COUNTESS DRACULA (1971)

 

(Director: Peter Sasdy. Screenwriter: Jeremy Paul, his screenplay based on Valentine Penrose's uncredited book.)

 

Storyline

Seventeenth-century Hungrarian widow Elisabeth Nádasdy [based on the real-life Countess Erzsebet, 1560-1614] maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi.”

Review

COUNTESS, a Hammer Film Productions Ltd. flick, is a drama with occasional displays of blood, desperation, and abuse of wealth and power. It also features several scenes of female nudity, not extensive but more than flashes, a reminder that nudity used to be allowed in PG-rated films, up until the early 1980s (e.g., CLASH OF THE TITANS and DRAGONSLAYER, 1981).

The always-excellent Ingrid Pitt (THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, 1970), who took a role refused by Diana Rigg, played the titular character, Elisabeth Bathory. Bathory is an old wealthy woman desperate and powerful enough to bathe in young virgins’ blood to maintain her youthful attractiveness. Thing is, Elisabeth’s therapeutic results are short-lived, and every time she becomes old again, she looks more aged than she did before. Craven behavior on her part follows, and bewilderment and disapproval of those close to her increases.

To explain her sudden youthful appearance, Elisabeth pretends to be her recently returned daughter, Ilona, who has been abroad since her childhood. The real Ilona, played with innocent bewilderment by Lesley-Anne Down (FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, 1974), has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a country cottage at the behest of her mother. Elisabeth’s orders are carried out by Captain Dobi (Nigel Green), her longtime advisor who longs to become the recent widow’s lover. Unfortunately for Dobi, the young and handsome Lieutenant Imre Toth (Sandor Elès) has recently arrived at the castle, a beacon of desire for Elisabeth.

According to IMDb, Elton John made a cameo appearance in COUNTESS, around its 45:14 mark. His character is “wearing white shirt and headgear, seated with three others at a tavern.”

All the actors in COUNTESS are quality performers, even if the screenplay fizzles out long before the film ends. Visually, it’s up to Hammer’s usual standards, with sets, backdrops and exterior shots that stand out. The ending, once it finally arrives, is effective in its cut-to-it title shot.

COUNTESS, if you’re a die-hard fan of any of the actors, especially Pitt, is worth seeing once. Don’t expect to hear her voice, though: Sasdy had Pitt’s voice dubbed by someone else, without telling her─this led to her refusing to work with Sasdy again. Otherwise, this is a meh, padded flick with a worthwhile cast, not one of Hammer’s better advertised-as-horror films.