Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (story)
Jimmy Sangster (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The Greatest All New Fright Show In Town!

Plot:

Dracula is resurrected, preying on four unsuspecting visitors to his castle.

Plot Keywords:

Woman In Jeopardy | Stalking | Priest | Servant | Fearless

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Count Dracula
Barbara Shelley	...	Helen Kent
Andrew Keir	...	Father Sandor
Francis Matthews	...	Charles Kent
Suzan Farmer	...	Diana Kent
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Alan Kent (as Charles Tingwell)
Thorley Walters	...	Ludwig
Philip Latham	...	Klove
Walter Brown	...	Brother Mark
George Woodbridge	...	Landlord
Jack Lambert	...	Brother Peter
Philip Ray	...	Priest
Joyce Hemson	...	Frau Koenig (mother)
John Maxim	...	Coach Driver

Also Known As:

Disciple of Dracula
Dracula 3
Revenge of Dracula
The Bloody Scream of Dracula
Blut für Dracula (West Germany) [de]
Drácula, príncipe de las tinieblas (Spain) [es]
Dracula (Sweden) [sv]
Dracula - pimeyden ruhtinas (Finland) [fi]
Dracula principe delle tenebre (Italy) [it]
Dracula, prince des ténèbres (France) [fr]
Drakoulas, o arhon tou Skotous (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

90 min | Spain:86 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) (re-rating) | Germany:16 (DVD release) | Norway:16 (1972) | Norway:(Banned) (1966 - 1972) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1966) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1992) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Originally shown (in London) in a double billing with The Plaque of the Zombies (1966).

Goofs:

Continuity: Diana holds the crucifix out towards Dracula twice in successive camera shots from the back while front shots don't show her holding it at all

Quotes:

Alan Kent: You forget about all of this in the morning, you'll see.
Helen Kent: There'll be no morning for us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Little Monsters (1989)

This is one of the best tales of Dracula I've ever seen.

The plot is simple; four travelers are abandoned by their coach driver near an old castle. Mysteriously, another horse-drawn buggy arrives with no rider. Of course, they decide to take it and move on but the horses are set on taking them to the castle, which I thought was pretty cool. When they arrive, they find they were expected, a table set for four. Out comes Klove, the creepy caretaker, who informs them that the deceased owner's wish was that the castle stay open for travelers. They decide to take advantage of this…and the story takes horrific turns from there. The resurrection of Dracula was a very good scene and the ending was a rather original twist on the vampire mythos but I enjoyed it just because of that. This was the first film in which I had seen the great Christopher Lee play the role of Dracula and everybody was right; he's perfect as the bloodsucker…and he doesn't even utter a word in this one. His tall build, strong face, and piercing eyes are more than enough to inspire his character. Andrew Keir as Father Sandor, a Van Helsing type role, was also of note. All in all, this Hammer production mixes in a bit of blood, some terror, and a whole lot of classic atmosphere to make for one classy, enjoyable horror flick.