The Satanic Rites of Dracula
Encyclopedia
The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror
film directed by Alan Gibson
. It is the eighth film in the Hammer Dracula series, and the seventh and final to feature Christopher Lee
as Dracula
. The film also the third film to reunite Peter Cushing
as Van Helsing with Christopher Lee
together since Horror of Dracula (1958), and Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972).
agent (Maurice O'Connell) barely escapes from an English country house, in which satanic
rituals are celebrated. Before he dies of his wounds, he reveals to his superiors that four prominent members of society - a government minister, a peer
, a general and a famous scientist - are involved in the cult, led by Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling). In order to avoid any reprisals by the minister, the secret service call in Scotland Yard
's Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) to work on the case independently. Murray (who had appeared in the preceding Dracula film
) suggests consulting noted occult expert Professor Lorrimar Van Helsing (Cushing).
The cult
kidnaps the Secret Service secretary Jane (Valerie Van Ost
), who is later bitten by Dracula (Lee).
Murray, Secret Service agent Torrence (William Franklyn
), and Van Helsing's granddaughter Jessica (Joanna Lumley
) arrive at the country house, where they discover several vampire women chained up in the cellar, including Jane who is now a vampire herself. Murray kills Jane with a stake and the three escape the grounds.
Meanwhile, Van Helsing pays a visit to his scientist friend Julian Keeley (Freddie Jones
), whom he had recognized among the four conspirators, and finds him mentally unstable and involved on bacteriological
research aiming at creating a virulent
strain of the bubonic plague
. Van Helsing is shot unconscious by a guard. As he comes to, Keeley's dead body hangs from the ceiling while the petri dishes containing the bacteria are gone.
Keeley had referred to the 23rd of the month, which Van Helsing reveals to be the "Sabbath of the Undead". Keeley's research notes lead Van Helsing to the reclusive property developer D. D. Denham, who had funded Keeley's research. Van Helsing also suspects a reincarnated
Dracula behind the plot, suggests that Dracula wants to exact revenge on humanity and speculates about a secret death wish on the Count's part. Van Helsing visits Denham in his headquarters (built on top of the church yard where Dracula died in the previous film) and finds out his true identity: Count Dracula. He tries to shoot Dracula with a silver bullet
but is beaten by the Count's conspirators. Dracula decides that killing Van Helsing would be too simple and has him transferred to the country house.
Meanwhile, Jessica, Murray and Torrence, while observing the country house, are attacked by snipers. Torrence is killed, while Murray and Jessica are captured. Murray awakes in the cellar and escapes the clutches of the female vampires, and later Chin Yang, revealed to be a vampire herself, just as Dracula arrives with Van Helsing.
Dracula announces to Van Helsing and the ministers that Jessica, who is laid out on the satanic altar, will be his consort, uncorrupted by the plague that his "four horsemen
" – including Van Helsing – would carry out into the world. The conspirators, who had considered the plague a mere deterrent, not to be used, begin to question their master but Dracula's hypnotic command stops them and causes the minister John Porter (Richard Mathews) to break the vial, releasing the bacteria and immediately infecting the minister, causing him horrible suffering.
Murray runs into a guard in the computer room, but overpowers him after a fight scene. The guard's metal baton smashes a computer panel and the ensuing explosion starts a fire and breaks open the ritual room. The two uninfected conspirators escape, Murray rescues Jessica, while the infected minister - and the plague bacteria - burns in the fire. Dracula attacks Van Helsing, who escapes through a window into the woods. He lures Dracula into a hawthorn bush
- a symbol of good as it provided Christ
with his Crown of thorns
- where he is entangled until Van Helsing drives a stake through his heart.
.
Work began on what was tentatively titled Dracula is Dead and Well and Living in London in November 1972. The title was a parody of the stage and film musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
, but Lee was not amused. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce the film, Lee said:
The film was eventually retitled as The Satanic Rites of Dracula (the film's American title, Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride, has nothing to do with the film itself). It is a mixture of horror science fiction
, and spy thriller with a screenplay by Don Houghton
, a veteran of BBC
's Doctor Who
. It wrapped on January 3, 1973 – 15 years to the day since the original Hammer Dracula
.
After the first installment and Dracula AD 1972
, this was the third Dracula film to star Lee and Cushing opposite each other. It would also be the last, as Lee would only play Dracula one more time, in the 1976 French comedy Dracula père et fils ("Dracula father and son"), while Cushing would play Lawrence Van Helsing in Hammer's ninth Dracula instalment The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
, which did not include Lee.
In the United States, the film was distributed as Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride. It was marketed with the tagline "Evil begets evil on the Sabbath of the undead!"
The original score
was composed by television composer John Cacavas
.
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
film directed by Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson (director)
Alan Gibson was a Canadian director active in British film and television. Particularly notable for his work in horror, cinematic films directed by him include the 1968 Journey to Midnight, the 1970 Crescendo, the 1974 The Satanic Rites of Dracula, the 1977 Checkered Flag or Crash and the 1982...
. It is the eighth film in the Hammer Dracula series, and the seventh and final to feature Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
. The film also the third film to reunite Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as Van Helsing with Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
together since Horror of Dracula (1958), and Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972).
Plot
A Secret ServiceSecret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
agent (Maurice O'Connell) barely escapes from an English country house, in which satanic
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
rituals are celebrated. Before he dies of his wounds, he reveals to his superiors that four prominent members of society - a government minister, a peer
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
, a general and a famous scientist - are involved in the cult, led by Chin Yang (Barbara Yu Ling). In order to avoid any reprisals by the minister, the secret service call in Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
's Inspector Murray (Michael Coles) to work on the case independently. Murray (who had appeared in the preceding Dracula film
Dracula AD 1972
Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
) suggests consulting noted occult expert Professor Lorrimar Van Helsing (Cushing).
The cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
kidnaps the Secret Service secretary Jane (Valerie Van Ost
Valerie Van Ost
Valerie Van Ost is an English actress.She is best known for her appearance in four Carry On films - Carry On Cabby, Carry On Doctor, Carry On Again Doctor and Carry On Don't Lose Your Head.At school she became the youngest adult dancer at the London Palladium before moving into films and...
), who is later bitten by Dracula (Lee).
Murray, Secret Service agent Torrence (William Franklyn
William Franklyn
William Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...
), and Van Helsing's granddaughter Jessica (Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
) arrive at the country house, where they discover several vampire women chained up in the cellar, including Jane who is now a vampire herself. Murray kills Jane with a stake and the three escape the grounds.
Meanwhile, Van Helsing pays a visit to his scientist friend Julian Keeley (Freddie Jones
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
), whom he had recognized among the four conspirators, and finds him mentally unstable and involved on bacteriological
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
research aiming at creating a virulent
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
strain of the bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
. Van Helsing is shot unconscious by a guard. As he comes to, Keeley's dead body hangs from the ceiling while the petri dishes containing the bacteria are gone.
Keeley had referred to the 23rd of the month, which Van Helsing reveals to be the "Sabbath of the Undead". Keeley's research notes lead Van Helsing to the reclusive property developer D. D. Denham, who had funded Keeley's research. Van Helsing also suspects a reincarnated
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
Dracula behind the plot, suggests that Dracula wants to exact revenge on humanity and speculates about a secret death wish on the Count's part. Van Helsing visits Denham in his headquarters (built on top of the church yard where Dracula died in the previous film) and finds out his true identity: Count Dracula. He tries to shoot Dracula with a silver bullet
Silver bullet
In folklore, the silver bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters...
but is beaten by the Count's conspirators. Dracula decides that killing Van Helsing would be too simple and has him transferred to the country house.
Meanwhile, Jessica, Murray and Torrence, while observing the country house, are attacked by snipers. Torrence is killed, while Murray and Jessica are captured. Murray awakes in the cellar and escapes the clutches of the female vampires, and later Chin Yang, revealed to be a vampire herself, just as Dracula arrives with Van Helsing.
Dracula announces to Van Helsing and the ministers that Jessica, who is laid out on the satanic altar, will be his consort, uncorrupted by the plague that his "four horsemen
Four Horsemen
The Four Horsemen usually refers to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who are the forces of man's destruction as described in the Christian Bible in chapter six of the Book of Revelation.Other uses:- Entertainment :...
" – including Van Helsing – would carry out into the world. The conspirators, who had considered the plague a mere deterrent, not to be used, begin to question their master but Dracula's hypnotic command stops them and causes the minister John Porter (Richard Mathews) to break the vial, releasing the bacteria and immediately infecting the minister, causing him horrible suffering.
Murray runs into a guard in the computer room, but overpowers him after a fight scene. The guard's metal baton smashes a computer panel and the ensuing explosion starts a fire and breaks open the ritual room. The two uninfected conspirators escape, Murray rescues Jessica, while the infected minister - and the plague bacteria - burns in the fire. Dracula attacks Van Helsing, who escapes through a window into the woods. He lures Dracula into a hawthorn bush
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
- a symbol of good as it provided Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
with his Crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
- where he is entangled until Van Helsing drives a stake through his heart.
Cast
- Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
(Count Dracula) - Peter CushingPeter CushingPeter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
(Lorrimer Van Helsing) - Michael Coles (Inspector Murray)
- William FranklynWilliam FranklynWilliam Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...
(Peter Torrence) - Richard VernonRichard VernonRichard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
(Colonel Mathews) - Maurice O'Connell (Agent Hanson)
- Joanna LumleyJoanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
(Jessica Van Helsing) - Richard Mathews (John Porter, MP)
- Patrick BarrPatrick BarrPatrick David Barr was a British film and television actor.Born in Akola, India, Patrick Barr went from stage to screen with The Merry Men of Sherwood . He spent the 1930s playing various beneficent authority figures and "reliable friend" types...
(Lord Carradine) - Lockwood WestLockwood WestLockwood West was a British actor. He is the father of actor Timothy West and the grandfather of actor Samuel West....
(General Sir Arthur Freeborne) - Freddie JonesFreddie JonesFrederick Charles "Freddie" Jones is an English character actor.Jones was born in the town of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of Ida Elizabeth and Charles Edward Jones. He became an actor after ten years of working as a laboratory assistant with a firm making ceramic products,...
(Dr. Julian Keeley) - Barbara Yu Ling (Chin Yang)
- Peter AdairPeter AdairPeter Adair was a filmmaker and artist, best known for his pioneering documentary, Word Is Out.-Career:Adair entered the film industry in the 1960s and first gained critical attention with his 1967 documentary Holy Ghost People, a film record of a Pentecostal snake handler worship service in the...
(Doctor) - Valerie Van OstValerie Van OstValerie Van Ost is an English actress.She is best known for her appearance in four Carry On films - Carry On Cabby, Carry On Doctor, Carry On Again Doctor and Carry On Don't Lose Your Head.At school she became the youngest adult dancer at the London Palladium before moving into films and...
(Jane) - John HarveyJohn Harvey (actor)John Harvey was an English actor. He appeared in 52 films, two television films and made 70 television guest appearances between 1948 and 1979....
(Commissionaire) - Maggie Fitzgerald, Pauline Peart, Finnuala O'Shannon, Mia Martin (Vampire girls)
- Marc ZuberMarc ZuberMarc Zuber was an actor.Film appearances include: The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Wind and the Lion, The Sea Wolves, Shirley Valentine and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.Television credits include: The Onedin Line, Doomwatch, The Regiment, The Changes, Space: 1999,...
, Paul Weston, Ian Dewar, Graham Rees (Guards)
Production
The film included much of the original cast and characters of Dracula A.D. 1972, the main change being Joanna Lumley playing a more mature version of Jessica Van Helsing, as compared to Stephanie BeachamStephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
.
Work began on what was tentatively titled Dracula is Dead and Well and Living in London in November 1972. The title was a parody of the stage and film musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is an American musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel.-Original Off-Broadway Production:...
, but Lee was not amused. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce the film, Lee said:
- "I'm doing it under protest ... I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives – fatuous, pointless, absurd. It's not a comedy, but it's got a comic title. I don't see the point."
The film was eventually retitled as The Satanic Rites of Dracula (the film's American title, Count Dracula and his Vampire Bride, has nothing to do with the film itself). It is a mixture of horror science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, and spy thriller with a screenplay by Don Houghton
Don Houghton
Don Houghton was a British television screenwriter.Born in Paris, Houghton started writing for radio in 1951 before moving into film and television in 1958...
, a veteran of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It wrapped on January 3, 1973 – 15 years to the day since the original Hammer Dracula
Dracula (1958 film)
Dracula, also known as Horror of Dracula in the United States, is a 1958 British horror film. It is the first in the series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, Melissa Stribling and...
.
After the first installment and Dracula AD 1972
Dracula AD 1972
Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
, this was the third Dracula film to star Lee and Cushing opposite each other. It would also be the last, as Lee would only play Dracula one more time, in the 1976 French comedy Dracula père et fils ("Dracula father and son"), while Cushing would play Lawrence Van Helsing in Hammer's ninth Dracula instalment The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is a 1974 horror film produced by Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studio. It was released in North America in an edited version as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula, and alternatively known as The Seven Brothers And Their One Sister Meet Dracula.-Plot:Professor...
, which did not include Lee.
In the United States, the film was distributed as Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride. It was marketed with the tagline "Evil begets evil on the Sabbath of the undead!"
The original score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
was composed by television composer John Cacavas
John Cacavas
John Cacavas is a composer and conductor probably best known for his television scores, notably Kojak, for which he was the chief composer, and for which he composed the second main title theme, used throughout the show's 5th and final season...
.