into his home and lets them stay for as long as they need to. Of course, Marlowe is really

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 some ...

. It is not before long that the new guests are bitten one by one, composing Dracula's new army of the undead - save for the virginal Karen. Dracula seeks the rebirth of his daughter Radna and in order to bring about her

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

, Dracula must complete a blood ritual and convince Karen to voluntarily join him as his immortal bride in eternal darkness. He seduces all of the girls but Karen, and then chains them in his dungeon. At the end of the film, he kills them by exposing them to sunlight. When he seduces Karen, he knows he has found true love. He tells Karen that he loves her and he cannot let her become one of the living dead. So he commits suicide by thrusting a wooden stake into his own heart and before he dies, he utters her name, "Karen...".

Cast

* Paul Naschy dual role as Count Dracula / Dr. Wendell Marlowe *

as Senta *

Haydée Politoff Haydée Politoff is a Russian-French actress born on in Paris. Politoff moved to the United States in the late 1970s, retired from acting, and resided in California. "''La Collectionneuse'' ended in Saint-Tropez. Just then the actress (Haydé ...

as Karen *

as Elke * Ingrid Garbo as Marlene * Víctor Alcázar as Imre Polvi *

José Manuel Martín José Manuel Martín Pérez (born 24 May 1924) is a Spanish retired film and television actor, radio broadcaster, and screenwriter. He was a popular character actor in Spanish cinema during the 1950s and 60s, best remembered for playing villaino ...

as 1st hired hand *

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence i ...

as 2nd hired hand *

Julia Peña Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e. ...

as peasant woman * Susana Latour as victim in Karen's dream - image in negative * Loreta Tovar - female victim in bed * Benito Pavón * Leandro San José

Production

The shoot was plagued with problems. A car accident on a windy mountain road resulted in a head injury for Haydee Politoff, crew members were injured when some scenery collapsed on them, and a chemical used in the special effects scenes turned out to be toxic and seriously sickened both Ingrid Garbo and Mirta Miller. While Politoff recovered from her head injury, Naschy and Aguirre temporarily halted all work on the film and in the meantime commenced work on their next project together, ''The Hunchback of the Morgue''. By the time she was back at work they had completely finished filming ''Hunchback'', and immediately returned to work on ''Count Dracula''. The underground cellars in the film were shot in an old bunker under the Parque de el Capricho in Madrid, which used to serve as the headquarters for the Republican Army during the Spanish Civil War.Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. p.94. ISBN 978-1718835894

References

External links

* * {{Dracula 1974 films Spanish horror films Spanish vampire films 1970s Spanish-language films 1974 horror films Films scored by Carmelo Bernaola Dracula films Films set in castles